Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Ron Chernow · ★★★★☆ · 834 pages · 1998
This book took a while to finish but here are what I got from his life and the growth of Standard Oil
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His father was essentially a quack doctor who started a second family. John did not want to be like him and seems to define himself as an opposition of his father.
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Self-control in almost all aspects of life. It didn’t seem like he had fun at all and was leading a stoic life that was very very high on morality.
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Knowing the accounts is very important to successfully grow a company. The books tell you where money is being spent and you can optimize each of the places money is spent.
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You don’t need to be a chemist, you can hire the chemist.
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If you are making money quickly you can’t give it away fast enough.
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Almost everything in America has Rockerfellers money behind it. National Parks, MoMa, University of Chicago, the entire medical community.
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It is important to define your PR or others will define it for you in a way that isn’t good for you. Control the message.