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I picked up 'The Art of the Deal' by Donald Trump yesterday on special and I've nearly finished it. Very very disappointing. While Trump seems to have genuine business ability (e.g. getting jobs done on time and on budget, attention to detail, etc), he seems to be quite the pragmatist. The low point was when he was talking about how he used antitrust legislation to challenge the NFL's 'monopoly'. While I enjoyed a few parts of his story, it just hasn't been able to inspire me.

So I need recommendations. Preferably, I'd like to read about modern day businessmen who are still active in the business world. Jack Welch sounds promising, so I might pick up his book next. But I'm open to other suggestions.

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So I need recommendations. Preferably, I'd like to read about modern day businessmen who are still active in the business world. Jack Welch sounds promising, so I might pick up his book next. But I'm open to other suggestions.

Tell us more about what you are looking for and why. Your Viewing Profile doesn't indicate what your central purpose in life is, if you have chosen one at this point. (BTW, your friend in the photo is gorgeous!)

Is your CPL to build a business? If so, are you looking for particular virtues and skills and insights of successful businessmen -- or simply inspiration?

Or are you looking for inspiration in general? If the latter, then I would recommend the historical account, Brunelleschi's Dome or the 20th century true story, October Sky.

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My 'friend' is my girlfriend, but thanks for the compliment. :thumbsup:

A bit of background to my life: I studied Commerce at uni (specialising in marketing and business law) and finished at the end of last year. I also did a year of Creative Arts, specialising in creative writing, but with the prevailing standards of art at my university, it was largely a waste of time. I am starting a job as an assistant marketing analyst with multinational ASSA ABLOY next week. I don't envision myself starting a business on my own in the short to medium term, simply because I don't think I have the necessary practical skills to do it yet. However, going into a partnership with a friend who is starting a computer maintenance business where I'd be contributing capital and gaining a share of the profit, without actually running the business (at least, not in the short term) is an option sometime later this year. So basically, I am planning on becoming a very proud, productive businessman.

What I want primarily out of an autobiography or biography is inspiration. Something to give me a vision of what is possible for an individual in the world of business. Essentially, what I hope to gain is similar to what I would gain out of a piece of great art. Now, if a book can give me technical help as well, that would be a bonus, but it's not as neccessary. I believe that I have the virtues necessary to become a very good businessman, and I think the best way to pick up technical skills is by getting practical experience, which I will start to get soon.

BTW, I am familiar with the story of Brunelleschi's Dome from studying Renaissance History, and yes, I do like the story very much.

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[...] So basically, I am planning on becoming a very proud, productive businessman.

What I want primarily out of an autobiography or biography is inspiration. Something to give me a vision of what is possible for an individual in the world of business. Essentially, what I hope to gain is similar to what I would gain out of a piece of great art. [...]

BTW, I am familiar with the story of Brunelleschi's Dome from studying Renaissance History, and yes, I do like the story very much.

I can't offer any specific suggestions for modern business biographies. They do exist, because I have heard businessmen discuss them. You mentioned one, about a manager of GE (Welch?). Also try books about or by Andrew (?) Grove, one of the main developers of Intel Corporation, if I remember correctly. I once met him briefly. I was impressed.

I want to point out something that you probably know but maybe it deserves emphasis. Any biography may be inspiring, but it will also show you that the individual described is a mixed case. He may be a great businessman -- and a Bible thumper too. John Templeton's great success as an investor is an example.

One approach I would take is to access the Wall Street Journal's book review columns. They might give you some leads. Also, you might try The Intellectual Activist's online files. I vaguely recall TIA having a list of recommended books in various fields. You will have to check.

I have one more historical recommendation that also deals with business. Frederic C. Lane, in the 1970s, wrote Venice: A Maritime Republic. It is a 1000 year history of the republic of Venice, beginning in the days of the dying Roman Empire when far-seeing individuals retreated to the tiny islands offshore to protect themselves from barbarian marauders. It is a thorough history, well written, fully documented, lavishly illustrated (maps, drawings, etc.) and highly informative about the rise of commerical activity after the Dark Ages, and, sadly, how business and government have often been intertwined, though not always maliciously. It is a fascinating history. It is the kind of thing that ought to be read a unit at a time: a chapter per week or whatever.

It even includes a few pages on the invention of double-entry bookkeeping in the Middle Ages. Think of what that means: profit versus loss, for the first time fully spelled out, in the growing movement toward advancing the quality of life in this world.

You will also learn there where the phrase "corner the market" came from -- the name of a Venetian merchant (but, alas, as always, mixed up in government at the same time).

Good hunting!

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What I want primarily out of an autobiography or biography is inspiration. Something to give me a vision of what is possible for an individual in the world of business. Essentially, what I hope to gain is similar to what I would gain out of a piece of great art. Now, if a book can give me technical help as well, that would be a bonus, but it's not as neccessary.

A few suggestions:

-- Ed Locke's book The Prime Movers. While not a biography, the book combines ideas with the business men who implemented them. See Richard Salsman's review of the book (second one down). Betsy took the course upon which the book was based, and she loved it.

-- Robert Hessen's Steel Titan: The Life of Charles M. Schwab. Ayn Rand recommended the book in her Jan.-Feb. 1976 issue of The Ayn Rand Letter.

"Steel Titan is the first biography of Charles Schwab (1862-1939), who was one of the last great American industrialists. It is a comprehensive presentation, focused primarily on Schwab's business career, describing the struggles, the problems, and the achievements of the man who rose from day laborer to first president of U.S. Steel, and then to founder of Bethlehem Steel."

She goes on to discuss the tragic elements also presented, a man who "was a genius in production and a deaf-mute in philosophy," but there is still inspiration in great achievement.

-- Louis H. Sullivan's The Autobiography of an Idea. Frank Lloyd Wright studied under Sullivan, and Ayn Rand researched both these men in preparing for The Fountainhead.

-- While not in book form, Ed Locke has two audio lectures available here through the Ayn Rand Bookstore. The first is "Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway vs. Ken Lays Enron," and the second is "The Life and Achievements of Thomas Edison." Ed Locke's courses are always very popular at the ARI conferences.

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I recommend these two books about successful businessmen:

The first is American Steel by Richard Preston. This is the story of Nucor Corporation (which is today one of the largest American steel producers), and the late Kenneth Iverson, the man who made the decisions and took the risks that led to the company's success.

Iverson became Nucor's CEO when it was a small company that didn't even make steel. He decided to go into that business, and gradually expanded the company, building one new steel mill after another. Under Iverson's leadership, Nucor pioneered the use of some new technologies, such as continuous strip casting (which is emphasized in this book).

Kenneth Iverson was a man who loved his business, loved making steel, and put in the hard work to succeed. He had no use for bureaucracies.

(I found parts of this book to have a style that's rather flippant - doesn't treat the subject with the respect that it deserves - but the book is worth reading to learn the story of Iverson and how he built his business.)

(Some time in the past I know I heard a tape of Iverson being interviewed by an Objectivist. Perhaps it is still available from the ARI Bookstore.)

The second book is Everybody Wins! - A Life in Free Enterprise, by Gordon Cain. This is an autobiography of a man who started out as a Chemical Engineer and ended up managing, buying and restructuring petrochemical companies. He lived a life full of business adventure, and is good at telling the story. He evidently had a strong effect on management practices in his industry. He lived a life which sometimes took unanticipated turns, and in which he was ready to seize unforeseen opportunities.

Cain also is very enthusiastic about capitalism. His book is both about the petrochemical industry in particular, and also about the financial side of the business. The latter is often overlooked. Cain shows how a good manager creates value by the work he does, and he helps show some of the motivating factors that can be behind a business reorganization. His book is the story of a happy success that was well deserved.

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Wow, thanks guys - some of those people / books sound very yummy indeed.

Burgess, I'm pretty familiar with Intel's business strategy and how they became such a major player, and found it very impressive, but I haven't yet read too much about the people behind the company. I'll definitely try and read about Grove.

Also, I am aware of the problems of reading about people of mixed premises in biography / autobiography form. For example (someone correct me if I'm wrong here), I think Jack Welch, despite his extreme competence is fairly religious. But I hope to enjoy reading about people like this much in the same way as I would watch a movie with some mixed premises. For example, let's take a movie such as Gladiator - most of the fundamental premises of the movie are spot on, but some aspects (such as the belief of an afterlife) are dissapointing. Yet, it's possible to be inspired by it because it's built mostly on sound principles and the good outweighs the bad. Donald Trump's actions are built on very bad foundations, and this is why I couldn't quite get over them.

I think my next book will probably be 'The Autobiography of an Idea" (sounds fascinating, Stephen) and then probably "American Steel" or I might try to find a book on Grove.

Thanks again!

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Another great book about an industrialist is James J. Hill & The Opening of the Northwest, by Albro Martin. It shows an incredibly hard working immigrant (from Canada) working his way up from the bottom, to the top. He built the Great Northern Railway, opening up the Northwest, as the title says.

Unfortunately, the book is out of print, so you'll have to find it on one of the used book websites.

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Thanks guys. I think this is going to be a thread that I'm going to keep coming back to from time to time this year, every time I need a new book to read.

Quick update: I ordered a used copy of "Autobiography of an Idea" through Amazon last night.

I also finished reading The Art of the Deal. This is how the book finishes off:

"I've never been terribly interested in why people give, because their motivation is rarely what it seems to be, and it's almost pure altruism (here we go - another businessman who regards altruism to be the ideal). To me, what matters is the doing, and giving time is far more valuable than just giving money.

In my life, there are two things I've found I'm very good at: overcoming obstacles and motivating good people to do their best work. One of the challenges ahead is how to use those skills as successfully in the service of others as I've done, up to now, on my own behalf.

Don't get me wrong. I also plan to keep making deals, big deals, and right around the clock."

Blech.

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I think my next book will probably be 'The Autobiography of an Idea" (sounds fascinating, Stephen) and then probably "American Steel" or I might try to find a book on Grove.

I'll second American Steel. Its real life hero, the late Ken Iverson, was an Ayn Rand fan and an ARI contributor.

Also, try some of those late 19th century-early 20th century novels known as "business romances" like Merwin and Webster's Calumet "K" (Ayn Rand's favorite novel) or their Short Line War.

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Aviators are arrogant individualists (generally speaking.) They have to be. I dunno how strict you are about only business-related material, but I'd recommend Bob Hoover's autobiography Forever Flying. On Amazon you can get a look inside the book.

I was fortunate to meet him and got his autograph and he told me and a group of my friends his life story--basically a shorter version of the biography. He is a really smooth, elegant, daring, and independant man--the sort of man that some people try not to believe in.

He wanted to fly, so he stuggled past some rugged airsickness and memorized eye charts to pass eye exams, among other things. Was assigned to a transport airplane, but he wanted to fly fighters--so he talked to a US Army general and got an assignment from the general to fly fighters. He shot down a lot of enemy airplanes. Was a POW, escaped from the Nazi prison camp, stole a Nazi aircraft and flew it out of Germany.... All kinds of stories. I even talked to some of his friends and heard a lot of stories about him that aren't in the biography. Just standing next to the guy was inspiring.

His ultimate message was that people can get anything they want, if they are commited entirely to what they want and who they are--he wanted to fly fighter airplanes, so he did, even when he was in the worst possible position to do so.

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