Reading Reflection No. 3

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Andrew Carnegie 

• What surprised you the most?

The thing that surprised me the most was to learn that Carnegie was a popular user of insider trading. Though it was legal at the time it was still seen as immoral. He was also quoted to saying that the key to being rich was being the right person at the right place at the right time. This made him sound lucky rather than smart for his immense wealth. I guess he was a little bit of both. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admired that he went back home after his success in the US. He went back home with his mother to show that he had finally become something. Another thing I admired was his immense charitable donations and foundations. After he sold his company he was immensely generous in making public libraries and his donations to the arts. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

The thing I least admired about him was how he dealt with the union uprising and strikes. While I know that unions were a new thing that no one had seen before his dealing with it was violent and out of control. He also went on to deny hiring Pinkerton soldiers to solve the issue which was clearly just to maintain his image.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Carnegie did encounter failure when he bought some British railroad patents for a large sum of money that ended up being worthless. However after that he began looking for another venture to try his hand at. That is when he began studying the steel industry. Without that initial failure he may have never began work in the steel industry and may not have become as rich as he did.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

One competency that I noticed was that he had a plan to be rich and ti be someone and he stuck to that goal. He changed his ideas a few times but never stopped moving forward towards his goal. He had a great entrepreneurial mind and was committed to putting it to use in any way he could. 

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part of the reading that confused me was why he sold his company. He was the majority owner and operator of the largest steel plant in the country yet he just sold it. It confused me because he had spent so much time and effort building it literally from the ground up and then just turned around and sold it. That is why it would be one of the questions I would ask him because I never fully understood his decision.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
The first question I would ask him would be why did he sell his steel company to Morgan? I would ask this because I would want to know the true meaning behind it whether it was to get rich or he was just ready to retire. The second question I would ask would be if he regretted his handling of the union s and strikes at his factories? I would ask this because it is still something we talk about today and it obviously could have been handled in a completely different way.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think Carnegie valued hard work but it was not the most important thing. He told young men that success doesn’t come from endless work. Instead, it came from being the right man at the right time and place. I don't know if I share his opinion or not because I don't think its all about being lucky sometimes working hard just pays off itself.