Andrew Carengie, an American businessman and philanthropist, was actually born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland’s historic medieval capital.
A story goes that while in Scotland as a boy, he caught a mother rabbit. Soon he had an entire nest of baby rabbits following him around, but with nothing to feed them. He told the kids in his neighborhood that if they picked clover and dandelions, he would name a baby rabbit after them. Not too long, he had all the food he needed for the family of rabbits.
While Carnegie may have been known as the steel king, technically he knew very little about steel. He did know how to organize and motivate people. He surrounded himself with a team that knew more about steel.
His understanding of leadership and organization contributed to his countless business successes.
“Labor, capital, and ability are a three-legged stool… They are equal members of the great triple alliance which moves the industrial world.” – Andrew Carnegie
When you think about real estate and construction, projects are typically made up of people, places and processes. A building does not change much from project to project – they usually include a floor, walls and a roof. The place includes nuances around weather and resources. But there is only so much you can do to influence the place, once it is selected.
The people are the difference maker. Not their technical knowledge, but their ability. Their ability to work together. Their ability to adapt to changing conditions. Their ability to resolve conflicts and solve problems. Their ability to anticipate.
Andrew Carnegie believed that people with access to books and the desire to learn could be successful just as he had been.
In 1901, he sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan for $480 million. He then used his wealth to fund countless philanthropic opportunities including the opening of free libraries.
During his lifetime, Carnegie established 2,509 libraries with $60 million.
You and your people matter. Your ability to learn matters. Your influence on your community matters.
Several thousand years before, Epictetus reminded us of the importance of people, purpose and philanthropy.
“Now, what does the title ‘citizen’ mean? In this role, a person never acts in his own interest or thinks of himself alone, but, like a hand or foot that had sense and realized its place in the natural order, all its actions and desires aim at nothing except contributing to the common good.” – Epictetus, Discourses, Book II
The next time you think about your work, think about how to organize, motivate and lead people, not just projects and processes.
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