1) The fact that Andrew Carnegie was only 5 feet tall but he was
also known for his kind character are both very surprising facts to me. There is
definitely a stereotype that short people and rich people aren’t always the
nicest but in his case, neither of these correctly identified the type of
person he was. Like I discussed in the previous point, Carnegie was actually
known for how nice of a man he was and I really admire that about him. Although
he was a fierce businessman, he never lost sight of what was really important
and that is having good character. Carnegie was an extremely intense business
man and was willing to do anything to succeed and this led to some poor
choices. The one that stuck out to me the most was when he made Henry Clay
Frick deal with the Homestead strike on his own and therefore dealing with the repercussions
from his actions for the rest of his life.
2) Carnegie was extremely innovative and persistent throughout
his lifetime. He was great at finding unfulfilled needs in America and jumped
at the opportunity to fill the void. Even when markets fell, he took it as a
chance to grow by buying struggling companies, rather than struggling himself.
3) The parts in the book when they discussed stocks and general
market trends were confusing to me since I do not have any background knowledge
in that sort of thing.
4) What would be your best advice to an aspiring entrepreneur?
How did you not let the fact that you had so much money go to your head? I
would ask these questions one for myself so that I could attempt to learn from
one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history and two, so that I knew
what it meant to be a good person regardless of what you go through in your
life and how to achieve such a feat.
5) I think Carnegie would think that the definition of hard work
is to do whatever needs to be done to succeed. I agree with this definition to
an extent but not when it means hurting those that have helped you get where
you are today unlike how he treated Henry Clay Frick.
Hi Leah!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about Carnegie! I had learned quite a bit about him as a historical figure throughout high school, but it was great to read about him from an entrepreneurial perspective and dig deeper into the reasons behind his success. I agree some of his work can be confusing when we're not as familiar with his industry, but his achievements were still incredible.
Hey Leah !
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post on Carnegie because I had never learned about his previously. It was reassuring for me to learn that although he was a great business man, he stayed down to earth and focused on his character. As I start my own journey in to the business world I never want to lose sight of who I am and how I treat other people. I did not like learning about his willingness to do whatever it takes to be successful though. There are always ethical guidelines to follow, and knowing what not to do as a good human being.