Having worked at IBM for 21 years, I always liked the motto created by Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Mr. Watson was a strong proponent of giving people a task and letting them go do it. He knew that they would make a few mistakes, but he always said that he would never punish anyone for having made a thoughtful mistake. That is, one where the individual had genuinely thought about his or her actions and performed them with the best interest of the company, the customer and one’s own self in mind.
The result of this—and the rest of his philosophy—was that The IBM I started with in 1974 made it through the Great Depression not just without sliding backwards, but with significant growth while maintaining full employment of all departments in The IBM. He even hired salespeople during the height of the Great Depression.
To Watson, every employee was a caretaker of the company and managers—he hated that term—were there only to support the employees who were actually doing the work.
For many years The IBM used to have the motto “THINK” displayed in every office. It was our watchword.
I still believe in this motto. I try to THINK about everything I do. I am not always successful but, more often than not, I am. I believe that as a business person and as a human being. It applies to every aspect of our lives.
So I have made THINK the motto of Millennium Technology Consulting. And, for now at least, it will be the banner on all of our web pages.
