culture

“For much of the twentieth century, IBM, like GE, fostered a “cradle to grave” culture, making it a company where workers were virtually guaranteed lifetime employment. At its campus an hour north of New York City, employees enjoyed generous benefits, salaries that kept pace with inflation, and even country club memberships. Thomas J. Watson, IBM’s CEO in the postwar years, established three core company beliefs: customer service, excellence, and respect for the individual. It was IBM’s own version of the Johnson & Johnson Credo, and Watson wrote a book on the topic, A Business and Its Beliefs, in which he detailed the company’s approach to employee loyalty. “The IBM policy on job security… has meant a great deal to our employees. From it has come our policy to build from within. We go to great lengths to develop our people, to retrain them when job requirements change and to give them another chance if we find them experiencing difficulties in the jobs they are in.”

Excerpt From: David Gelles. “The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America—and How to Undo His Legacy.”