The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm.
– Thomas J. Watson
A manager is an assistant to his men.
– Thomas J. Watson
Design must reflect the practical and aesthetic in business but above all... good design must primarily serve people.
– Thomas J. Watson
Don't make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to lever yourself up.
– Thomas J. Watson
Every time we've moved ahead in IBM, it was because someone was willing to take a chance, put his head on the block, and try something new.
– Thomas J. Watson
Good design is good business.
– Thomas J. Watson
I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
– Thomas J. Watson
If you aren't playing well, the game isn't as much fun. When that happens I tell myself just to go out and play as I did when I was a kid.
– Thomas J. Watson
If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
– Thomas J. Watson
If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.
– Thomas J. Watson
Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.
– Thomas J. Watson
Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops.
– Thomas J. Watson
Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time.
– Thomas J. Watson
The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it's very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer.
– Thomas J. Watson
The way to succeed is to double your error rate.
– Thomas J. Watson
THINK. Think about your appearance, associations, actions, ambitions, accomplishment.
– Thomas J. Watson
Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.
– Thomas J. Watson
Wisdom is the power to put our time and our knowledge to the proper use.
– Thomas J. Watson
You don't hear things that are bad about your company unless you ask. It is easy to hear good tidings, but you have to scratch to get the bad news.
– Thomas J. Watson
Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost.
