Content Synopsis:
Charles Schwab wrote a very small book that became a classic shortly after it was first published in 1920. In this book, a rags-to-riches man actually tells his fellow man how it’s done.
It begins by instructing people to think beyond their work. He gives examples from his own experience in the United States steel industry of men who wanted to become more than a wage earner, worked hard, and used the other principles described in this little book.
He first advises the value of hard and honest work. He then talks about giving a more than fair service in exchange for payment. Then he teaches the men to continually think about how the business could be improved and to communicate those ideas in small ways.
Next is a chapter on how men are evaluated at work, how to seize opportunities, the relative value of a college education, what employers expect, how you view your employees as partners, the men you’ve worked with, and the role of women in a man’s success. .
Some of this material, especially the last chapter, is very outdated and possibly of little use today. However, much of what is written here is still as true today as it was in 1920. Hard work, dedication to your goals, going the extra mile, keeping a good and positive attitude, making a difference, are still vital steps to success in business or in life.
Readability/Writing Quality:
For a book written in the 1920s, it’s surprisingly readable. In part, this is due to its small size, a paperback edition at just 55 pages that most could easily read in a single night. The chapters are quite short and well written. Quotes you want to emphasize are in bold.
Notes on the author:
Charles Schwab was a remarkable man. He started out as a bookmaker, a minimally paid hourly wage earner at Andrew Carnegie’s steel mills. He had little education and came from poor roots.
However, Carnegie took notice of him for his charming personality, incredibly positive attitude, great work ethic, and willingness to please. He was just the type of young man that Carnegie sought to mold into executive material. Schwab did not disappoint, eventually becoming the boss of Carnegie and the first corporate president to earn $1 million a year in compensation.
Through his wit, intelligence, charm, and hard work, he engineered the purchase of Carnegie Steel and the creation of US Steel. He later became the first president of US Steel and shortly thereafter the president of Bethlehem Steel. He was known as a master motivator of men and was referred to by Thomas Edison as a master con man.
Sadly, despite a meteoric rise to incredible wealth and power, Schwab met a very poor end. In the 1920s, after writing this book, he squandered much of his wealth on gambling, spending, and carousing. He seemed to lose sight of his own roots and senses and became wasteful. He eventually found himself in trouble and then the stock market crash of 1929 left him destitute.
In 1939 he died a poor man, deeply in debt, living on loans in a small London flat. At his death, he owned a large amount of Bethlehem Steel stock, which during the depression was worth next to nothing. However, just a couple of years later, he became very valuable due to the rise of the steel industry during the war.
Despite his sad ending, Schwab had shown very clearly in his younger years how to be successful and how to rise from rags to riches.
Three great ideas that you can use:
1. Successful men are not natural prodigies. They gain by using normal brains to think beyond their manifest daily duty. The look beyond the work of the day and the meal of the day.
2. The true test of business greatness is giving opportunities to others. Many fail in business because they only think of their own personal gain and glory.
3. Personality is a key asset. If you have it, take care of it. If you don’t, cultivate it.
Release Information:
Succeed With What You Have by Charles M. Schwab
This book is not copyrighted; however, it is published in booklet form by Executive Books, costs less than $2, copyright 2005 Executive Books, Mechanicsburg, PA.
General rating:fair, >GoodWell done! Excellent