Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation - Watson's Strategies

Watson's Strategies

Surprisingly, in view of his past record at NCR and his later colossal influence on IBM, he initially maintained a very low profile (almost tantamount to seeking obscurity) for the next decade until 1924, when the chairman George W. Fairchild died and he finally took over sole control. For the whole of the previous decade, in some ways uncharacteristically, he consistently deferred to Flint, Fairchild and Hollerith.

In the meantime he took personal charge of 400 demoralized and poorly-supervised salesmen. His stated objective was to produce a sales force in the NCR mold, as well as advanced machines that would be superior to any of the competitors' machines. In a series of small meetings he presented his 'competitive proposition' to the sales force. Despite the aggressive-sounding title, right from these beginnings there was as much emphasis on the ethics and philosophies of the business as there was on sales techniques. In particular he stressed sincerity, integrity and loyalty, saying that they should do nothing that could be construed as 'unfair competition' and should conduct themselves in an 'honest, fair and square way' -- something which would be radical even today. Musical events, even IBM songs, were introduced to improve and maintain employee morale.

The other philosophies that motivated CTR and IBM for the next three-quarters of a century were also evident. The company motto was to be 'We sell and deliver service'; CTR was to be in the business of genuinely assisting its customers. Watson strongly believed that when a sale was made both sides came out ahead.