A Review of Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s "Human Relations"
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Published June 26, 2021
Updated December 2, 2021 |
No IBM employee has lost an hour's time through being laid off since 1921.
During the depression, enough orders could not be produced to give full-time work to everyone in the factories. When we faced that situation and there was talk of putting the factories on part time, I said, 'No, conditions in this country are going to be better; our sales force is going to get stronger, and later on we are going to do more business. So I want you to manufacture parts that we do not need and put them in the bins.'
We borrowed money to take care of that investment and took our chances on selling enough machines later to absorb those parts.
During the depression, enough orders could not be produced to give full-time work to everyone in the factories. When we faced that situation and there was talk of putting the factories on part time, I said, 'No, conditions in this country are going to be better; our sales force is going to get stronger, and later on we are going to do more business. So I want you to manufacture parts that we do not need and put them in the bins.'
We borrowed money to take care of that investment and took our chances on selling enough machines later to absorb those parts.
Thomas J. Watson Sr., Report to Stockholders and Employees, April 1948
A Review of "Human Relations" by Thomas J. Watson Sr.
- Reviews of the Day: 1927, 1930, 1934 and1949
- Selected Quotes from "Human Relations"
- This Author’s Thoughts and Perceptions
Reviews of the Day: 1927, 1930, 1934 and1949
IBM released three versions of Men-Minutes-Money: 1927, 1930 and 1934. Men-Minutes-Money is a collection of Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s writings and speeches starting in January, 1915 and continuing through December, 1933. With each refresh of the work, new material was added to the previous year's publication. All speeches and articles were published in chronological order.
In 1949, IBM released the book being reviewed here: Human Relations. Essentially, this is another refresh of Men-Minutes-Money with some significant changes that make this book extremely more readable and valuable in studying and understanding Tom Watson Sr.'s years of leadership at C-T-R Company and IBM.
In 1949, IBM released the book being reviewed here: Human Relations. Essentially, this is another refresh of Men-Minutes-Money with some significant changes that make this book extremely more readable and valuable in studying and understanding Tom Watson Sr.'s years of leadership at C-T-R Company and IBM.
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In Human Relations:
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Neither of these publications (Men-Minutes-Money, Human Relations) were published for public consumption, per se, so there are no reviews that this author has found as of 2021 from independent sources about the books during any of the four years of publication. Even The Binghamton Press seems to have been silent on these books.
Selected Quotes from "Human Relations" (After December 1933)
Supervision is necessary in every business, but it is not possible to get enough supervisors in a factory or in a sales office or at headquarters to insure people doing a good job. There has to be something else, something that will make each individual feel that he is interested and is helping to build a business.
That is self-supervision, the kind of supervision that runs this business.
That is self-supervision, the kind of supervision that runs this business.
Thomas J. Watson Sr., IBM Jacksonville Office, 1948
"Spiritual qualities come ahead of everything else. We have seen people in different countries try to change the foundation of religion, but nobody has ever succeeded. It is the same in business. You must start on a solid foundation, and as you go along, working and experimenting you learn and you keep building on that foundation. The cornerstone, the basis of everything in IBM, are the three letters on this chart: M-A-N.
"That is what it was when I started in 1914; that is what it has been ever since, and that is what it is going to be always."
"That is what it was when I started in 1914; that is what it has been ever since, and that is what it is going to be always."
Tom Watson Sr., IBM Hundred Percent Club, 1948
Many of us were brought up on the old saying, "Opportunity knocks but once at every door." A good many years ago, I decided opportunity has never knocked at anybody's door and never will. We are surrounded with opportunities. It is up to us to knock on the different doors until we find the kind of opportunity that appeals to us and then we should walk in and go to work.
Tom Watson Sr., IBM Study Club Dinner, 1946
Editor's note: Pete has bookmarked over 200 quotes and insights from Tom Watson Sr. in this book. This a very, very small sample of some wonderful material.
This Author's Thoughts and Perceptions
It is rare for any business leader to document their thoughts as thoroughly as Tom Watson Sr. did at the turn of the 20th Century in Men-Minutes-Money and Human Relations. Owen D. Young and Gerard Swope, both of General Electric, had a collection of their addresses published [review available here]. This format is wonderful for research. They provide insight into an individual's belief system over a wide range of topics over a wide range of time.
This book as discussed above is heads-and-tails better than Men-Minutes-Money because of the editing that was done. I did not have access to this book when I wrote and published, The World's Greatest Salesman. After reading it, it is the format that I would have chosen for that book.
Another project: A refresh of The World's Greatest Salesman? Sheesh, just what I need.
Cheers,
- Pete
This book as discussed above is heads-and-tails better than Men-Minutes-Money because of the editing that was done. I did not have access to this book when I wrote and published, The World's Greatest Salesman. After reading it, it is the format that I would have chosen for that book.
Another project: A refresh of The World's Greatest Salesman? Sheesh, just what I need.
Cheers,
- Pete
