System360 Prototype 4041
John Savard
Anne & Lynn Wheeler While in a sense the above is correct, I think it'd be more accurate to say Watsons' (both) compensation was based on total sales of the company. If...
It may have been only a cardboard mockup.
IBM hadn't introduced any significantly improved computer products for several years (they had upgrades to their existing line, such as 7090 machine that was stealing 1401 users. As a result, Watson Jr was terribly worried and rushed System-360's announcement. In his memoirs ("Father Son & Company") he admits this may have been premature since so much development and debugging work still remained; he said the sales models were cardboard mockups not real machines.
I don't want to think about what life was like for IBMers in those days. Working for IBM was high pressure normally, but getting S-360 debugged (both hardware and software) and out the door was a tremendous effort. In hindsight, they clearly tried to do too much too soon, but the excellence of the final products have stood the test of time--40 years we're still using them (my employer just bought a new Z box).
Despite all the changes in the industry, there's an excellent chance S-360 will be alive and well for its 50th anniversary.
the person was very explicit about the wording of the executive compensation plan ... as saying...
P.S. Sept 1956--50 yeras ago--disk drive announced by IBM.
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