The
Watson Dynasty
By
Richard S. Tedlow
IBM
is a renowned name in the business world and many of us take their
products for granted in our day-to-day lives. Author Richard Tedlow
gives us a peek into just how the corporation rose to be the well-known
business giant it has become. The father and son team of Thomas
Watson Sr. and Thomas Watson Jr. are profiled as they shaped a business
which would dominate the American Corporate landscape until some
poor business decisions in the late 1980's and early 1990's allowed
others to overtake "big blue" and almost lead to the end
of the corporation.
Watson
Sr. took the reins of a struggling company in 1914 and through his
leadership turned it around. Later on, his son would rise up in
his shadow and make his own mark on the corporate world, bringing
in his own ideas. Some of these were radically different from his
father's philosophy.
Tedlow
looks at both of the men as individuals as well as at their fiery
relationship. Despite a great respect for each other, the two men
were known to have terrible arguments. This didn't affect them personally
as Tedlow makes it clear that the men had love for each other despite
often feuding in the business world. After Watson Sr.'s death, his
son needed a few months to cope with the loss of his father before
he could return to the boardroom and continue to keep IBM a vibrant
force in the marketplace. I enjoyed reading more about the human
side of the two men rather than just a stark corporate history.
I
also enjoyed the informal style of the book. At times I felt more
like I was listening to a lecture in a college business class, but
I found that it made for a less intimidating read than what I originally
thought the story of the founders of IBM would be. Tedlow relies
on sources such as business magazines, newspaper articles, and other
secondary sources for much of the information, and his attribution
is thorough without being distracting. This was very interesting
and informative without going over the heads of many readers.
|
The
Book |
HarperCollins |
December 1, 2004 |
Paperback
|
0060014067
|
Nonfiction
/ Business, Company Histories |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt
|
NOTE:
|
The
Reviewer |
Patti Aliventi |
Reviewed
2005 |
NOTE:
|
|