Bill Gates once said, "My money-making hero has only one name, and that is Rockefeller." ”
John Rockefeller (July 1839 – May 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist who was the world's first billionaire, founding Standard Oil in 1870 and monopolizing more than 90 percent of the U.S. refining and transportation capacity, as well as 25 percent of crude oil extraction. "Some people have calculated that his wealth would be equivalent to $500 billion if put into the present, which would equal five Bill Gates.
As the old saying goes: rich and noble, rich but not three. However, his family has lasted for six generations since its inception, and there is still no sign of decadence and decline. The reason why the descendants of the Rockefeller family can continue the glory and success of the family to this day, what kind of wisdom wealth has the oil king left to his descendants?
"Rockefeller's 38 Letters to His Son" deeply interprets the mystery.
1 The starting point does not determine the ending point
If you compare this world to a mountain, when your parents live on the top of the mountain, you are doomed not to live at the foot of the mountain; and when your parents live at the foot of the mountain, you are doomed not to live on the top of the mountain. In most cases, the position of the parent determines the starting point of their child's life.
Of course, this is not to say that the starting point determines the outcome. In this world, there will never be a hereditary theory of being poor and rich, nor will there ever be a hereditary theory of success or failure. Our destiny is determined by our actions, not entirely by our origins. Privileged and powerless people are rubbish, educated and unaffected people are a pile of worthless rubbish.
Historically, both in politics and business, there have been many examples of self-made people, who have had few opportunities because of poverty, but they have all achieved fame because of their struggles.
When Rockefeller was a child, his family was very poor, even the books he used when he first went to middle school were bought with the help of kind neighbors, and when he began working, he was only a bookkeeper with a weekly salary of only 5 yuan, but through unremitting struggle, he established an enviable oil king.
However, the family's history of glory and success does not guarantee that the future of its children and grandchildren will be good. More valuable than wealth is character, which will help you lay a good future and will help you have a successful and fulfilling life.
Life is like a marathon, what kind of character do you need to have to make the person who loses at the starting line finally win at the finish line?
- Diligence
Wealth is really just an added bonus to hard work. Diligence can also cultivate people's willpower and shape people's character.
—John A. Rockefeller
All honor and honor must be obtained by their own creation, so that honor and honor can last.
Most of us are like Rockefeller, unable to get enough resources from our parents, and there is no other way but to succeed through hard work and earn wealth and dignity.
At the age of ten, Rockefeller knew to do as much work as he could, chopping wood, milking cows, fetching water, farming, and doing everything. It was the hard and hard years in the countryside that honed Rockefeller's will and enabled him to withstand the hardships of starting a business in the future; he became more stoic and had extraordinary perseverance.
When Rockefeller was employed by Hewitt Tuttle, he gained a reputation as an exceptionally capable young bookkeeper. In those days, it can be said that the stars wear the moon all day long, night and day. At that time, the employer said, "You will succeed, with your extraordinary perseverance." ”
Sowing and harvesting are not in the same season, there is a period of time in between, and during this time we have to be diligent.
- Adventure
No matter what we do, or even important decisions in life, we must choose between risk and caution. And sometimes the chances of winning by taking risks are much greater than being cautious.
Before becoming the "oil king", Rockefeller's bank was selling agricultural products on behalf of the company, and it was fully expected to become a big middleman if it continued. But all this changed the name of Mr. Andrews, an expert in lighting, who said, "John, kerosene burns brighter than any other lighting oil, and it will surely replace other lighting oils." Think about it, John, what a big market that would be, what a scenario it would be! ”
Rockefeller was moved, and a tycoon who would subvert the oil industry quietly stepped onto the stage of history! In less than half a year, it earned more profits than agricultural products. At that moment, Rockefeller realized that it was guts, it was the spirit of adventure that opened a new way for him to make money.
At that time, no industry could become rich overnight as the oil industry, so Rockefeller advocated a large expansion, which was contrary to the cautiousness advocated by partner Carla, and in order to win the initiative of the company, the two finally decided to bid the company out, and at the auction, Rockefeller won back the company for 72,500 yuan like a gambler gambling in the casino.
It turns out that risk-taking is the opportunity, life is always not advancing or retreating, it is impossible to always maintain a state. Prudence is never the way to success.
To win, you must understand the value of risk, and you must have your own vision to create luck. Plan boldly and implement carefully.
- Don't give up
Edison once said, "Our greatest weakness is to give up." The inevitable path to success is to keep repeating itself. ”
Lincoln was the embodiment of indomitable and undeterred by difficulties. He was born destitute and was driven out of his homeland. His first business failed, and the second time he failed even worse, so that it took more than a decade for him to pay off his debts. His path to politics was equally bumpy, with his first run for state legislature being defeated and he lost his job. Fortunately, his second campaign was successful. But then came the bitter loss of a loved one's defeat in the run for a state senatorial spokesman that awaited him. However, he was still not discouraged, and he lost six times in the future elections, but after each defeat he continued to strive to go upstream until he was elected president of the United States.
One failure doesn't mean anything, and it doesn't put a useless label on your brain. In this world, everyone does not have a smooth life, on the contrary, they always have to live next to failure. Treat failure as a glass of spirits, swallow bitterness, but spit out spirit.
A reporter once satirized Edison, saying that he had failed more than ten thousand times in his invention, and Edison replied: "I have not failed more than ten thousand times, but I have invented ten thousand methods that do not work." ”
No one can crush you unless you give up on your own.
2 Management team is to manage people's hearts
Everyone has a true nature to be loyal to themselves, and they aspire to be the people they want to be, and the way they achieve loyalty to themselves is to do what they like to do, unfortunately, many managers do not treat employees with loyalty to their own demands, and the result is half the work. So how do you become a good manager?
- Make good use of everyone's wisdom
The person who creates the most value is the one who is completely engaged in his favorite activity. If employees do not devote their time to the things they love, they can never feel self-satisfaction; if they do not get self-satisfaction, they will lose the enthusiasm for life; if they lose the enthusiasm for life, they will lose the motivation to live. Expecting a person who has lost motivation to do a good job task is like expecting a stalled alarm clock to accurately tell the time, which is ridiculous.
A good manager should not tap the weaknesses of his subordinates, but pay attention to the strengths and talents of his subordinates, and let these advantages be fully utilized.
Mr. Archibald was an alcoholic, and Rockefeller, though a prohibitionist, still reused him. Because of his quick wit, optimism and humor, outstanding eloquence and bold and aggressive personality, he was a guarantee of victory in fierce competition, and he continued to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities until he was promoted to replace Rockefeller.
One person cannot dominate a collective. Managers play a vital role, but the power of the collective should not be underestimated. The strengths of individuals in the collective can be excavated and fully utilized, so that they can believe in and expect miracles to occur.
- Put employees first
Employees are not profit-making machines, but flesh and blood and emotional people, the management of employees can not use cold principles, more importantly, with the heart to respect, love and care for them.
If there is no people, how can the son of heaven come, if there is no society, how can the lord come, if there is no employee, how will the boss come, and how will the enterprise come. Employees are the key to the operation of the enterprise, only give full play to the role of each employee, so that employees do a good job in the scope of responsibilities of the task, do not cut corners, do not passively slacken off, do not want to be anxious to establish an enterprise in an invincible position.
How can we make employees die? Salaries and bonuses are absolutely quite tempting, and material wealth is definitely the source of one's struggle. For some, however, money does not motivate them to serve, but must be motivated and valued so that employees can see that following or allegiance is promising and promising. As a manager, be kind, warm, considerate, and learn to praise, so that employees can be energetic and morale high.
You feed your employees, and your customers eat grass, and your customers are a flock of sheep; you feed your employees meat, and your customers eat meat, and your customers are a pack of wolves.
- Build friendships with business partners
Rockefeller attributed his success to three points: the first came from acting according to the rules, which allowed the business to operate sustainably; the second came from the ruthless competition, which would make every competition more perfect; and the third came from cooperation, which allowed me to gain benefits and benefits in cooperation.
At any time, anywhere, as long as there is competition, no one can fight alone, unless he wants to find his own death, and smart people will form cooperative relations with others, including competitors, and make themselves exist or become strong under the pretense of others.
If Rockefeller had not worked with Mr. Morgan, the two of them could have lost the sandpiper, and their opponent, Mr. Carnegie, would have profited from it, allowing him to continue his momentum in the steel industry.
Cooperation can suppress the opponent or let the opponent out of the game, to achieve their goal of striding forward like the goal, in exchange for victory. Friendships based on business are far better than businesses based on friendship, when friends can not only motivate each other and strengthen their determination, but also be co-conspirators in the pursuit of interests, and the purpose of cooperation is to gain benefits and benefits.
The rockefeller and Mr. Morgan handshake has been called the greatest in U.S. economic history because it marked "the voyage of a super battleship built by Wall Street tycoons and oil tycoons, and it will be unstoppable and unsinkable."
Do you know why? That's the power of collaboration.
03 Strategize and win a thousand miles
- Always think strategically
Mr. Hamilton tells the story of a fisherman and angler who wants to catch the fish they want. Anglers think about what kind of bait the fish uses before fishing, then throw the parabola and wait for the fish to be hooked, while the fisherman opens his net to catch the fish. So who has the better odds? The answer is the fisherman. Anglers may catch fish in a little time, but they may not necessarily catch the fish they want; while fishermen expand their range, the abundance of fish will increase the chances of choice, and eventually catch the fish they want.
The story, though simple, conveys the secret of a strategy: don't be a stubborn, step-by-step, simple angler who solves problems, but be a fisherman who can create multiple options until you pick out the most commercial benefits.
Strategic thinking requires refraining from the urge to find simple, one-way solutions, a willingness to try out all the possible ways to achieve a goal, the patience, courage, and boldness to act in the face of difficulties, and the dedication to never give up if you don't achieve your goal.
Outstanding leaders should have the mindset to deal with specific business conditions, a flexible plan to create new markets, tips for dealing with crises, and a blueprint for developing a career for themselves and their employees.
- Patience is strategy
For a person with great ambitions, maintaining the necessary submission and patience is precisely a tried and tested strategy for success.
Patience is not blind tolerance, you need to consider the situation calmly, knowing that your patience will help you get closer to your goal. At the beginning of Rockefeller's business, Due to lack of funds, Mr. Gardner joined the company with funds, but he wanted to rename Clark Rockefeller Company Clark Gardner Company, and the reason for erasing Rockefeller's surname from the company name was that Rockefeller was born poor. Although Rockefeller felt humiliated and angry in his heart at this time, his face was light, because he knew that the unity of this moment could form a synergy, so that their careers would grow, and his own strength and interests would also grow.
Impulse is our worst enemy at all times. If patience can resolve conflicts that shouldn't be happening, it's always worth it! Patience is not a matter of swallowing anger, nor is it condescending, patience is a strategy, but also a character tempering, breeding a competitive spirit.
The biggest fight back against the person who humiliates you is to overtake him.
The only thing you can do when you are patient is to work hard to improve yourself, tirelessly devote yourself to your work, and change the status of the weak.
04 Epilogue
I cannot bury my beloved children with wealth and foolishly make you incompetent people who do not want to make progress and only know how to rely on the fruits of your parents.
The wheels of history roll forward, and the torrent of the times is mighty. Lin Zexu, the hero of Humen who sold cigarettes, once said: "If my descendants are like me, what will I do with the money left for him?" Virtuous and rich, it will destroy his ambitions, and if the descendants are inferior to me, what will they do with the money? Being stupid and having a lot of wealth will increase his fault! ”
Rockefeller was not only a great rich man, but also a great father. He did not want his children and grandchildren to become incompetent dependent on his fathers, and the 38 letters to his son spanned a 46-year timeline: he was 51 when the first letter in 1890, and he was 97 when he last in 1936 (the year before his death). 38 letters, 140,000 words, this is a high degree of condensation of Rockefeller's 98 years of glory, the wisdom of life and the way to success, but also for future generations of sincere teaching and ardent expectations!