Founders

What I learned from reading Life of an American Workman by Walter Chrysler.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[0:56]The kitchen fire was the only heat we knew in the winter. Often I had to scamper barefoot across a floor where snow had drifted through the cracks of badly fitting windows.[1:56] We never spent money on things we could get without spending. [3:10] This book was written about a year before he had a stroke and about two years before he died. The book is full of memories of parents and friends long dead. [3:29] The memories he chose to highlight made me think of this quote on books by Carl Sagan: What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently insi

What I learned from reading How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets by Felix Dennis.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[0:01] How Felix started his first business with no money. [4:30] Human nature does not change. We are cooperative animals. Those who wish to start a company cannot expect a free ride, but they might be surprised at the number of people willing to help them to some degree or another. [5:11] This book was one of the most requested books for me to cover on the podcast. I was hesitant to read it because of the title. After reading it I think a better title would be How I Got Rich. [7:36] A large part of this book is philosophical. He is asking us, “Is this really what you want?” He opens up about his drug addiction. About his addiction to prostitutes. About how he blew 100 million dollars and almost died. [8:13] How To Get Rich sets to tell you about how I did it. How I got ri

What I learned from reading Master of Precision: Henry Leland by Ottilie Leland and Minnie Dubbs Millbrook.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[0:17] Henry Leland laid the foundation for the future of American industry. He had established manufacturing procedures never previously so effectively employed and took a position of leadership. In the next decades would be comparable in statute with, although quite different from, William Durant, Henry Ford and Alfred Sloan. [0:40] It should be pointed out that Leland's contribution to the development of the motor car was the establishment of high standards of manufacturing. [2:33] Henry Leland always got deep satisfaction out of anything which was made right. He had—in high degree—the pride of craftsmanship that had marked the master workman down the centuries. [3:07] He developed the Cadillac, the self-starter, The Lincoln car, held up high standards of performance for the industry,

What I learned from reading The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison by Mike Wilson----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[1:06]  You want to know what I think about Larry Ellison? Well, I suppose he had some private sort of greatness but he kept it to himself. He never gave himself away. He never gave anything away. He just left you a tip. He had a generous mind. I don’t suppose anybody ever had so many opinions, but he never believed in anything except Larry Ellison. [1:45] That was the way Ellison’s mind worked. He was like a search engine gone haywire. [3:01] I asked Ellison how he had seen his adult life when he was a kid. What he thought was going to happen to him. “You mean did I anticipate becoming the fifth wealthiest person in the United States? No. This is all kind of surreal. I don’t even believe it. When I look around I say this must be something out of a dream.” [3:57] Ellison

What I learned from reading The Billionaire and the Mechanic: How Larry Ellison and a Car Mechanic Teamed up to Win Sailing's Greatest Race, the America’s Cup, Twice by Julian Guthrie.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] Larry Ellison to Steve Jobs: I’m talking about greatness, about taking a lever to the world and moving it. I’m not talking about moral perfection. I’m talking about people who changed the world the most during their lifetime.[0:56] Larry’s choice for history’s greatest person could not have been more different from Gandhi (Steve Jobs’s choice): the military leader Napoleon Bonaparte.  [3:15] Steve liked to say the Beatles were his management model — four guys who kept each other in check and produced something great.[3:47] Larry’s favorite history book w

What I learned from reading Professional Amateur: The Biography of Charles Franklin Kettering by Thomas Boyd----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[3:06] If you had to summarize Charles Kettering this is the way you would do it: “As symbol of progress and the American way of life—as creator of ideas and builder of industries and employment—as inspirer of men to nobler thoughts and greater accomplishments—as foe of ignorance and discouragement—as friend of learning and optimistic resolve—Charles F. Kettering stands among the great men of all time.”[3:36] He was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. He was a founder of Delco, and was head of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive developments were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline. He was also responsible for the invention of Freon refrigerant for refrigeration and air conditioning syst

What I learned from reading Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle by Matthew Symonds.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[0:01] Although much of my time with him coincided with a period of adversity for Oracle, I never once saw Ellison downcast. His unquenchable optimism and almost messianic self belief never faltered.[5:06] The single most important aspect of my personality is my questioning of conventional wisdom. My doubting of experts just because they are experts. My questioning of authority. While that can be very painful in terms of your relationships with your parents and teachers it is enormously useful in life. [12:19] People — teachers, coaches, bosses — want you to conform to some standard of behavior they deem correct. They measure and reward you on how well you conform — arrive on time, dress appropriately, exhibit a properly deferential attitude — as opposed to how well you do your job. Program

What I learned from reading The Fast Times of Albert Champion: From Record-Setting Racer to Dashing Tycoon, An Untold Story of Speed, Success, and Betrayal by Peter Joffre Nye.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[0:01] A brief summary of the life of Albert Champion: Champion had been born in Paris April 2, 1878. By age twelve he was an errand and office boy for a Paris bicycle manufacturer. He became interested in bicycle racing, won the middle-distance championship in France, and went to the United States in 1899 for a series of races. He won the American and world championships, returned to France to study automobile manufacturing, and returned to the United States in 1900. He tried auto racing, almost lost a leg in a racing accident, and then organized the Champion company. His original backers kept the name and moved the company to Toledo at about the same time Champion joined Durant. In Flint, Champion became known as one o

What I learned from reading My Years with General Motors by Alfred Sloan.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[2:40] There are ideas worth billions in a $30 history book: Henry talked to me on several occasions about a book by the former chairman of General Motors. He told me he had learned a very important concept from that book, which he wished to use in the growth of Teledyne. . .during a very difficult economic time of recession, General Motors had needed additional funds to finance their growth and had a plan to sell bonds to the general public. The bond sale was a complete failure, and the chairman (Sloan) had written in his book that it had taught him an important lesson. It was that for a corporation to grow and to have a strong financial base, it needed to have, as part of itself, an interest in substantial financially oriented institutions. So General Motors had started GMAC and invested in other financial groups. As a

What I learned from reading Billy, Alfred, and General Motors: The Story of Two Unique Men, A Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History by William Pelfrey.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----[0:01] They were oil and water in all respects. Billy Durant, the high school dropout, was the flamboyant dreamer and gambler, focused on personal relationships and risk. Alfred Sloan, the MIT engineer, was the stern organizer and manager, focused on data, logic, and profit.[4:40] The paradox of this book in two sentences: Sloan’s most constant criticism of Durant was that he acted on instinct and whim rather than facts. Yet the achievements and decisions of Durant the dreamer were what made Sloan the manager’s spectacular career possible.[6:50] Alfred Sloan telling us it is a lot harder to stay successful over a long period of time: “The perpetuation of an unusual success or the maintenance of an unusually high standard o

What I learned from reading Billy Durant Creator of General Motors: The Story of the Flamboyant Genius Who Helped Lead America into the Automobile Age by Lawrence Gustin.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:32] DURANT MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT AUTOMOBILE PIONEER: Of all the colorful men who propelled the United States into the automobile age, Billy Durant was perhaps the most unusual, and from an organizational standpoint in the pioneering era, the most important. Durant had a hand in shaping the beginnings of three of the four major American automobile manufacturing corporations that exist today.[4:16] HIS LIFE STORY HAS A SURPRISING END: The guy founded General Motors, Chrysler, and Frigidaire. Three gigantic, successful companies. How does he die with no money?[6:04] DURA

What I learned from reading The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy by Charles Hyde.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes----This is the story of two small town machinists who became enormously successful automobile manufacturers in the early years of the auto industry [0:01]Early life and first jobs [3:02]Moving to Detroit: Arriving at the right place, at the right time, with the right skill set [6:28]Horace Dodge is a gifted engineer like Henry Royce (Founders #81) was + Inventors and bicycle manufacturers [12:00]How The Dodge Brothers first described their business [16:40]Doing work for Ransom Olds, Founder of Oldsmobile [18:20]Crucial decisions in the early days of the company [23:33]In a gold rush don't dig for gold. Sell pick axes [24:44]The Dodge Brothers almost bankrupted Ford for lack of payment [28:22]The Dodge Brothers got very rich off of Henry Ford [33:28]Why and how the Dodge Brothers built their own

What I learned by reading My Forty Years With Ford by Charles Sorensen.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Henry Ford’s greatest achievement and his greatest failure [0:01]Henry Ford had one, single idea [4:15]Henry Ford’s management style [5:46]The paradox of Henry Ford [8:27]Henry Ford’s greatest advisor [11:30]A great story about The Dodge Brothers [16:20]Why and how Henry Ford bought out all of the shareholders of Ford [19:15]Henry Ford would tell you to not divert your attention [27:15]Henry Ford would tell you to not be afraid [28:20]Henry Ford would tell you to be firm in what you want to accomplish but flexible in how you do it [31:45]Why Henry Ford and The Ford Motor Company are worthy of study [36:20]The difference between a pioneer and an expert [39:45]Henry Ford wo

What I learned from reading Born of This Land: My Life Story by Chung Ju-yung.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---For a long time I was known as the bulldozer. [0:01]How Chung’s son remembers him: He had a wonderfully positive disposition and a rigorous work ethic. [3:15]Memories of his father + Half century of struggle + Why he is writing this book [9:25]Running away from home. Four times. [12:15]A different level of poverty. [15:40]How struggle shaped his personality + Why he had to run away for the last time [17:15]On his own + Early jobs before the birth of Hyundai [19:24]On simple tasks + The fundamental principle of his life + Hard work paying off [21:15]Getting into the auto repair business + More struggle + More perseverance [25:55]Why you should emulate bedbugs. [31:0

What I learned from reading Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Seagram’s Mr. Sam by Michael R. Marrus.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---The story of Sam’s rise to fame and fortune from a hard life on the Canadian frontier is inherently dramatic and yet touches a familiar nerve in a broad spectrum of the population. There is something in Sam’s response to his disappointments that most people recognize in their themselves. [0:01] I found out about the Bronfman family on Founders #53 Mike Ovitz when Mike Ovitz brokered a deal that led to Seagram buying MCA Universal for $5.7 billion. [2:58]Generational Inflection Point: A single individual that changes the trajectory of his entire family for generations to come [3:35] Why did his family have to flee Russia? [6:42]Sam was as

What I learned from reading Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson.----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---He was, during his 84 year long life, America’s best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist. [0:01]On Founders #62 I covered Ben Franklin’s autobiography [4:10]The family produced dissenters and nonconformists who were willing to defy authority, although not to the point of becoming zealots. They were clever craftsman and inventive blacksmiths with a love of learning. Avid readers and writers, they had deep convictions, but knew how to wear them lightly. [5:00]The industrialist Thomas Mellon, who erected a statue of Franklin in his banks headquarters, declared that Franklin had inspired him to leave his family's farm and go into busines

What I learned from reading The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Timeby Michael Craig.---Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---Some Texas banker was playing poker with over $15 million on the table. 15 million on the table? This much cash would weigh over 250 pounds. [0:01]Founders #38 Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos [4:12]Poker players are misfits / Poker as a capital intensive business / How to avoid going over the edge [6:51]The early life and personality traits of Andy Beal [12:20]Other founders mentioned in this episode: #59 Howard Hughes: Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters; The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire.#65 Kirk Kerkorian: The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became The Greatest Deal Maker In Capitalist History.#67 Conrad Hilton: The Hiltons: Th

What I learned from reading Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire by Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Gardner Hines----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---The grandson of slaves, born into poverty in 1892 in the Deep South, A. G. Gaston died more than a century later with a fortune worth well over $130 million [0:01]A 10 year old’s first business idea [5:35] A.G. finds a blueprint to follow: A.B. Loveman [9:00]The remarkable story of Carrie Tuggle and The Tuggle Institute [12:10]The influence of Booker T. Washington [13:35]The power of positive examples [15:27]Joining the army for discipline and opportunity / Lessons from World War I [18:32]Keep your eyes open. Study the people around you. How do they live? What makes them tick? What do they need? [25:

What I learned from reading Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright by Paul Hendrickson. ----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---[0:01] Frank Lloyd Wright suffered a personal catastrophe that would have destroyed a man of lesser will and lesser ego. [7:20] Ben Franklin writing about vanity 250 years ago: Most people dislike vanity in others, whatever share they have of it themselves; but I give it fair quarter wherever I meet with it, being persuaded that it is often productive of good to the possessor. [12:38] He held a press conference on Christmas Day to explain his actions. He said ordinary people can not live without rules to guide his conduct. He - Frank Lloyd Wright - is not ordinary. [13:44] Frank Lloyd Wright had a single minded pursuit of his own pot

What I learned from reading The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood by Tom King. ----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. ---He told me he had recently read Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, Buffett was Geffen's hero.Geffen—with searing focus, unyielding drive, and outlandish nerve—had devised and implemented strategies to propel himself to the top of the heap of Hollywood powerbrokers.I used to have phone conversations with David that would leave me sweaty.David might not have realized it, but he was being educated by a master entrepreneur. Batya succeeded in teaching him the value of hard work and the possibilities of life under even the most difficult circumstances. She was a brilliant businesswoman who could account for every penny that we