Source : Family Wars - Grant Gordon & Nigel Nicholson
Origins
IBM, a modern public corporation, had its origins as a family-run business led by the Watsons, spanning across two generations. Tom Watson Sr. held a small percentage of stock but wielded immense power as CEO. Even his son and successor Tom Watson Jr., was a strong-willed entrepreneur. This led to a bitter father-son battle for the control of IBM.
The story begins in 1874 when Thomas Watson was born into an American family of Scottish descent.
Instead of joining the family lumber business, he ventured into sales, learning resilience and salesmanship at the National Cash Register(NCR). He quickly rose through the ranks in NCR and became the national sales manager.
In 1913, Watson was fired from NCR as the company’s founder feared that Watson might take over the company. Out of work, Watson was approached to run Computing-Tabulating- Recording (CTR), which he reshaped into IBM.
Tom Jr’s Trials
It was during the early days of IBM that Thomas Watson Jr (Tom Jr) was born to Tom Watson Sr. and Jeanette Kittredge in 1914. However, Tom Jr. faced a challenging childhood under his high-achieving father’s influence. His self-esteem suffered, and his parents’ relationship struggled. Tom Sr. improved his treatment of the family when faced with a divorce threat and supported Tom Jr.’s college education.
Tom Jr. did not excel academically but was given a position at IBM’s sales school by his father. He worked on soft target accounts but still faced criticism from his father, who emphasized his authority.
Tom Jr.’s life transformed during World War II when he discovered a passion for flying. Major General Follett Bradley recognized his talent and mentored him. This turned out to be psychotherapy Tom Jr. gained confidence and independence.
Fighting Father
After the war, Tom Jr. considered a career as a pilot but was encouraged by General Bradley to join IBM. And in 1946, Tom Jr. re-entered IBM with renewed confidence. He faced challenges from his immediate boss but stayed due to his father’s persuasion.
This was followed by sudden death of Tom Jr.’s boss. At the same time, Tom Sr. became the CEO at the age of 73, exceeding the retirement age, and in contravention of the organization’s rule that mandated retirement at 65.
Tom Jr.’s boss died suddenly, and Tom Sr. became CEO at the age of 73, exceeding the retirement age. Tom Jr. started reporting directly to his father, and there were several disagreements and heated alterations between the two. This strained the father-son relationship even more.
When Tom Sr. brought his younger son, Dick, into the company, tensions escalated. In fact, Dick became responsible for running the entire non-US business, a decision that Tom Jr fiercely opposed. This led to increased rivalry within IBM and these fights often went public. Eventually Tom Sr. succumbed to his son’s pressure and appointed Tom Jr. as president in 1951.
But Tom Sr regretted the move no sooner than he had agreed it, and left the office the same day without speaking to his son, not even to utter one word of congratulations. Until his death in 1956
Tom Sr kept his hand in the business, making life difficult for his son to the last. It was only shortly before his death that Tom Jr was appointed CE.
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