Watson's Story - The Maverick and His IBM Empire: The Maverick and His IBM Empire

Author: Mei Ni
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Thomas Watson was an extraordinary great entrepreneur of the 20th century. He built one of the most successful and enviable businesses of the century. His personal charm was no less than that of IBM itself. It is difficult to summarize him in a few words. In this book, the author has successfully reconstructed the life of Watson. The protagonist is no longer an empty symbol, no longer a pile of trivial matters and data, nor a dogmatic summary of so-called management experience, but a real person, a great person, a fascinating person. It is so vivid, so lively, so three-dimensional and rich, allowing us to truly see the original truth of an outstanding creator. As one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Thomas Watson profoundly influenced the greatest management thinkers of the time, Peter Drucker. He was one of Drucker's most revered leaders and an idol to him. Drucker regarded him as a pioneering figure, and to a great extent, the creator of the post-industrial society. He built a great American institution, changed the way people managed companies, and pushed this progress into a completely new stage called the information age. He was one of the few people who used business to change society and the way people lived. Thomas Watson was an extraordinary great entrepreneur of the 20th century. He built one of the most successful and enviable businesses of the century. His personal charm was no less than that of IBM itself. He was irascible and unpredictable. He enjoyed flattery and drew confidence from it. As he grew more successful, he also grew more arrogant, and in his later years, his craving for praise became irrational. To others, Watson was a dictator. He could not create an effective management framework suitable for large companies. His management style relied on his own autocracy and personal charm, establishing the worship of everyone towards him. He was arrogant. His arrogance made him fail to see the significant value of new technologies, nearly causing him to miss out on electronic technology. His arrogance made him believe he could save the world, and he once tried to use the power of business to prevent Hitler from starting a war. He was used by Hitler, and this experience became the most controversial point in his life. He saw himself as a great historical figure, like a president, king, and pope. Although he wanted to achieve a status on the world stage like Roosevelt, he abandoned one of the qualities he most admired in a president—courage. Accompanying his great flaws was his outstanding ability. His energy was remarkable, and he was naturally endowed with the rare leadership ability to make followers "love" him. He was distinctive, full of vitality, loved adventure, and had an unwavering belief in his leadership. He was a genius in sales, knowing better than anyone how to promote himself and his company. He completely changed people's perception and understanding of the sales profession in the 20th century and was hailed by the media as "the greatest salesman in the world." He was an unparalleled entrepreneur of his time. In the history of American and world business, he was one of the managers who recognized the importance of corporate culture. He developed unique values and traditions for IBM and elevated them to unprecedented importance, which was the key factor in IBM's continuous success. His contribution to the concept of "corporate culture" was no different from that of the founding fathers of the United States in their approach to the concept of "capitalist democracy"—he created its modern model and proved in practice that it could work. He was naturally sensitive to politics and worked hard not to offend any political faction, maintaining good relations with all of them. He formed a deep friendship with Roosevelt, and even the election of President Eisenhower was partly due to his influence. To Watson, IBM was far more than just a company, far more than just a means to gain wealth. IBM was his life, and he devoted his entire existence to it. His self-assessment was, "remarkable foresight, unyielding will, and firm determination." It is difficult to summarize him in a few words. The book before you is not a dogmatic summary of so-called management experience. In this book, the author has successfully reconstructed the life of Watson. The protagonist is no longer an empty symbol, no longer a pile of trivial matters and data, but a real person, a great person, a fascinating person. It is so vivid, so lively, so three-dimensional and rich, allowing us to truly see the original truth of an outstanding creator.