Patterson was famous for firing Thomas Watson Sr , 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 ca n't handle a horse ca n't handle men . " In 1912 , NCR was found guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act . Patterson , Watson and 26 other NCR executives and managers were convicted of illegal anti-competitive sales practices and were sentenced to one year of imprisonment . Their convictions were unpopular with the public due to the efforts of Patterson and Watson to help those affected by the Dayton , Ohio floods of 1913 , but efforts to have them pardoned by President Woodrow Wilson were unsuccessful . However , their convictions were overturned on appeal in 1915 on the grounds that important defense evidence should have been admitted
Dayton , Ohio floods of 1913
Great Dayton Flood
John Henry Patterson (NCR owner)