Tycoon-ism: “A great leader never sets himself above his followers except in carrying
responsibilities.” – Jules Ormont
Nobody likes to be told what to do, more so when you tell them how to do a job that they know how to do. It’s normal for us to resent being ordered about. Even a waiter, his job being a waiter, does not appreciate it when his boss explicitly orders him to do his job. Granted, maybe the waiter is not doing his job but he will resent being ordered to do so in the first place. Aren’t humans funny in this respect? We all want independence. But sometimes we forget that with free will comes the responsibility and necessary repercussion of our actions. This is what is lacking for most of us. If we want to be able to do what we want to do then we must ensure that we are willing to pay the price. A life without a concept of responsibility is a life wasted. If you doubt this try watching spoiled children, I don’t mean children getting all they want from their parents; I’m talking about children who aren’t corrected for their little acts of selfishness. Sooner or later these same children will grow up thinking that the world owes them. And they are the people who usually complain before doing a task, never feeling grateful, always feeling empty.
He was one of the most prominent industrialist of the 1900’s. At the age of 30 he was earning $50,000 in a year. A substantial amount today even if we discounted the effects of inflation and devaluation. He was the Scottish born Andrew Carnegie. But he achieved his greatest successes when he consolidated all his efforts into the Carnegie Steel. At that time the concept of vertical integration whereby a company controlled the supply side of his manufacturing was almost unheard of. What he did was he went ahead and bought all the means of supplying his steel manufacturing including the railways needed in the delivery of the supplies. What’s more he introduced a detailed cost accounting of his processes and new and innovative ways upon which he can reduce his cost. Hence he built the most successful company of his era that survived and flourished even during the 1892 depression. In all his success he admitted and often stressed that he built his fortune on the solid foundation of his managers like Captain Bill Jones, Henry Clay Frick and even his brother Thomas M. Carnegie. He knew that the founding of an empire is dependent on good generals and administrators.
