In 1911, Charles F. Flint, a noted trust organizer, engineered the
merger of Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company with two others -
Computing Scale Company of America and International Time Recording
Company. The combined Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company (C-T-R)
manufactured and sold machinery ranging from commercial scales and
industrial time recorders to meat and cheese slicers, along with
tabulators and punched cards.
Based in New York City, the company had 1,300 employees and offices and
plants in Endicott and Binghamton, New York; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit,
Michigan; Washington, D.C.; and Toronto, Ontario.
When the diversified businesses of C-T-R proved difficult to manage,
Flint turned for help to the former number two executive at the National
Cash Register Company, Thomas J. Watson, Sr. In 1914, Watson, then age
40, joined the company as general manager.
Drawing upon his sales experience at NCR, Watson implemented a series of
effective business tactics: generous sales incentives, a focus on
customer service, an insistence on well-groomed, dark-suited salesmen
and an evangelical fervor for instilling company pride and loyalty in
every worker. Watson boosted company spirit with employee sports teams,
family outings and a company band. He preached a positive outlook, and
his favorite slogan, "THINK," became a mantra for C-T-R's employees.
Within 11 months of joining C-T-R, Watson became its president. The
company focused on providing large-scale, custom-built tabulating
solutions for businesses, leaving the market for small office products
to others. During Watson's first four years, revenues more than doubled
to $9 million. He also expanded the company's operations to Europe,
South America, Asia and Australia.
