The Difficult Art of Getting
Rockefeller learns ambition from discipline and ruthless trade.
William Rockefeller Sr.
I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make 'em sharp. I trade with the boys and skin 'em and I just beat 'em every time I can.
That was a quote from William Avery Rockefeller who is John D. Rockefeller's dad. John D. is the richest man in modern history and he has these two very different parents: William (Big Bill) who is a hustler and Eliza, his baptist mom. Here is a biographer describing his William...
John K. Winkler
In the tremulous years preceding the Civil War a buoyant, boastful man, bearded, keen-eyed, happy-go-lucky, possessing the thews of a bear, door-wide as to shoulders, drove a spanking horse from hamlet to hamlet in the Middle West.
Approaching his immediate destination he would halt and slick up his appearance, changing his rough homespun shirt for a white bosomed starched affair and, in lieu of a cravat, inserting a great diamond at the neck. A swallow-tailed coat of latest cut completed a striking ensemble.
"All Cases of Cancer CURED Unless Too Far Gone And Then They Can Be Greatly BENEFITED!" Now the celebrated specialist began his spiel. It was a good one. Humor and anecdote were mingled with statistics...
In those days cancer was the curse of the countryside and the spellbinder was usually able to dispose of a dozen or two bottles of his own decoction at two dollars a bottle, cash in hand. This was for internal use. Dose: a tablespoonful three times a day. There was also a mirific lotion, same price.
Most biographers describe William as a sleazy snake oil salesman, but John D. Rockefeller expresses gratitude for him...
John D. Rockefeller
To my father I owe a great debt in that he himself trained me to practical ways. He was engaged in different enterprises; he used to tell me about these things, explaining their significance; and he taught me the principles and methods of business.
So, John D. is crediting his dad with giving him street smarts. Next we'll see his mom's influence in this little book called "Ledger A."
John D. Rockefeller
From early boyhood I kept a little book which I remember I called Ledger A—and this little volume is still preserved—containing my receipts and expenditures as well as an account of the small sums that I was taught to give away regularly.
Whereas his dad taught him in practical ways, Eliza teaches him discipline. Ledger A is the counterweight of William's spontaneous hustling. (It's also the ledger of his boyhood tithing and philanthropy.)
Rockefeller's biographer Ron Chernow writes that Rockefeller's "achievement arose from the often tense interplay between the two opposing, deeply ingrained tendencies of his nature—his father’s daring and his mother’s prudence—yoked together under great pressure."
It's crazy how many of history's greats are combinations of paradoxical qualities. You'll see that Rockefeller is a "rule follower" in the extreme. You'll also see that he is "rule breaker" in the extreme. How can you be both? He's both daring and prudent; ruthless and sentimental...
John D. Rockefeller
When I was seven or eight years old I engaged in my first business enterprise with the assistance of my mother. I owned some turkeys, and she presented me with the curds from the milk to feed them.
I took care of the birds myself, and sold them all in business-like fashion. My receipts were all profit, as I had nothing to do with the expense account, and my records were kept as carefully as I knew how.
This is the importance of giving kids lemonade stands. Eliza, his mom, gives him turkeys and the byproduct of the farm of the dairy, which is curds, and then he uses that to keep after the turkeys and sell them at a profit.
John D. Rockefeller
To this day I enjoy the sight of a flock of turkeys, and never miss an opportunity of studying them.
This is old man John D., and he's a sentimentalist, right? The guy who dominated an industry and crushed his competitors, fawning over turkeys.
Now let's meet Eliza, John D's mom, and a classic revival culture Baptist who keeps her family in line with a birch. (Birching is how parents would punish their kids: by binding a bunch of twigs and striking their bottoms.)
John D. Rockefeller
My mother was a good deal of a disciplinarian, and upheld the standard of the family with a birch switch when it showed a tendency to deteriorate.
Once, when I was being punished for some unfortunate doings which had taken place in the village school, I felt called upon to explain after the whipping had begun that I was innocent of the charge.
Eliza Rockefeller
Never mind, we have started in on this whipping, and it will do for the next time.
So now we get the full picture. Big Bill is all wind and action. Eliza is all keel and control—a Baptist picture of self-denial. Rule breaker meets rule maker.
John D. Rockefeller
One night, I remember, we boys could not resist the temptation to go skating in the moonlight, notwithstanding the fact that we had been expressly forbidden to skate at night.
Almost before we got fairly started we heard a cry for help, and found a neighbour, who had broken through the ice, was in danger of drowning.
By pushing a pole to him we succeeded in fishing him out, and restored him safe and sound to his grateful family.
As we were not generally expected to save a man's life every time we skated, my brother William and I felt that there were mitigating circumstances connected with this particular disobedience which might be taken into account in the final judgment, but this idea proved to be erroneous.
So Eliza is a deontologist. The deontological position is that an action is right or wrong regardless of the consequences. If you're a man or woman of principle, you're a deontologist. You're not getting wrapped up in the complexity of consequences. You're letting the fruit of your actions take care of themselves. You save a man's life. Great. You also broke a rule, here's your whipping.
Let's close the loop. Rockefeller is a paradox man. He did not cast off his mom for being too harsh, nor did he cast off his dad for being a scoundrel. He spoke of their positive influence on him. This gratitude created the space within him to express both qualities. If he said no to his mom's way, he becomes a salesman. If he says no to his dad's ways, he becomes bookkeeper. Instead he makes space for both and becomes the richest man in modern history.