Thomas J. Watson Quotes

• If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Inspirational, Giving Up, Failure

  65 Copy quote

• Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of "crackpot" than the stigma of conformity.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Life, Motivational, Fear

  71 Copy quote

• Wisdom is the power to put our time and our knowledge to the proper use.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Wisdom, Time, Power

  38 Copy quote

• 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

  Motivational, Leadership, Business

  38 Copy quote

• 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

  Hard Work, Men, Thinking

  36 Copy quote

• 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

  Teacher, Mistake, Failure

  23 Copy quote

• Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Success, Business, Congratulations

  20 Copy quote

• 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

  Life, Motivational, Leadership

  43 Copy quote

• You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes, make all you can. Because, remember that's where you'll find success - on the far side of failure.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Inspirational, Success, Mistake

  77 Copy quote

• 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

  Business, Mistake, Fire

  61 Copy quote

• 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

  Change, Business, Block

  Thomas J. Watson (1963). “A business and its beliefs: the ideas that helped build IBM.”

  17 Copy quote

• When asked how to achieve success more rapidly, came the quick reply, 'Double your failure rate'.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Achieve, Rate

  18 Copy quote

• Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Organization, Progress, Spirit

  62 Copy quote

• Do you want to succeed? Then, double you rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Lying, Want, Succeed

  10 Copy quote

• Design must reflect the practical and aesthetic in business but above all... good design must primarily serve people.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Death, Design Process, Aesthetic Beauty

  18 Copy quote

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

  Thomas J. Watson

  Motivational, Success, Business

  11 Copy quote

• Success is on the far side of failure.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Success, Fear, Failure

  21 Copy quote

• A manager is an assistant to his men.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Men, Assistants, Risk Management

  Thomas J. Watson, Peter Petre (2013). “Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond”, p.384, Bantam

  9 Copy quote

• 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

  Trust, Essence, Building

  17 Copy quote

• Loyalty saves the wear and tear of making daily decisions as to what is best to do.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Loyalty, Decision, Tears

  8 Copy quote

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

  Thomas J. Watson

  Teacher, Harsh

  12 Copy quote

• 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

  Business, Scratches, News

  Thomas J. Watson, Peter Petre (2013). “Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond”, p.386, Bantam

  8 Copy quote

• The way to succeed is to double your error rate.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Motivation, Failure, Inspiration

  7 Copy quote

• It was courage, faith, endurance and a dogged determination to surmount all obstacles that built this bridge.

  Thomas J. Watson

  Motivational, Determination, Bridges

  4 Copy quote

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