Biography

Watson was born in East Campbell, New York, and he first two jobs were as a bookkeeper and a travelling salesman. A partnership in a butchers business failed when his partner absconded with the cash. This proved to be a life-changing event, as he had to return an item to National Cash Register (NCR), and saw that they needed salesmen.

He was hired, was an exceptional success, and was appointed general sales manager in 1908; two years later he was made deputy to the owner J.H. Patterson. After a law suit soured his relationship with Patterson, Watson moved to the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR).

The core of that business was punched-card technology, but Watson realised that the potential was in calculating machines. By 1924 the business changed its name to IBM.  

Using the critical mass of the business, Watson used continued improvement to beat competitors, thus pre-empting the Japanese "Kaizen".  

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