Success Amid Imperfection and Opportunity

Imperfect personalities can still inspire success in building a great business. IBM's success was partly due to luck as it was saved by the increased demand caused by the Social Security Act in 1935. The Act led to a surge in demand for accounting and data processing machines, a demand that only IBM could meet due to its increased production in prior years. This stroke of luck propelled IBM's revenue from 19 million in 1934 to 31 million in 1937, laying the foundation for its future success until the 1980s.