13A - Reading Reflection #1
1) Thoughts on Andrew Carnegie
- What surprised me the most about this great steel tycoon was his humble beginnings as the son of a hand loom weaver in Scotland. He later emigrated to the United States.
- I greatly admire his shrewd business dealings in the railroad and oil businesses at the beginning of his career. Such investments enabled him to have the resources to start the Carnegie Steel Corporation.
- There were hardly any negative aspects about this man, but one that the book touched on was the rebellion in his factory to low wages, which prompted his managers to deal out punishment in the form of beatings. This reflects on Andrew Carnegie as a leader, though I think it is a misconception, being that he was gone at the time.
- He most definitely encountered adversity and failure on his way to the top. At the beginning, he faced innumerable difficulties in managing to consolidate his hold on all the aspects of his business, from the mining of the ore, the shipping methods, and the procurement of his coal fields, used to fire the ore and forge the steel.
3) Nothing confused me about Andrew Carnegie. He saw how his life was, was sure of what he was capable of, and carried out his plan in an exacting, successful fashion. That is every entrepreneur's dream come true.
4) I would ask him why he felt such an overwhelming need to give millions to charity. I know it is a good thing, but the charities he chose were random. Also, I'd ask him what the buying power of $1.20 a week was!
5) I believe Andrew Carnegie was a tireless, relentless hard worker. The business empire he created speaks volume of his work ethic and can-do attitude. I absolutely share that opinion but continue to strive to work as hard as I can to achieve my many goals in life.
"There is always room at the top in every pursuit. Concentrate all your thought and energy upon the performance of your duties. Put all your eggs into one basket and then watch that basket.” ~ Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie sounds like an interesting figure to read about. I cannot imagine being beaten at work for something you did wrong, or getting paid just a $1.20 a week. Maybe he gave so much money to charity because of his guilty conscious about beating people as punishment. IT seems that back in the day hard work was a standard, because there was nothing in between. All work was hard work or no work at all. It probably took great vision and commitments from Andrew Carnegie to succeed in those times.
ReplyDeleteCarnegie was definitely a very impressive man in his time. He sounds like he really knew what ways to run his business would be most beneficial for the growth. The idea of making $1.20 a WEEK is absolutely mind-boggling. If I had the chance to ask him a question, I would also ask about what he could do with that wage like you said. Great write up Luke!
ReplyDeleteHey Luke,
ReplyDeleteWhat I definitely admire about Andrew Carnegie is also his work ethic and can-do attitude. Given the fact that he started as a mere railroad worker, it takes a different kind of person to rise up to the top and literally OWN the business. Although I didn't know this about him, I can definitely imagine the disconnect Carnegie may have had with his employees, leading to the physical punishments of the employees you mentioned earlier. Although it wasn't by him directly, he did indirectly create an environment that fostered that kind of punishment to his workers.