A business and its beliefs
by Thomas J. Watson Jr. · first published 1963
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When first published in 1963, IBM CEO Thomas Watson Jr.'s A Business and Its Beliefs gave readers an unprecedented look inside IBM's executive offices. Watson--son of IBM's founder-- candidly discussed how the company clung to its values during the first great technological shift, and how this refusal to compromise became IBM's strength. He also became one of the first CEOs to question business's place and responsibility in society, and openly discuss how firms could meet expanding social expectations while still turning a profit. The groundbreaking ideas in this book still resonate with to
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They should read "A Business and its Beliefs", which advocates for the core tenets being 1. Respect for the individual 2. Service to the customer 3. Excellence must be a way of life 4. The goal is individual thought and individual action https://archive.org/details/businessitsbelie0000wats_q3s2
on “CEOs struggle to process their new reality after the public glee” ↗A Business and its Beliefs Conquest of Mind
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗Conquest of Mind A Business and its Beliefs On Tyranny
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗With a bit of looking, you can find A Business and Its Beliefs by Thomas J. Watson, Jr., published as part of the McKinsey lecture series. He does cite the UNIVAC as the shock that made IBM understand what it had to do. Unfortunately, the lectures were delivered…
on “When IBM Was the Center of Gravity (2021)” ↗Conquest of Mind, A Business and its Beliefs, several sales books as a technical founder
on “Ask HN: What book(s) or article(s) do you read once per year?” ↗Thomas Watson, Jr.'s A Business and Its Beliefs was published in 1963 and makes no allusion to the S/360 work. It makes for curious reading today, for unrelated reasons.
on “Building the System/360 Mainframe Nearly Destroyed IBM” ↗