6 Pieces of Timeless Business Advice From Ford, Hamilton, Rockefeller and More
Here's what entrepreneurs can learn from some of the wealthiest and most successful individuals of their time.
In the 2015 musical Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton is championed
for furthering his career “by working a lot harder, by being a lot
smarter, by being a self-starter.” In a 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live, Benjamin Franklin is featured as a fictional guest at the very first Thanksgiving. And in the 2018 Netflix original Set It Up, one character assesses his
finances at an upscale restaurant: “I’m no Rockefeller.”
There’s
a reason why these historical powerhouses are still regularly mentioned
in theater, television and film hundreds of years after their time:
They were legends when it comes to wealth, philanthropy and business.
Whether you’re a top-level CEO looking for advice from the greats or a
first-time entrepreneur seeking motivation and inspiration, here are six
iconic figures and some of their best business advice.
Alexander Hamilton
“My
ambition is prevalent, so that I contemn the grovelling condition of a
clerk or the like, to which my fortune condemns me, and would willingly
risk my life, though not my character, to exalt my station … I mean to
prepare the way for futurity.”
-- Alexander Hamilton in a 1769 letter
Hamilton
was born poor on an island in the Caribbean, and he wrote this letter
at age 12, dreaming of something bigger for himself and his career. By
17, when a hurricane devastated his home, the orphan -- who was then
working as a clerk -- wrote an account of the disaster in the local
newspaper. Local merchants recognized his skill and took up a collection
to send him to North America for schooling. Hamilton would go on to
become a founding father and champion the United States economic system,
but it all started with big dreams and almost incomparable
determination. Hamilton visualized himself “prepar[ing] the way for
futurity,” and that type of steely resolve is invaluable in any venture.
Benjamin Franklin
“[I]
retain[ed] only the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest
diffidence, never using, when I advanced any thing that may possibly be
disputed, the words ‘certainly,’ ‘undoubtedly’ or any others that give
the air of positiveness to an opinion; but rather say, ‘I conceive or
apprehend a thing to be so and so’; ‘it appears to me,’ or ‘I should
think it so and so, for such and such reasons’; or ‘I imagine it to be
so’; or ‘it is so, if I am not mistaken.’ This habit, I believe, has
been of great advantage to me.”
-- Benjamin Franklin in his 1789 autobiography
Franklin, one of the country’s founding fathers and author of The Way to Wealth,
was also an esteemed inventor, as he's widely regarded as the father of
electricity. He attributes much of his success to the fact that he was
always a voracious reader, so hungry for knowledge that he would often
stay up with new books late into the night. He also loved to debate, and
it’s why he adopted the habit of never using absolute terms unless he
was describing something he knew absolutely to be true -- instead, he
favored phrases such as “it appears,” “I should think,” “I imagine” and
“if I am not mistaken.” Franklin said it’s important to speak in such a
way; otherwise, if you speak with absoluteness and are wrong, others
likely won’t correct you -- meaning you will not learn. This
intentionality of language is vital for any prominent figure in
business, especially in meetings, statements and interviews. Speaking
with caveats is widely seen as a sign of intelligence, as few things in
life are truly certain.
Andrew Carnegie
“We assemble
thousands of operatives in the factory, and in the mine, of whom the
employer can know little or nothing and to whom he is little better than
a myth. All intercourse between them is at an end. Rigid castes are
formed, and, as usual, mutual ignorance breeds mutual distrust. Each
caste is without sympathy with the other and ready to credit anything
disparaging in regard to it … Often there is friction between the
employer and the employed, between capital and labor, between rich and
poor.”
-- Andrew Carnegie in his 1889 book
In The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie laid out why he would be
donating the bulk of his earnings -- about $350 million in 1889 dollars
-- to universities, libraries and other organizations. But in this
passage, the steel magnate, business leader and philanthropist addresses
the dark side of capitalism. Although Carnegie goes on to say he
believes the benefits of competition outweigh the negatives, he admits
that the disconnect it can create between employer and employees -- and
between the wealthy and the working class -- is significant. Any
successful executive would do well to note this and use their influence
to turn the idea on its head, staying relatively accessible to both
employees and customers.
John D. Rockefeller
“Criticism
which is deliberate, sober and fair is always valuable, and it should
be welcomed by all who desire progress. I have had at least my full
share of adverse criticism, but I can truly say that it has not
embittered me nor left me with any harsh feeling against a living soul.
Nor do I wish to be critical of those whose conscientious judgment,
frankly expressed, differs from my own. No matter how noisy the
pessimists may be, we know that the world is getting better steadily and
rapidly, and that is a good thing to remember in our moments of
depression or humiliation.”
-- John D. Rockefeller in his 1909 book
Rockefeller was an oil magnate, prominent businessman and
philanthropist, and one lasting part of his legacy was his status as one
of the wealthiest men in history and America’s first billionaire. In
1918, he was worth $1.2 billion, but that would amount to $21 billion in
2017 dollars. But Rockefeller didn’t build his legendary Standard Oil
worrying about naysayers. He took measured criticism into account and
used it to propel himself towards his goals, but he strived never to let
“adverse criticism” drain him of his time or energy. Any business
leader would do well to listen to every piece of advice without letting
it sidetrack them from their ultimate goals -- in other words, take
others’ advice with a “grain of salt.”
Madam C.J. Walker
“I
am a woman that came from the cotton fields of the south. I was
promoted from there to the washtub. Then I was promoted to the cook
kitchen, and from there I promoted myself into the business of
manufacturing hair goods and preparations … I have built my own factory
on my own ground.”
-- Madam C.J. Walker in a 1912 speech
Widely
regarded to be the country’s first female self-made millionaire, Madam
C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) made her fortune by way of a
successful line of hair care products marketed towards black women. The
hair care system she developed -- which utilized a combination of
lotions and the use of iron combs -- would later be deemed the “Walker
system,” and her talent for self-promotion garnered loyalty from both
her customers and the thousands of door-to-door saleswomen she trained.
But Walker’s origins -- as the first child born free to parents who were
both recently freed slaves -- meant she had to work much harder to
build her business than her contemporaries, and she started with just
$1.50 in cash capital. “The girls and women of our race must not be
afraid to take hold of business endeavor and, by patient industry, close
economy, determined effort and close application to business, wring
success out of a number of business opportunities that lie at their very
doors,” she said in the same speech.
Henry Ford
“Power
and machinery, money and goods, are useful only as they set us free to
live. They are but means to an end. For instance, I do not consider the
machines which bear my name simply as machines. If that was all there
was to it I would do something else. I take them as concrete evidence of
the working out of a theory of business which I hope is something more
than a theory of business -- a theory that looks toward making this
world a better place in which to live.”
-- Henry Ford in his 1922 book
Ford
was a business magnate, mass production innovator and founder of Ford
Motor Company. His Model T Ford is widely regarded as having brought
affordable automobiles to the everyday consumer, as 15 million
were sold between 1908 and 1927. While Ford enjoyed notable wealth --
his 1918 fortune of $100 million would equal $1.8 billion today -- he
felt it vital to impart that money is only a means to freedom and,
outside of that purpose, it means nothing. He felt similarly about
business in general -- that any venture should ultimately be about
making the world a “better place in which to live.” Adopting that very
value could help propel the long-term success of any business leader.
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire