| Before he became a
patriot and founding father, Benjamin Franklin was a manager. This
information may surprise those who have come to associate the
bespectacled statesman solely with the patriots who founded the
United States of America. But Franklin is, without a doubt, one of
the great figures in American history. He is also one of the great
figures in American business history.
The United States closed the 20th
century with the most vibrant economy on the planet. According to
some, the roots of America's current business success lie in the
principles embodied more than 200 years ago in the life of Franklin,
the founding father of American business. His life exemplifies the
innovation, technology and ingenuity that have propelled the
American economy to unprecedented heights in recent years. What
follows is a summary of his 12 rules of management, an ideal for
lifelong learning that is as pertinent to managers today as it was
in the 18th century.
Ben
Franklin’s 12 Rules of Management
1. Finish better than your beginnings.
2. All education is self-education.
3. Seek first to manage yourself, then to
manage others.
4. Influence is more important than victory.
5. Work hard and watch your costs.
6. Everybody wants to appear reasonable.
7. Create your own set of values to guide your
actions.
8. Incentive is everything.
9. Create solutions for seemingly impossible
problems.
10. Become a revolutionary for experimentation
and change.
11. Sometimes it’s better to do 1,001 small
things right than only one large thing right.
12. Deliberately cultivate your reputation and
legacy.
EXCERPTED FROM:
Ben Franklin's 12 Rules of Management: The Founding Father of American Business Solves Your Toughest Problems
Click on the Title above to get more information on
this book
By Blaine McCormick
Copyright
2000, Entrepreneur Press,
ISBN
1-891984-14-4
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