(3rd April, 1876 – 12th July, 1932)
The entrepreneur from Zlin of global renown who managed to turn his craft into an international business. Shoes manufactured in Zlin gained such recognition worldwide that people in the 1930s believed that the word “Batovec” was actually a nationality.
Tomas Bata was a socially responsible person and a patriot. Wherever his company was active, he developed resources to aid society, establishing amenities for towns, provision for health care, social welfare and education, and cultural and sport facilities.
The Bata company was established in 1894 by the Bata siblings - Anna, Antonin and Tomas. Over the years, the company‘s business expanded into tens of areas and between the continents. The company gradually started to export whole factories and found their own industrial towns.
His philosophy in life was to accept and overcome challenges. The entrepreneurial success he achieved was not down to good luck or chance but the result of continuous endeavour. He observed people and perceived their feelings, fears and desires. Within his commercial activities, he created opportunities for others to develop themselves. He learned that nobody gets anything for free in life. A driving force for him was the notion that possessing courage took one half way towards success, and if a man seeks to achieve something, he needs to start working.
He focused on solving problems, not on the fact that problems existed. Despite being slightly neurotic in his early life, he was an eternal optimist. His personality inspired others, mainly due to the openness he displayed. When initially setting out in business, he met with such disdain that he no longer sought the approval of others, instead finding it within himself. He was capable of talking to people from all spheres of society – from the lowest to the highest. Indeed, he did not evaluate a person based on their wealth, but on their willingness to work and their bravery. Key to him was the personality of each individual. He was not able to forgive anyone for lying, stealing and committing fraud, which represented serious character flaws in his opinion.
Tomas Bata with his wife Maria and son Tomas, in 1930 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 93, p. č. 1)
Tomas Bata with his Junkers airplane, in 1930 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 3059, p. č. 1)
Tomas Bata at his "Elka" (SOkA Zlín)
Tomas Bata and Mr. President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 1928 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 6447, p. č. 1)
In his company, Bata developed a system of management founded on common sense, only applying principles and rules which he was able to accept himself. For example, he did not address people as “employees” but as “co-workers”. In fact, he said he did not want “employees” at the company since they constituted people who “had to work”. As far as he was concerned, nothing of any consequence was obtained because somebody had to do a job, only if they wanted to do it. At the firm, he wished to have co-workers, co-entrepreneurs and people interested in making an effort - individuals responsible for both its success and failure and contributing to profit and loss (one of the company’s principles). Bata did not believe that somebody would work better and harder in order for the boss to be better off. Instead, he believed that people would endeavour more if they themselves profited from it.
From the outset, he surrounded himself with experts from specific areas, learning to cooperate and delegate competences and responsibilities for the various branches in his business to skilled co-workers. He understood that he could not build up the company alone.
Tomas Bata's office in the factory, 1932 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 288, p. č. 1)
Tomas Bata during the school visit (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 138, p. č. 4)
Tomas Bata and Hugo Vavrečka testing a new coffee machine, 1931 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 88, p. č. 2)
Tomas Bata during the May Day celebration, 1931 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 36, p. č. 5)
One word that characterizes both the man and his mission in work is “service”. According to Bata, serving meant doing anything as well as possible and taking responsibility for one’s existence. He split this philosophy of service into seven levels. The first defines service to oneself. To explain, Bata believed that a person could not offer anything they did not actually possess to society at large. He was convinced that everyone should serve themselves first and develop as an individual before going on to change the world. The other levels focused on establishing relationships with relatives, co-workers, customers, the company, the public and the world in general. For Tomas, serving required conscious development of these areas in life to the greatest extent and with the maximum intensity.
Tomas Bata had a unique ability to transform people’s thinking through acting as an example to them, feeling it was only possible to continuously educate by setting such a standard. Should the boss show signs of stagnation, then the company would cease to grow, too.
Tomas Bata during the first May Day celebration, 1924 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 2082, p. č. 2)
Karel Engliš, Marie and Tomas Bata, during a visit to Luhačovice, 1932 SOkA Zlín, o. č. 144, p. č. 2)
Tomas Bata, upon entering the factory, marked his arrival, like any other co-worker SOkA Zlín, o. č. 109, p. č. 2)
Tomas Bata during an interview for Fox audio weekly, 1931 (SOkA Zlín)
