IBM History
This is a place to remind IBMers about their heritage.

​The topics on this site vary from just tidbits of information about IBM and its employees that I "trip across" on a day-to-day basis such as the "Songs of the IBM" or they are stories resulting from months of in-depth research.

​This is research that, at times, has never been done before. These articles include the "The Story of the IBM Machine Records Units (MRUs) in World War II" or "Thomas J. Watson Sr. and the USO Camp Shows."
Modified GIF: Courtesy of National Archives
I find it amazing that so few people know how much IBM contributed to our country politically and socially as well as economically. If you use the material here, please link back to it to give the appropriate credit to this personal effort. I don't track the users of my web site, nor do I bother my fellow IBMers with advertising. If you want to contribute contact me and contribute your story, send me your IBM memorabilia, or buy and review one of my books on IBM (Yes, a shameless salesman's plug that enables me to keep this site operational and updated).
Your are here! This is the IBM history page and the location to remind IBMers about their heritage. Select from the options below to read in your area of interest.
Let's see: IBM's twenty-fifth anniversary was in 1939: IBM's fiftieth anniversary was in 1964; IBM's seventy-fifth anniversary was in 1989; and IBM's Centennial was celebrated in (?).
IBM's history of providing employee-owner benefits is a history of firsts. This is a summary of those firsts.
These pages reflect an individuality of thought that used to be representative of the IBM brand: THINK. The two items below were selected from this list: IBM Songs and the IBM Dictionary.
Song books from IBM's Past. Currently we have song books from 1931, 1937 and 1940. Many will write about these song books as evidence of IBM's culture of similarity. ​When I interviewed an old-timer he commented, "Yes, I sang from the song books. We joked about it. It didn't hurt us none." I guess IBMers over the centuries remain the same: nothing is sacred.
Unlike this guy singing alone, old IBMers sang along. If you have song books from different years use the "Contact Us" below. We would love to add them to our collection.
Pixabay image #407212 by SplitShire
These pages have nothing to do with, nor do they necessarily have the blessing of the IBM Corporation. They are the product of sometimes great genius and a wonderful sense of humor. IBMers have always prided themselves on their independence of thought and action, and having a great laugh. Hopefully some of that independent thought and action is represented here.
Be sure and check out the "IBM Jargon and General Computing Dictionary" for a good laugh. At work we really tried to have fun: we were just a bunch of "big kids."
Pixabay image #442257 by rudyanderson
​In late 2011 IBMers on LinkedIn's "The Greater IBM Connection," discussed "Who was the Greatest Chief Executive of the last century?" It was the end-of-year's hottest topic.
​A reporter asked Watson Sr. about his company's "Labor Relations." He replied, "At IBM we have Human Relations, not Labor Relations." IBM, today, is about "Human Resources."
This article covers the establishment of a new "bureau" on October 28, 1941 with Miss Sara Means at its head: The new IBM Human Relations Organization.

Read this article to understand the obligations of a Human Relations Bureau vs. a Human Resources Department: improving employee productivity through increased engagement, passion and enthusiasm.
Pixabay image #1979261 by 089photoshootings
This story has almost 70,000 reads on LinkedIn. Resource actions have never ended. Gerstner started them; Samuel J. Palmisano became addicted to them; Virginia M. Rometty, evidently, sees them as the only path to meeting her targets. For the individual, resource actions are water torture, and for a corporate social ecology they are waterboarding. When in process, they are suffocating.
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The Resource Action of January 21, 2009 was captured on paper.
Image from A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant.
Just getting started on this project. Of course, capturing all of IBM's products would be an impossible task but life is full of challenges.
Little factual research has been done on the story of IBM and World War II. Facts need to displace innuendo. IBM's War Profits was selected from this list.
Research is showing that during World War I and II many corporations kept their profits under control. There were violators, but also those who were part of the solution not part of the problem. 
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​Those that believe that Tom Watson Sr. would "do anything for money" are wrong.
Pixabay image #837376 by Artbaggage
The 20th Century IBM was recognized as one of the world's greatest practitioners of maintaining a supportive corporate environment for its employees.
Thomas J. Watson Sr., the traditional founder of IBM in 1914, has been the subject of many books. The story of the USO Camp Shows is one story.
Tom Watson Sr. did not personally build the USO Camp Shows, but he was the leader that used IBM as his "personal instrument" to get it done. I am sure that the list of IBM employees that were involved in all the transitions from the initial founding of the Friends of the 27th Division of New York to the final integration of the Citizens' Committee for the Army and Navy, Inc. into the United Services Organization (USO) were innumerable.
Pixabay image #403417 by Skeeze
Peter E. Greulich is an author, publisher and public speaker.

He has written three books on IBM and three essays on Thomas J. Watson Sr.’s leadership during the Great Depression. His latest book, Think Again!: IBM CAN Maximize Shareholder Value is a sweeping historical look at IBM and its nine chief executives. It puts a spotlight on IBM's current human resource practices in light of IBM’s time-tested, human-relationship achievements.
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Think Again! is a different perspective from Louis V. Gerstner’s Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance. Pete's thoughts are always a view from beneath—the perspective of an IBM employee-owner. IBMers with stories to share can reach Pete at IBMers @ mbiconcepts.com.