Recommended reading by Charles T. Munger in Poor Charlie's Almanack. Complete 1926 edition of MEN AND RUBBER by Harvey S. Firestone. Here Firestone puts to words what made his company a success, how to avoid misleading wisdom, and some of his personal insights on living.
Why was he in business? "Business is made up of opportunities for great sacrifices and great accomplishments."
"A man may keep very busy indeed without doing any thinking at all, and the easy course-the course of least resistance-is to keep so busy that there will be no time left over for thought. Almost every man tries to dodge thought or to find a substitute for it. We try to buy thoughts ready-made and guaranteed to fit, in the shape of systems installed by experts. We try to substitute discussion for thought by organizing committees; a committee may function very well indeed as a clearing house for thoughts, but more commonly a committee organization is just an elaborate means of fooling one's self into believing that a spell spent in talking is the same as a spell spent in thinking."
All students of thought should get this historic book. This 1926 edition is provided in a slim volume with full text at an affordable price.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I THE LABOR OF THINKING 3
CHAPTER II SWAPPING HORSES AND IDEAS 9
CHAPTER III WILD ROSE LOTION 16
CHAPTER IV STARTING THE COMPANY 22
CHAPTER V THE FIRST PROFITS 29
CHAPTER VI STARTING IN THE PNEUMATIC TIRE BUSINESS 35
CHAPTER VII THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY 41
CHAPTER VIII MANAGEMENT AND FRILLS 49
CHAPTER IX IS IT NECESSARY? CAN IT BE SIMPLIFIED? 56
CHAPTER X THE HUMAN RELATION 62
CHAPTER XI SOME THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT SELLING 70
CHAPTER XII TAKING THE BUNK OUT OF SALES 78
CHAPTER XIII CAMPING WITS EDISON, FORD, AND BURROUGHS 85
CHAPTER XIV CAMPING THROUGH THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS AND THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY 91
CHAPTER XV MORE CAMPING, SOME BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, AND TWO PRESIDENTS 99
CHAPTER XVI BETWEEN FAILURE AND SUCCESS 107
CHAPTER XVII AMERICA SHOULD PRODUCE ITS OWN RUBBER 114
CHAPTER XVIII WAY I AM IN BUSINESS 121
