John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was once the wealthiest man in the United States. Quite similar to Akio Morita (co-founder of Sony), he was also trained by his father for business, and he also had a chance to work for many businesses.
But unlike Akio, he came from a poor family!
He was so obsessed with tiny details that while working as a bookkeeper, he even had more knowledge than the business owners themselves.
All this led him to start and build the largest oil company, Standard Oil.
Here are the lessons entrepreneurs can learn to start and build a successful company:
Move in Silence:
You might have heard of Coca-Cola’s secret recipe. They never shared the recipe publicly; that’s how secretive Rockefeller was. He even believed that sharing the full recipe is just to create competition, so if you’ve found something, keep working on it and never disclose it.
The Talent Obsession: Hire “As Found, Not As Needed”
Another thing that’s quite common among most successful entrepreneurs is that they appreciate talent, and they want to produce the best products.
You can’t give your best without the best people.
Rockefeller was so obsessed with talent that he often hired talent “as found, not as needed.”
Fortress of Cash:
He always believed in being prepared for difficult times even before they arrive, so he had arranged cash long before they needed it.
Earlier he borrowed money a lot. He even bought his company back from partners who bullied him with borrowed money at the age of 25 but later on, he never took loans.
Operational Excellence: Drive to the Lowest Possible Cost
Another principle, similar to that observed in entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Christian Von Koenigsegg, is the drive for the lowest possible cost for the end product.
Rockefeller has simple formular and that works all the time. He achieved this by using volume and efficiency to provide the best products at the lowest possible prices.
The Power of Singular Focus
Another thing that made him remarkably different and successful was his focus. You will always see all the successful entrepreneurs like Charlie Munger, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates appreciating focus.
He consciously knew that he had to focus on one thing, and that was his oil company. He spent a lot of money on infrastructure, or making the costs as cheap as possible, but everything was centered on his primary goal: his oil company!
As Frank Slootman said, people can tell you their top 3 priorities, but they can’t tell you one.
In Rockefeller’s case, it was his only priority to make his oil company successful, and he was doing everything to achieve this goal.
Conviction and Creation:
Another lesson that an entrepreneur can learn from the Rockefeller blueprint is conviction. He started the company when people used to say the oil industry wouldn’t last for long, but it was his conviction that made him plan things for like 50 years ahead.
Quite similar to Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull founder), who created a new market and believed in it so much that he went all in!
So, Rockefeller encouraged entrepreneurs to open up new fields rather than simply duplicating existing industries, which he viewed as a waste of national wealth!