Two Journalists' Thoughts on "THINK"
Two Stories of THINK: Two Perceptions
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Published August 23, 2021
Updated October 15, 2023 |
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A 1941 THINK Story |
A 1933 THINK Story |
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Gerald Breckenridge wrote two detailed articles in 1941 for The Saturday Evening Post about IBM and Tom Watson: "Salesman Number 1" and "Market Maker."
The articles cover topics like executives being assistants, conservative dress and drinking codes, and shares numerous anecdotes about the company. This is one of the stories: Some years after Watson took control of IBM, he noticed that there was no THINK sign in the lobby of the company's New York offices. Turning to the advertising executive who happened to be with him, Watson administered a stinging reprimand. The advertising man hurried to his own office, snatched his own THINK sign from the wall, and hurried hack to nail it up in the lobby without even waiting to summon the janitor.
An hour or so later Vice President Nichol, making his rounds, dropped into the advertising man's office. He noticed that there was no THINK sign there. The climax came when Watson summoned the entire department and read a sermon on the text, "You men must learn to think." That night the advertising man and a confederate crept into the office with a can of red paint. The next morning the department beheld T H I N K painted in letters six feet high across one wall of the general room. Sensing no sarcasm, Watson allowed the decoration to remain until the paint faded. Gerald Breckenridge
"Salesman Number One" The Saturday Evening Post, 1941 |
Robert H. Davis, a reporter for the New York Sun, personally observed a formula for success in July, 1933 as he entered the reception area of IBM’s International Headquarters in New York City.
He wrote of his impression standing there looking up. Last week I stepped into Broadway offices of the International Business Machines Corporation to see my old friend Thomas J. Watson, who has surrounded himself with a staff of men whom he treats as equals. If the truth were known he regards some of them as his superiors. ...
The first thing my eyes fell upon as I entered the main reception room was a placard containing the single word:
THINK!
Directly opposite was the luminous and inspiring phrase:
We Forgive Thoughtful Mistakes!
After reading the lines of these two laconic declarations no man of the IBM payroll can come to any conclusion other than that Tom Watson wishes to instill, namely: Put your mind on the job, express your convictions; make errors occasionally; hit a rock and remember where it was located in your path.
And on the next trip sail onward to your anchorage. ... Bob Davis
"Good and Bad Placards" The New York Sun, 1933 |
Both of the articles above convey more than just facts about Tom Watson and his motto of "THINK." The two stories convey information in such a way that they generate judgements, feelings and emotions. In reference to Gerald Breckenridge's story, maybe Watson Sr. left the red letters "until the paint faded" because he preferred sarcasm over a lack of thought. After all there is no record of the advertising man and his "confederate" losing their jobs.
IBMers are head-strong, have a sense of humor, and have always been known for expressing both freely. It was part of our culture, and I can easily believe that Tom Watson probably smiled every time he saw the red letters.
IBMers are head-strong, have a sense of humor, and have always been known for expressing both freely. It was part of our culture, and I can easily believe that Tom Watson probably smiled every time he saw the red letters.
Peter E. Greulich, Retired Thirty-Year IBMer