Succeeding with What You Have

by Charles Schwab

This candid essay by one of the nation's leading businessmen originally appeared in American Magazine in November 1916. In it, Charles Schwab, one-time president of Carnegie Steel, U.S. Steel, and Bethlehem Steel, offered his secrets for success. Surprisingly, he didn't believe that genius was required -- he believed in hard work. For thirty-six years I have been moving among workingmen in what is now the biggest branch of American industry, the steel business, Schwab wrote. In that time it has been my good fortune to watch most of the present leaders rise from the ranks, ascend step by step to places of power. These men, I am convinced, are not natural prodigies. They won out by using normal brains to think beyond their manifest daily duty. Thanks to his appreciation of devoted workers, Schwab placed the ability to succeed in any employee's hands. More of Schwab's surprising insights are contained in this fascinating look at the path to success, written by one who traveled it. CHARLES M. SCHWAB (1862-1939) joined Carnegie Steel in 1879 and became president when he was 35, working closely with Andrew Carnegie. He sold the company to J.P. Morgan, and became president of Morgan's new corporation, U.S. Steel. Schwab later ran Bethlehem Steel, a company known for its efficiency and competitiveness. During World War I, Schwab became Director-General of the Emergency Fleet Corporation for the U.S. government.

Genres: Biography

Hardcover

First published October 28, 2005

Reviews

[Darian Onaciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although my version of the book has 54 pages, this should be considered at most an essay because of its palm-sized format and large letters.

It praises hard work above all else as the key to success but the premise is you should do it harder than anyone else and only after you've achieved success (money) you can dedicate your time to other activities.
Put into context: late 1800 - early 1900 in the manufacturing business this approach makes sense.
However if you apply a bit of logic to it: the bar of working hard is always compared to the peers and if they start working harder you will work harder and so on, until a threshold is reached which becomes the new standard so that if everyone works super hard in your group but the comparison is still intra-group, all are just working according to the expected standard.

In no way am I trying to discredit hard work - I also believe that being fully dedicated to what you do can bring happiness if you enjoy what you're doing and the more positive reinforcement you get for performing the better you get and the more you'll like it. I'm just saying that in today's context there are more variables to take into consideration as life grew more complex.

I liked the 'book' as it provides a short glimpse into USA's past and reflects the views of the era along with several nuggets of useful info.

[M.Mujtaba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by experienced of a man who shows the importance of being polite, hard working, giving loyalty to your employer, respecting your senior, behaving rightly towards employees... I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Daniel Wolfert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small gem that I am always glad to see on my shelf. It is great for perspective and working hard. This is a book about being an honest man when it comes to doing a job that is being paid for by someone else.

[Greg Kulawik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly inspiring and containing many useful and practical tips.

[Tanner Thetford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. Will reference. Worth every bit of the $2.50

[Ximena FT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easygoing pamphlet. Good old hard working values. Some ideas are outdated, as is to be expected, but other principles remain valuable, especially in this tech enabled and social media addicted society. Hard work, kindness, sharing of profits, is always a good policy.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and also to sweet

[Nora Olmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Business people should read his book. Treat your employees with respect— you will build them and your business you need each other..

[Jeremy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have personality, cherish it; if you have not, cultivate it. For personality can be cultivated, although the task is not easy.

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, the e-book version can be found at:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/succ...