IBMWatson autobiographythoughts on

This came up before, but I remain curious as to what people think of the autobiography Tom Watson, Jr wrote about himself, his father, and IBM: "Father, Son & Co.: my life at IBM and beyond." He pbutted away not too long after.

It seems to me this book is a pretty good general history of IBM and the two men. While I'm sure there was a lot he didn't go into, it seemed it was quite candid about a number of controversial issues. For instance, the pressure he put on his staff to beat Control Data in supercomputers may have caused the grounds for the anti-trust suit. He admits he was a tough, tempermental, and demanding boss and made bad mistakes at times with people (such as unfairly blaming the head of the time division for poor performance).

He also corrects the misconception that his father wasn't interested in electronics nor computers. Indeed, Tom wasn't interested in computers himself when he saw ENIAC and had to catch up. Fortunately the company had a foundation to build upon--the Mark I and the SSEC. (The father built the SSEC. It may have been done out of spite, but that machine pioneering the use of programming and got some very useful patents and experience.)

I never understood is why so many people disliked IBM. Sure they played hardball, but so did everyone else in the business world. I don't think IBM became huge because of rough tactics but rather simply being the best at what they did -- which was customer support.

Secondly, I never understood why compebreastors never could duplicate the level of customer support that IBM provided, esp when some of them were large and successful companies.

For example, when RCA sold a commercial radio transmitter, did they merely drop off a bunch of crates of components at the station? Or did they come in, help connect it up, and lastly, show the station's technicians how to operate the equipment for best results and compensate for problems?

Likewise, when Honeywell sold an industrial control system, did they merely leave crates or explain how to use the controls and interpret readouts?

IBM's biggest strength in tabulating machines and later computers was that it did not sell machines, but rather sold solutions. I don't understand why the other makers never saw that. Remington Rand didn't sell boxes of sheet metal, rather, it sold a way to keep records organized and readilly accessible. I presume when they sold their typewriters, they didn't push the internal gearing and lever action, but rather the quality of the finished typewritten letter.

It seems many business success stories were about not selling hardware, but selling how to make good use of that hardware. In the 1950s, Holiday Inn franchises were going well since the company founder had high standards for every motel and saw that the franchisees could comply. McDonald's likewise did well by providing its system, not merely a grill and an ad logo. Roy Kroc went far beyond the original McDonald brothers in that way.