Captains of Industry (ep43) John Henry Patterson

John Henry Patterson (December 13, 1844 – May 7, 1922) was an industrialist and founder of the National Cash Register Company. He was a businessperson and salesperson. He headed relief efforts after the 1913 Dayton flood, and successfully promoted the city manager form of government.

NCR and IBM
Patterson was famous for firing Thomas Watson Sr,[3] who went on to become General Manager, then President, of CTR, later renamed IBM. So many prominent businessmen were trained and fired by Patterson that some business historians regarded experience at NCR as the rough equivalent of an MBA degree.

Patterson was also famous for firing many people on rather trivial grounds, for example, if they could not tell him why the flags happened to be flying that day. Charles F. Kettering was hired and fired at NCR multiple times; once for failing at an equestrian event.

Reportedly, Patterson fired him with the remark: "Anybody who can't handle a horse can't handle men."