1774268760
Andrew Carnegie and John Charles Van Dyke
Notes
…a success not to be attributed to what I have known or done myself, but to the faculty of knowing and choosing others who did know better than myself. Precious knowledge this for any man to possess. I did not understand steam machinery, but I tried to understand that much more complicated piece of mechanism—man…The best men as men, and the best workmen, are not walking the streets looking for work. Only the inferior class as a rule is idle. The kind of men we desired are rarely allowed to lose their jobs, even in dull times.
He asked me how soon I could come, and I said that I could stay now if wanted. And, looking back over the circumstance, I think that answer might well be pondered by young men. It is a great mistake not to seize the opportunity…If you want a contract, be on the spot when it is let….And if possible stay on hand until you can take the written contract home in your pocket.
My two rules for speaking then (and now) were: Make yourself perfectly at home before your audience, and simply talk to them, not at them. Do not try to be somebody else; be your own self and talk, never “orate” until you can’t help it.
The battle of life is already half won by the young man who is brought personally in contact with high officials; and the great aim of every boy should be to do something beyond the sphere of his duties—something which attracts the attention of those over him.
Our air castles are often within our grasp late in life, but then they charm not.
This policy is the true secret of success. Uphill work it will be for a few years until your work is proven, but after that it is smooth sailing.
A high standard of excellence is easily maintained, and men are educated in the effort to reach excellence. I have never known a concern to make a decided success that did not do good, honest work, and even in these days of the fiercest competition, when everything would seem to be matter of price, there lies still at the root of great business success the very much more important factor of quality. The effect of attention to quality, upon every man in the service, from the president of the concern down to the humblest laborer, cannot be overestimated. And bearing on the same question, clean, fine workshops and tools, well-kept yards and surroundings are of much greater importance than is usually supposed.
I was determined to make a fortune and I saw no means of doing this honestly at any salary the railroad company could afford to give, and I would not do it by indirection. When I lay down at night I was going to get a verdict of approval from the highest of all tribunals, the judge within.
…determined that the proper policy was “to put all good eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.”…have rarely if ever met a man who achieved preëminence in money-making — certainly never one in manufacturing — who was interested in many concerns. The men who have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it…My advice to young men would be not only to concentrate their whole time and attention on the one business in life in which they engage, but to put every dollar of their capital into it.
Upon no account could two men be in the same works with equal authority.
As with most autobiographies, this is a biased, filtered account of the man and his opinions – a PR piece. Still, I appreciate autobiographies for the “do as I say, not as I do” wisdom. Be aware of the discrepancies between the thoughts and the actions of influential people.