The World's Greatest Salesman

The New York Times and Time Magazine called Thomas J. Watson Sr., the founder of IBM, the "World's Greatest Salesman." Newsweek wrote that he was a philanthropist, where "none gained more from his beneficence than his own employees." President Eisenhower said he was a man "marked by a deep-seated concern for people."The World's Greatest Salesman is an IBM employee's perspective of Tom Watson Sr.'s leadership during the Great Depression, starting the day after Black Tuesday and ending three days before Christmas 1933, soon after the Depression's trough. In the midst of today's current economic turmoil, it is time to reexamine the thoughts, words and actions of IBM's founder. He set an example of great leadership during one of the darkest economic times in world history and led a good company to greatness in the 20th century.