Thomas J. Watson Quotes & Sayings

Success is on the far side of failure. — Thomas J. Watson

Loyalty saves the wear and tear of making daily decisions as to what is best to do. — Thomas J. Watson

If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate. — Thomas J. Watson

Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops. — Thomas J. Watson

The way to succeed is to double your error rate. — Thomas J. Watson

The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm. — 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

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

When asked how to achieve success more rapidly, came the quick reply, 'Double your failure rate'. — Thomas J. Watson

Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience? — Thomas J. Watson

Since we built such sophisticated business machines, people tended to think of IBM as a model of order and logic - a totally streamlined organization in which we developed plans rationally and carried them out with utter precision. I never thought for a minute that was really the case. — Thomas J. Watson

To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart. — 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

A manager is an assistant to his men. — Thomas J. Watson

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

Failure is a teacher; a harsh one, but the best. — 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

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

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

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

All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work. — 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

It is a common mistake to think of failure as the enemy of success. Failure is a teacher-a harsh one, but the best. Pull your failures to pieces looking for the reason. Put your failure to work for you. — Thomas J. Watson