A $10 Million Education

When Tom Watson Jr. was chief executive of IBM in the early 1960s, he summoned an executive to his office after the man lost $10 million in a venture. Watson asked the man, “Do you know why I called you here?” Knowing of Watson’s legendary temper, the man replied: “I assume you’re going to fire me.”
“Fire you?” Watson asked. “I spent $10 million educating you. I just want to be sure you learned the right lessons.”