Andrew Carnegie, David Nasaw
It really surprised me that Andrew Carnegie was 5' tall and 109 pounds. Apparently, he went to great lengths to overcompensate for this in the way he styled his appearance and reputation and in the way he conducted himself in business.
Andrew Carnegie came from a poor family and through hard work and perseverance became wildly successful.
I found his least redeeming quality to be that he lied repeatedly in his autobiography and frequently pursued unethical but profitable ventures.
Carnegie was born to a quite poor family in Scotland. His mother had to scrounge and save to enable them to come to America for a better life. He worked exceedingly hard, lived frugally, and invested his earnings in many different ventures until one made it.
He was supremely competent. His willingness to work and tenacity eventually led him to become one of the richest men of his time.
I found it confusing that David Nasaw thought that when he died, no one took him as seriously as he took himself. Although I'm sure he was overboard, I'd imagine many people of his time still held him in high regard.
I would ask him how he evaluated the value of a deal and how he found and managed his upper level staff. I think both of these answers would be directly valuable in today's business landscape.
It's certain that his opinion of hard work is that it is necessary and admirable but not enough to achieve success. I agree, many people work hard their whole lives and just get by. Timing and placement often makes all the difference.
Cory,
ReplyDeleteAndrew Carnegie was undoubtedly one of the most influential people in recent history. I can’t say I’m surprised by how seriously he reportedly took himself. I think his opinion on hard work is certainly warranted, and I feel like you did a good job highlighting that. I too feel that it’s impressive to hear about how successful he was coming from the upbringing and circumstances he had.
Great job!
-Nolan
Hi Cory,
ReplyDeleteSome of these things about Andrew Carnegie are surprising to me. I have heard of Andrew Carnegie but did not know much about him. It is very interesting how he was so small. I agree that lying in your own bibliography is not a redeeming quality. I enjoyed reading your post and keep up the great work!
Hi Cory,
ReplyDeleteA lot of this information about Andrew Carnegie surprised me. I did not know how short he was nor that he was an unethical man. I also loved the question you would ask him because that would give you insight of how he ran his business and how he became so successful. Great work!