At the January 1931 annual convention for the exclusive Hundred Percent Club, created to reward IBMers who had reached their annual sales quota, first CEO Thomas Watson Sr. offered a surprising directive for his company’s top performers. “I want all of you to resolve to stand for something big and fine outside of your business life,” he urged.
It was a simple yet profound request that would guide not only the select group before him but also hundreds of thousands of employees to come. In keeping with his resolve for IBM to be a good corporate citizen and to make the world a better place, Watson’s instruction has evolved into a persistent calling for IBMers to give of themselves to colleagues, to their communities, and to the stewardship of our planet.
IBMers have followed the charge to all corners of the globe, providing expertise, services and aid. They have participated in robust volunteer programs, including the Corporate Service Corps (now IBM Service Corps), which was established to harness the high-value technological skills of scientists, engineers and business leaders to spur economic development in emerging economies. They have staged corporate-wide events to give back to communities, including the Celebration of Service during IBM’s centennial year, when more than 300,000 employees from 120 countries donated their time, skills and passions to more than 5,000 projects.
At IBM, volunteerism is more than altruism. It’s an investment that pays dividends in the form of employee satisfaction and loyalty, growth in leadership skills, and community health. And beyond the formal programs, employees also consistently demonstrate compassion in times of crisis. With hundreds of thousands of employees spread across 170 countries, IBMers are invariably nearby wherever disaster strikes. They always seem to answer the call, whether that means setting up communications systems, developing disaster-relief protocols, tracking disease spread, or even simply handing out blankets and water during earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires and pandemics.
Beyond having a positive impact in communities, IBM’s ESG goals include making a positive impact on the world in business ethics and our environment. The company has a long history of environmental leadership. It was among the first companies to issue an environmental policy and has consistently led regulatory directives to create better pathways to conserve natural resources, reduce pollution and minimize climate-related risks. In the realm of corporate governance, it has also consistently been at the forefront of creating policies and practices that prioritize ethics, trust, transparency and accountability.
In the following stories, you’ll see numerous organized and ad hoc examples of how IBM and IBMers follow the original directive of the first CEO, who believed deeply that IBM should exist to make the world a better place.