Think (slogan)

History

The "THINK" slogan was first used by Thomas J. Watson in December 1911, while managing the sales and advertising departments at the National Cash Register Company. At an uninspiring sales meeting, Watson interrupted, saying "The trouble with every one of us is that we don't think enough. We don't get paid for working with our feetwe get paid for working with our heads". Watson then wrote THINK on the easel.

Asked later what he meant by the slogan, Watson replied, "By THINK I mean take everything into consideration. I refuse to make the sign more specific. If a man just sees THINK, he'll find out what I mean. We're not interested in a logic course."

In 1914, Watson took the slogan with him to the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and its subsidiaries, all of which later became IBM.{{cite thesis |type= Ph.D. |last= Engelbourg |first= Saul

Since 2018, IBM's main conference is called IBM Think.

The Apple slogan "Think different," meaning "Think differently", first used in 1997, has been widely taken as a response to IBM's THINK.

File:Think signs in several languages.em.jpg|THINK signs in several languages File:IBM 403 Accounting Machine.jpg|IBM THINK sign at a punched card data processing facility using IBM equipment, File:THINK at Lincoln Center by IBM.jpg|IBM Think-themed exhibit at Lincoln Center in 2011 File:IBM Poughkeepsie Think Path.JPG|A walking path at the IBM Poughkeepsie site, with the word "THINK" File:IBM Think D100 Test.jpg|IBM Think sign

References

References

1. (1999). "Random House Webster's College Dictionary". Random House.
2. Belden, Thomas. (1962). "The Lengthening Shadow: The Life of Thomas J. Watson". Little, Brown and Company.
3. Belden (1962) p.158
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050426021512/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/attic2/attic2_207.html IBM Archives: THINK Sign]
5. Maney, Kevin (2003). ''The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson Sr., and the Making of IBM''. Wiley. {{ISBN. 0-471-41463-8.
6. Tedlow, Richard S. (2003). ''The Watson Dynasty''. Harper Business. {{ISBN. 0-06-001405-9.
7. Aswad, Ed. (2005). "IBM in Endicott". Arcadia.
8. (1957). "The Will to THINK: A Treasury of Ideas and Ideals from the Pages of '''THINK'''". Farrar, Straus and Cudahy.
9. [http://www.ibm.com/ibm100/us/en/thinkexhibit/ Think Exhibit]
10. (2017-11-01). "Introducing THINK 2018".
11. (2009). "Brands and Branding". Bloomberg Press.
12. (2005). "Advertising Strategy: Creative Tactics from the Outside/In". Sage Publications, Inc.
13. Sull, Donald Norman. (2003). "Revival of the Fittest: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Managers Remake Them". Harvard Business Review Press.