Thomas J. Watson Quotes on Business & Commerce (15 Quotes)

Design must reflect the practical and aesthetic in business but above all... good design must primarily serve people.

He would say over and over again that the company was not merely a business, but 'an institution that will go on forever.'

When I speak about the future development of our business, I want to include every other business in the United States. In my judgment, every legitimate business in our country today has a far better future ahead of it than it has ever had before.

The greatest asset of a man, a business or a nation is faith. The men who built this country and those who made it prosper during its darkest days were men whose faith in its future was unshakable. Men of courage, they dared to go forward despite all hazards men of vision, they always looked forward, never backward. Christianity, the greatest institution humanity has ever known, was founded by twelve men, limited in education, limited in resources, but with an abundance of faith and divine leadership. The vision essential to clear thinking the common sense needed for wise decisions the courage of convictions based on facts not fancies and the constructive spirit of faith as opposed to the destructive forces of doubt will preserve our Christian ways of life.

If joining IBM was commitment, not employment, and the company engaged in something more than business, it had a right to demand of its men unconditional loyalty, Watson believed.

Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.

Good design is good business.

Time is your chief stock in trade.

A message sent to all members of the American Sales Organization at the opening of the IBM Election Prize Contest, September 1, 1932. In every walk of life, the highest places and the greatest rewards go to those who have the courage to attempt and ability to achieve big things. That is true in science. It is true in government. It is true in business. And it is true in this organization. IBM leaders in the past have proved their worth by performance, just as they will in this sales campaign.

Princeton Universtiy, October 13, 1928 There is no saturation point in education if you follow sound principles, and you must apply this motto to business.... You must acquire wisdom in addition to knowledge. Wisdom is the power which enables you to use your knowledge to advantage.

Watson clearly spelled out his attitude about drinking, prohibiting liquor at IBM functions, on IBM premises, for IBM purposes You can mix your drinking with pleasure, but not with our business.

Princeton Universtiy, October 13, 1928 In order to be a success in business, there is one thing you must do. You cannot be successful without it. That is WORK. I have not told you anything new. Everyone knows that you cannot be successful in anything without work. Why does not everyone work Because some lack the one thing that makes men want to work ENTHUSIASM. That is something no one can give you. You must acquire it yourself, and the only way that you can become enthusiastic about anything is to have a thorough KNOWLEDGE of it. You have never seen an enthusiastic man who was lazy.

The future of this business is far beyond the vision of any of us.

What we do with our leisure time has considerable bearing on what we accomplish during our working hours, and very largely determines the degree of our success, Young men who, like yourselves, devote a predetermined amount of their leisure hours to study and to serious thinking, are the men who are going to progress far and fast. The business leaders of tomorrow will be the young men of todaymen like you who are preparing now for the great future which lies ahead. You may view the future with confidence, knowing that from the youth of today will emerge the leaders of tomorrow.

Business is a game, the greatest game in the world if you know how to play it.