通往商业成功的道路
安德鲁•卡耐基（1835-1919）
现在让我来告诉你们成功的绝秘。关键只有一点，不要问这样的问题：“我能够为我的老板做什么呢？”而是要问，“我能够做什么？”能够勤勤恳恳、一丝不苟地完成交给你的任务当然好，但是在这种情况下你所得到的评价仅仅是当前的任务完成得非常不错、尽善尽美，所以你最好一直这么做下去。可是，年轻人，仅仅这样做是远远不够的。对于未来的合伙人而言，你仅仅能够做到这一点是绝对行不通的。你的能力必须能够远远超出这些。在我们的社会中有职员，有书店管理员，有出纳员，有银行出纳，但是他们可能一辈子都呆在自己的岗位上，自始至终兢兢业业地完成着自己的任务，没有任何的改变。
然而力争上游的人就必须干出一些非同寻常的事情来，而且要超出自己的专业领域之外。他必须想方设法地引起别人的注意。要做到这一点，每个人都有不同的方法和途径。对于一个运输公司的职员来说，可能他会在一张与他没有任何瓜葛的发票上发现有差错；而对于一个主管过磅称秤的小职员而言，也许他会因为怀疑计量工具的准确性而提出质疑并进行修正，从而为公司挽回巨额的损失，尽管计量工具的准确性属于总机械师的职责范围。对于一个送信的小伙子来说，他可能为了满足客户的需要让他的客户满意而做一些远远超出他职责范围之外的事情，但这也许会为他未来能够得到提拔与晋升撒下希望的种子。社会服务的职位不分高低，无论你身处哪一行哪一业，都不要因为自己的职位低微卑贱或者是自己身居高位而放弃追求前进。任何有能力有抱负的青年都应当时刻准备着证明自己的能力，证明自己的价值，证明自己是值得肩负更大的使命的。同样不能忽视的是，要显示出你坚定的决心，决心力争有朝一日出人头地。如果有一天在你自己的部门之内，你的上司吩咐你去完成一项任务或是让你传达某些命令和指示，而你却发现这样做会大大不利于公司的利益，那么你的机会就来了。理直气壮地站起来，说出你的想法。大胆地说出来，并将你的道理和原因头头是道地分析出来，让你的上司明白，当他的意志与命令在其他事情上畅通无阻之时，在他以为你们在刻板地执行他的命令、昏昏欲睡之时，你一直都在斟酌考虑，考虑怎样才能够更好地维护公司的利益，维护他的利益。你的道理也许是对的，也许是错的。无论是对与错，你已经赢得通向成功的第一个必要条件，因为你已经引起了你的上司的注意。你的上司就会意识到，这个人不是一个单纯为了薪水而兢兢业业劳作的机器，而是一个能动的人；他不是一个头脑简单的雇员，仅仅满足于付出大把的劳动时间又因此而拿到高额的薪水回报，而是一个乐于工作之外也处处留心，不停地钻研自己业务的人。像这样的一个职员就会不可避免地受到上司的青睐，上司会留心观察你，对你的表现颔首称赞。过不了多久，你就会发现，上司会就你的职责范围之内的业务征求你的意见和建议，而你给出的建议如果十分合理可行的话，上司可能就一些超出你职责范围之外的问题征求你的建议。这就意味着一种合作关系正在逐渐形成。即便这种合作关系不是与你的上司之间，也会是在你与其他的人之间的一种合作关系。在这种情况下，你的一只脚已经踏上了向上攀登的梯子的第一级，你是否能够沿着梯子一步一步往上攀登就在于你自己了。
你可能经常会听到一句别人常说的道理：“如果你没有完成上司的任务，最好的办法是循规蹈矩，乖乖的听从他的命令。”我要告诉你的是，这样做是错误的。这是一种错误的说法和做法。在你前进的路上没有固定的规律可循，没有必须遵守的规则不可以打破。要为维护上司的利益而勇于不断地违背上司命令。一个人如果不能够勇于时时打破原有的陈规旧俗和条条框框，勇于制定新的规则，他就永远不可能成为一个非凡的人。固有的规则与条条框框只适合那些没有远大志向的庸人，你要时刻记得你是注定要成为别人上司的人，你要注定成为一个发出命令的人，成为一个不遵循别人指定的规则、不遵守别人命令的人。一旦你确信你所做的决定将有利于维护你公司的利益和你的老板的利益，确信你这样做的结果是什么，确信你会勇于也乐于承担责任的话，你就不要再犹豫彷徨，徘徊不定，放手去做吧。只有你确信你所在部门的业务比你老板所经营的要远远好得多的时候，你才有可能成为一个好的合作伙伴。一旦你有机会单独采取独立行动，就要积极地、不遗余力地向他展示出你的才华与能力将会给公司带来什么样的利益与好处，而且要告诉你的上司，你早就预料到了会产生这样的结果，向他证明他发出的指示与命令是多么的愚蠢和错误。尽你最大所能超越你的上司，而且要在尽可能短的时间内做到这一点。如果他是一个合格的上司的话，他就不会讨厌或是反对你的做法；如果他阻挠你这样做的话，他就不值得你再为他效劳——尽早立刻离开他，哪怕会有一点暂时的牺牲和损失也在所不惜。然后去寻找一个真正能够欣赏你的才华的上司。在卡耐基公司里，我们年轻的合作伙伴们就是这样来展示自己的能力与才华，赢得自己前进的动力的。他们向我们展示出的比我们对于自己所要做的事情和所要求的结果所知晓的，几乎要多出一半。他们其中有些人在某些情况下的做法是如此的果断和勇敢，看起来似乎不是我而是他们拥有这家公司，而我则像一个愚昧无知、傲慢十足的纽约人一样对着自己其实一窍不通的事情指手画脚。当然了，他们现在就不会像原来那样手脚受到很大束缚了，因为他们现在已经成为了真正的老板和上司，因为他们正是我们公司需求的那一类人才。
未来的合作伙伴，未来的百万富翁脸上都没有什么明显的标志，也没有什么能够显示他们将来一定是高人一等的人。但是，这些人一定是那些进项与收入永远大于消费与支出的人。这样的人在很早的时候就开始积蓄自己的钱，可以说，在他刚刚开始赚第一分钱的时候他就开始存钱了。无论你能够存起来的钱有多么的少，也要坚持把它存起来。然后开始谨慎地进行投资。你不一定非得把这些钱投资在证券上，但是你所投资的方面必须是你有足够的理由认为你这笔钱在此所进行的投资是有极好的回报的。要记住，永远不要冒险地把钱当作赌注一样压在赌博上。终会有一个千载难逢的机会出现在你的面前，你可以大胆地进行投资了。你积蓄的那一丁点儿钱可能由此为你打下了坚实的基础，它所带来的结果可能是你所始料不及的，它所带来的回报甚至会让你大吃一惊。商业投资者一般都十分信任能够节约自己每一分钱的年轻人。因为你一点一滴的积蓄可能由此而产生的结果是你会赢得100美元，而有了这100美元，冥冥之中那点石成金的迈达斯国王就会帮助你赢得1000美元，而你的这1000美元就会又生成5000美元，你最初那少得可怜的资本就这样不断的发展壮大起来。你的上司真正需要的并不是你为他赚取的那些有限的资本财富，而是一个像你这样能够证明自己是一个有商业潜质的人，因为你有创造资本财富的习惯。而以各种可能创造资本财富的最佳方式里面，最好的方式就是通过调整你的这种习惯适应他的方式。先生们，所有的这一切都是由于你所积蓄的第一个100美元而产生的。所以，现在就行动起来，积蓄点什么吧。未来的百万富翁是那些能够像蜜蜂一样善于从不同的花朵上采集花粉来酿造蜂蜜的人。
当然，我们还要看到，我们不应该仅仅局限于积蓄钱财和资本，我们应当有比这更高更远大的目标。将单纯地获取财富和资本作为最终的目标是极端可耻的。让我这样来想吧，你不停地积蓄自己的财富和资本，不停地渴求更多的财富，这只能作为一种手段，而不是作为一种目的。你可以通过这种手段和方式来积蓄财富，从而为你同时代的同胞们做一点有益的事情。但有一条规则要时刻牢记，时刻遵循，那就是，永远不要让你的支出大于你的收入。
你可能年复一年的在一个低等的职位上徘徊，于是你就开始变得不耐烦起来，或者变得消沉低落，感觉倍受冷落打击。毋庸置疑，在目前这样一个商业吸引着越来越多人注意的社会环境里，对于一个没有任何货币资本的年轻人来说，要开创他自己的事业是极其艰难的，更何况是在这样一个必须有巨额资本才能够立足的大都市里，其困难程度就又加深了一步。然而，我仍然想告诉你们，有一点你们会感到振奋鼓舞，那就是，在这个世界上没有哪一个国家能够像美国一样能够让所有精力充沛、才华横溢的年轻人有机会充分地展示自己，奋力地向上攀登，也没有哪一个城市能够像美国的城市一样能够给雄心勃勃的青年在最高层留有充分发挥自己的空间。可以这么说，即使市场的需求只是精明强干的一流书店管理员，这也永远不可能得到满足。（在此请大家注意我所使用的形容词）这里的供求关系从来就没有平衡过。年轻人总是在找各种各样的理由，在不停地抱怨说，他们之所以失败主要原因是由于他们所处的环境和当时的情况十分地特别，在这种情况下任何人的成功都是不可能的。甚至根据一些人的说法，他们从来都没有碰到过一个机会。可是，我要说，这纯粹是一派胡言。从来不可能有这样的年轻人，只要他曾经有过工作的经历，曾经受雇于某一家公司的话。在他的生活中就不可能从来都没有任何一丁点的机会，也不可能从来就没有碰到过一个极好的时机。事实上，任何一个人在他踏入工作岗位的第一天起就在他的顶头上司头脑中留下了一个印象，上司就会对他进行评价。等过一段时间，如果这个年轻人是一个德才兼备的人才的话，公司的董事会就会对他进行全面的评估，反复地权衡分析他是否有能力，是否诚实可靠。他的习惯、他的关系、他的品行以及他的性格脾气都会在评估分析的范围之内。如果说这个年轻人从来就没有过任何的机会，那只能说明经过他的上司与老板一再的分析与评价，发现他缺乏必要的素质与能力，认为他不值得公司与他建立更加密切的关系，因为他们通过这个年轻人的一些令人讨厌的行为举止、还有习惯和社会关系看出了这一点，而这个年轻人却以为自己的上司非常的愚蠢，没有看到这些。
还有一类年轻人，他们把自己的失败归咎于自己的上司总是提拔那些他偏爱的人或者是与他有关系的人。他们还振振有辞地说自己的上司不喜欢比自己更聪明更能干更有能力的人，他们总是设法挫败那些雄心勃勃的年轻人的锐气，看到这些年轻人在自己的手下乖乖听命时便得意洋洋。其实根本不会存在这样的事情。事实正相反，再没有比找不到合适的人来填补职位空缺更让人心焦的事情了，也没有人会比老板更加渴望能够找到这样的人了。目前在匹茨堡没有一家公司不是在到处不停地寻求商业奇才，他们会告诉你说目前市场上始终都最为缺乏的商品就是这样的人力资源。智慧与才华永远都是大受欢迎的，你要埋下这样的种子等待它生根发芽，不断的成长。因为这样的一种商品无论你积蓄多少，在哪儿都会有最好的市场。不要将你的智慧与才华这些商品囤积，你能够卖出的智慧与才华越多，你就能够索要的价格就会越高。与种植燕麦相比，它们可能不会像燕麦一样，永远都会保证你大丰收，但是它们比起种植燕麦的优点来就是你永远都不用为找不到市场而发愁。在碰到任何生意的时候，只要是合法的，你都要毫不犹豫的放手去做，因为当时在美国没有什么生意可做。不要考虑结果是什么，也许你为此付出了不懈的努力，投入了前所未有的精力。而这样的生意结果也许是这个勤勉能干的人付出了自己所有的资本都没有得到任何的回报。各行各业都会有自己的萧条时期，都会有特定的衰落时期，在这个时期内制造商和贸易商都会经受严峻的考验。在这个时期内，工厂要照常运转，即使不能赢利，甚至是在亏损生产，因为只有这样才能够使整个公司和工厂的员工得以保住工作饭碗，使他们能够齐心协力，让自己的产品始终在市场上占有一席之地。从另一方面说，任何能够满足人们的需求的制造业和贸易最终也应该是赢利的，前提是你能够合理经营。
接下来我要说的就是成功的首要条件了，这是最大的秘密所在：将你所有的精力、所有的思想、还有所有的资金都集中投入到你所从事的一件事情上去。你开始在某一个行业中起步，慢慢的努力在这一行业中站稳脚跟，然后奋力地向前，争取成为这个行业的佼佼者；你要听取并接受每一种可能有利于改进自己完善自己的方法，使用最先进的机器，尽你最大可能了解你所从事的这一行业，争取做到了如指掌。
有些人失败的主要原因就在于他们分散了自己的资金，这也就意味着他们同时也分散了自己的精力。他们将自己的资金或是投资在这里或者投资在那里，要么投资在这一方面，要么投资在那一方面，将自己的投资搞得到处都是。人们常说“不要把你所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里”，这句话完全不对。我要告诉你们的是，要把你所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里，而且要紧紧地盯住这个篮子。要四处看一看，不时地保持警惕。这样做的人很少会失败，因为要看住一个篮子或者是挎着一个篮子都是比较容易做到的。在我们这个国家中人们却经常是尽力挎着好几个篮子，结果却打碎了大部分的鸡蛋。想一想吧，如果一个人要挎三个盛鸡蛋的篮子的话，他就得把一个篮子放在头上，而这个篮子在头顶上会很容易摇摇晃晃，他走起路来就极有可能摔跤。现在许多美国商业界人士所容易犯的一个错误就是他们没有将自己的精力与资金集中在某一件事情上。
我再总结一下我刚才所讲到的几点：要有一个远大的目标，向着最高处攀登；一定不要去酒吧喝酒；不要去沾烈性酒，如果非要喝的话那只能是在你吃饭的时候；永远不要投机；不要批准使用超过你现金余额的钱；把公司的利益看作是你的利益；要为维护上司利益勇于不断地违背上司命令；集中所有的精力与资金干好一件事情；将你所有的鸡蛋放到一个篮子里，并且要紧紧地盯住它；让你的消费与支出永远都低于你的进项与收入；最后一点，要有耐心，不要迫不及待，不要焦躁不安，因为正如爱默生所说的那样：“除了你自己之外，没有人能够欺骗你，将你阻挡在成功之外。”
对于那些生来一无所有的年轻人，我想向他们表示祝贺。因为他们出生在一个令人荣耀的境地，这种环境注定了他们必须孜孜以求、不懈地努力才能够改变自己的处境，才能够出人头地。对于一个年轻人而言，他要挎的最重的篮子莫过于一个盛满了各种证券的篮子。他通常会让这个篮子压得摇摇晃晃、站立不稳。在我们的这个城市里有无数的青年，他们依靠自己的力量努力拼搏，站在了最优秀的人群前列，成为对社会有用的公民。他们无愧于授予他们的所有荣誉。而大部分富豪的子孙们却难以抵制住先辈留给他们的一大笔财富的诱惑，沦落为对社会没有任何价值的寄生虫。如果我能够选择的话，我宁愿给一个年轻人留下一些磨难让他去承受、去磨砺，而不是留给他万能的金钱，让金钱成为他的负担和重压。值得你们害怕的竞争对手不是来自这个富有的阶层，不是你的那些富有的合作伙伴的后代子孙们，你要时刻警惕的竞争对手是那些来自于贫穷家庭的贫穷的青年们，那些比你还要贫穷的青年人，他们的父母亲甚至没有能力负担他们在这个学院里上一门课的费用，而你们却拥有这个能够让你们在自己的同类中有了立于前排的决定性优势。你们要重视这些看来不可能在你这一个职位上向你挑战或者超越你的年轻人。不要轻视那些从普通的学校里走出来，一头扎进工作中的年轻人，也不要轻视那些在办公室里干诸如端茶扫地一类最低等活的年轻人，他很可能就是一匹黑马，你最好还是密切的注意他，终有一天他会向你挑战的。
安德鲁•卡耐基(1835-1919)
简介
安德鲁•卡耐基出生于苏格兰，12岁的时候他跟随他的家庭一起移居到了美国。人们对他的评价是“一个举止傲慢，容易冲动，为人热情、忠诚而又精明的理想主义者”。他最初当了一名锭子工，每周的薪水只有1.2美元。在16岁的时候，他成为宾夕法尼亚州铁路上的一名电报员，在那里他一呆就是12年。此后他投入自己所有的资产建立凯斯通桥梁工程公司，并极具眼光地展望到钢铁桥梁业具有不可限量的前景。于是他开始专门致力于钢铁生产行业，成为美国的钢铁大王。后来他还收购了一家石油公司、一条铁路，并购买了大量的汽船。在1901年的时候，他将自己建立的卡耐基钢铁公司以2.5亿美元的价格卖掉，此时卡耐基钢铁公司生产的钢铁已经占全美钢铁销售总量的25%。
卡耐基将自己的成功归因于自己周围所有人的共同努力。他曾经为自己的墓碑写过墓志铭，在上面他是这样写的:“这儿躺着的是一个这样的人，他深谙如何将自己周围的人变得比他自己更加聪明。”无论是在他生前还是在他死后，人们对他的评价都是褒贬不一，有的人称他为暴君，而有的人则称他为圣人。作为一个商人，卡耐基对于与竞争对手进行谈判协商的概念是对方必须完全妥协。而作为一个雇主，他则挖空心思地从工人身上赚取每一分能够落到自己腰包里的钱，而他给工人与雇员的工资简直可以用这样一句话来形容:大钱你别要，小钱要归我。在1892年霍穆斯德钢铁工人大罢工时，卡耐基远在苏格兰，但他雇佣了300名平克顿警卫，试图镇压工人的罢工。这场劳资间的冲突最终发展成为血腥的武装冲突，在卡耐基的历史上留下了极其不光彩的一页。
尽管如此，许多人仍然把卡耐基看作是一位圣人，因为在他临死前他将3.25亿美元捐献给了慈善机构，捐助了7000个教会机构。卡耐基同洛克菲勒两个人是美国最早赞助慈善事业的人。同时，卡耐基十分关注青少年教育事业。他不仅捐助了大量的图书馆和高等学府，而且亲自积极地著书立说，就各种社会问题发表自己的看法与见解。本篇“通往商业成功的道路”是他在匹茨堡加里工商大学发表的一篇演说稿。在这篇犀利尖刻的演讲稿中，卡耐基阐述了他提出的著名的理论:“为维护上司利益勇于不断地违背上司命令。”同时在这篇文章中他还着重强调了独立采取行动的重要性。
The Road to Business Success
Andrew Carnegie
I can give you the secret. It lies mainly in this. Instead of the question, “What must I do for my employer?”substitute“What can I do?”Faithful and conscientious discharge of the duties assigned you is all very well, but the verdict in such cases generally is that you perform your present duties so well that you had better continue performing them. Now, young gentlemen, this will not do. It will not do for the coming partners. There must be something beyond this. We make Clerks, Bookkeepers, Treasurers, Bank Tellers of this class, and there they remain to the end of the chapter. The rising man must do something exceptional, and beyond the range of his special department. HE MUST ATTRACT ATTENTION. A shipping clerk, he may do so by discovering in an invoice and error with which he has nothing to do, and which has escaped the attention of the proper party. If a weighing clerk, he may save for the firm by doubting the adjustment of the scales and having them corrected, even if this be the province of the master mechanic. If a messenger boy, even he can lay the seed of promotion by going beyond the letter of his instructions in order to secure the desired reply. There is no service so low and simple, neither any so high, in which the young man of ability and willing disposition cannot readily and almost daily prove himself capable of greater trust and usefulness, and, what is equally important, show his invincible determination to rise. Some day, in your own department, you will be directed to do or say something which you know will prove disadvantageous to the interest of the firm. Here is your chance. Stand up like a man and say so. Say it boldly, and give your reasons, and thus prove to your employer that, while his thoughts have been engaged upon other matters, you have been studying during hours when perhaps he thought you asleep, how to advance his interests. You may be right or you may be wrong, but in either case you have gained the first condition of success. You have attracted attention. Your employer has found that he has not a mere hireling in his service, but a man; not one who is content to give so many hours of work for so many dollars in return, but one who devotes his spare hours and constant thoughts to the business. Such an employe must perforce be thought of, and thought of kindly and well. It will not be long before his advice is asked in his special branch, and if the advice given be sound, it will soon be asked and taken upon questions of broader bearing. This means partnership; if not with present employers then with others. Your foot, in such a case, is upon the ladder; the amount of climbing done depends entirely upon yourself.
One false axiom you will often hear, which I wish to guard you against:“Obey orders if you break owners.” Don’t you do it. This is no rule for you to follow. Always break orders to save owners. There never was a great character who did not sometimes smash the routine regulations and make new ones for himself. The rule is only suitable for such as have no aspirations, and you have not forgotten that you are destined to be owners and to make orders and break order. Do not hesitate to do it whenever you are sure the interests of your employer will be thereby promoted and when you are so sure of the result that you willing to take the responsibility. You will never be a partner unless you know the business of your department far better than the owners possibly can. When called to account for your independent action, show him the result of your genius, and tell him that you knew that it would be so; show him how mistaken the orders were. Boss your boss just as soon as you can; try it on early. There is nothing he will like so well if he is the right kind of boss; if he is not, he is not the man for you to remain with-leave him whenever you can, even at a present sacrifice, and find one capable of discerning genius. Our young partners in the Carnegie firm have won their spurs by showing that we did not know half as well what was wanted as they did. Some of them have acted upon occasion with me as if they owned the firm and I was but some airy New Yorker presuming to advise upon what I knew very little about. Well, they are not interfered with much now. They were the true bosses--the very men we were looking for.
There is one sure mark of the coming partner, the future millionaire; his revenues always exceed his expenditures. He begins to save early, almost as soon as he begins to earn. No matter how little it may be possible to save, save that little. Invest it securely, not necessarily in bonds, but in anything which you have good reason to believe will be profitable, but no gambling with it, remember. A rare chance will soon present itself for investment. The little you have saved will prove the basis for an amount of credit utterly surprising to you. Capitalists trust the saving young man. For every hundred dollars you can produce as the result of hard-won savings, Midas, in search of a partner, will lend or credit a thousand; for every thousand, fifty thousand. It is not capital that your seniors require, it is the man who has proved that he has the business habits which create capital, and to create it in the best of all possible ways, as far as self-discipline is concerned, is, by adjusting his habits to his means. Gentlemen, it is the first hundred dollars saved which tells. Begin at once to lay up something. The bee predominates in the future millionaire.
Of course there are better, higher aims than saving. As an end, the acquisition of wealth is ignoble in the extreme; I assume that you save and long for wealth only as a means of enabling you the better to do some good in your day and generation. Make a note of this essential rule: Expenditure always within income.
You may grow impatient, or become discouraged when year by year you float on in subordinate positions. There is no doubt that it is becoming harder and harder as business gravitates more and more to immense concerns, for a young man without capital to get a start for himself, and in this city especially where large capital is essential, it is unusually difficult. Still, let me tell you for your encouragement that there is no country in the world where able and energetic young men can so readily rise as this, nor any city where there is more room at the top. It has been impossible to meet the demand for capable, first-class bookkeepers (mark the adjectives), the supply has never been equal to the demand. Young men give all kinds of reasons why in their cases failure was clearly attributable to exceptional circumstances which render success impossible. Some never had a chance, according to their own story. This is simply nonsense. No young man ever lived who had not a chance, and a splendid chance, too, if he ever was employed at all. He is assayed in the mind of his immediate superior, from the day he begins work, and after a time if he has merit, he is assayed in the council chamber of the firm. His ability, honesty, habits, associations, temper, disposition all these are weighed and analysed. The young man who never had a chance is the same young man who has been canvassed over and over again by his superiors, and found destitute of necessary qualifications, or is deemed unworthy of closer relations with the firm, owing to some objectionable act, habit, or association, of which he thought his employers ignorant.
Another class of young men attribute their failure to employers having relations or favourites whom they advanced unfairly. They also insist that their employers disliked brighter intelligences than their own, and were disposed to discourage aspiring genius, and delighted in keeping young men down. There is nothing in this. On the contrary, there is no one suffering so much for lack of the right man in the right place, nor so anxious to find him as the owner. There is not a firm in Pittsburg today which is not in the constant search for business ability, and every one of them will tell you that there is no article in the market at all times so scarce. There is always a boom in brains, cultivate that crop, for if you grow any amount of that commodity here is your best market and you cannot overstock it, and the more brains you have to sell, the higher price you can exact. They are not quite so sure a crop as wild oats, which never fail to produce a bountiful harvest, but they have the advantage over these in always finding a market. Do not hesitate to engage in any legitimate business, for there is no business in America, I do not care what, which will not yield a fair profit if it receive the unremitting, exclusive attention, and all the capital of capable and industrious men. Every business will have its season of depression-years always come during which the manufacturers and merchants of the city are severely tried-years when mills must be run, not for profit, but at a loss, that the organization and men may be kept together and emp1oyed, and the concern may keep its products in the market. But on the other hand, every legitimate business producing or dealing in an article which man requires is bound in time to be fairly Profitable if Properly conducted.
And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret: concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in it; adopt every improvement, have the be the best machinery, and know the most about it.
The concerns which fail are those which have scattered their capital, which means that they have scattered their brains also. They have investments in this, or that, or the other, here, there and everywhere. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" is all wrong, I tell you "put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket. " Look round you and take notice; men who do that do not often fail. It is easy to watch and carry the one basket, It is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most eggs in this country. He who carries three baskets must put one on his head, which is apt to tumble and trip him up. One fault of the American businessman is lack of concentration.
To summarize what I have said: Aim for the highest; never enter a bar-room; do not touch liquor, or if at all only at meals; never speculate; never indorse beyond your surplus cash fund; make the firm's interest yours; break orders always to save owners; concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket; expenditure always within revenue; lastly be not impatient, for, as Emerson says, "no one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourselves. "
I congratulate poor young men upon being born to that ancient and honourable degree which renders it necessary that they should devote themselves to hard work. A basketful of bonds is the heaviest basket a young man ever had to carry. He generally gets to staggering under it. We have in this city creditable instances of such young men, who have pressed to the front rank of our best and most useful citizens. These deserve great credit. But the vast majority of the sons of rich men are unable to resist the temptations to which wealth subjects them, and sink to unworthy lives. I would almost as soon leave a young man a curse, as burden him with the almighty dollar. It is not from this class you have rivalry to fear. The partner's sons will not trouble you much, but look out that some boys poorer, much poorer than yourselves, whose parents cannot afford to give them the advantages of a course in this institute, advantages which should give you a decided lead in the race-look out that such boys do not challenge you at the post and pass you at the grand stand. Look out for the boy who has to plunge into work direct from the common school and who begins by sweeping out the office. He is the probable dark horse that you had better watch.
ANDREW CARNEGIE 1835-1919
Carnegie, who has been characterized as “impulsive, haughty, idealistic, warm, loyal, and shrewd”, was born in Scotland and immigrated with his family to the United States when he was 12 years old. His first job was as a bobbin boy, earning $1.20 a week. At 16 Carnegie became a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he stayed for 12 years. He then struck out on his own and started the Keystone Bridge Works, envisioning the need for steel bridges. Eventually, Carnegie concentrated on steel production, later buying an oil company, a railroad, and steamships. When he sold the Carnegie steel Company for $250 million in 1901, it accounted for 25 percent of all steel sold in the United States.
Carnegie attributed much of his success to the men around him. At one point he wrote an epitaph for his grave that read, “Here lies one who knew how to get around him men cleverer than himself. ”In life and in death, Andrew Carnegie has been called both a tyrant and a saint. As a businessman, Carnegie’s idea of conciliation with competitors was their complete surrender to his demands. As an employer, he squeezed all that he could from his employees, offering them wage packages that in effect amounted to “tails I win, heads you lose”. During the Homestead Steel Workers’ strike of 1892, Carnegie remained at a safe distance in Scotland while 300 Pinkerton guards were hired in an attempt to crush the workers. The conflict ended in a bloody battle and remains a black mark on Carnegie’s legacy.
However, Carnegie was considered a saint for giving away more than $325 million to charitable causes before his death, including 7, 000 church organs. Carnegie, along with john D. Rockefeller, was the first to make a big business of philanthropy. He also cared deeply for the education of youth; therefore, he not only endowed libraries and universities, but also actively wrote and spoke on social issues. The Road to Business Success is from and address given to the students of Curry Commercial College, Pittsburgh. In this poignant speech, he elaborates on his famous axiom, “Always break orders to save owners,”and discusses the critical importance of independent action.
安德鲁•卡耐基（1835-1919）
现在让我来告诉你们成功的绝秘。关键只有一点，不要问这样的问题：“我能够为我的老板做什么呢？”而是要问，“我能够做什么？”能够勤勤恳恳、一丝不苟地完成交给你的任务当然好，但是在这种情况下你所得到的评价仅仅是当前的任务完成得非常不错、尽善尽美，所以你最好一直这么做下去。可是，年轻人，仅仅这样做是远远不够的。对于未来的合伙人而言，你仅仅能够做到这一点是绝对行不通的。你的能力必须能够远远超出这些。在我们的社会中有职员，有书店管理员，有出纳员，有银行出纳，但是他们可能一辈子都呆在自己的岗位上，自始至终兢兢业业地完成着自己的任务，没有任何的改变。
然而力争上游的人就必须干出一些非同寻常的事情来，而且要超出自己的专业领域之外。他必须想方设法地引起别人的注意。要做到这一点，每个人都有不同的方法和途径。对于一个运输公司的职员来说，可能他会在一张与他没有任何瓜葛的发票上发现有差错；而对于一个主管过磅称秤的小职员而言，也许他会因为怀疑计量工具的准确性而提出质疑并进行修正，从而为公司挽回巨额的损失，尽管计量工具的准确性属于总机械师的职责范围。对于一个送信的小伙子来说，他可能为了满足客户的需要让他的客户满意而做一些远远超出他职责范围之外的事情，但这也许会为他未来能够得到提拔与晋升撒下希望的种子。社会服务的职位不分高低，无论你身处哪一行哪一业，都不要因为自己的职位低微卑贱或者是自己身居高位而放弃追求前进。任何有能力有抱负的青年都应当时刻准备着证明自己的能力，证明自己的价值，证明自己是值得肩负更大的使命的。同样不能忽视的是，要显示出你坚定的决心，决心力争有朝一日出人头地。如果有一天在你自己的部门之内，你的上司吩咐你去完成一项任务或是让你传达某些命令和指示，而你却发现这样做会大大不利于公司的利益，那么你的机会就来了。理直气壮地站起来，说出你的想法。大胆地说出来，并将你的道理和原因头头是道地分析出来，让你的上司明白，当他的意志与命令在其他事情上畅通无阻之时，在他以为你们在刻板地执行他的命令、昏昏欲睡之时，你一直都在斟酌考虑，考虑怎样才能够更好地维护公司的利益，维护他的利益。你的道理也许是对的，也许是错的。无论是对与错，你已经赢得通向成功的第一个必要条件，因为你已经引起了你的上司的注意。你的上司就会意识到，这个人不是一个单纯为了薪水而兢兢业业劳作的机器，而是一个能动的人；他不是一个头脑简单的雇员，仅仅满足于付出大把的劳动时间又因此而拿到高额的薪水回报，而是一个乐于工作之外也处处留心，不停地钻研自己业务的人。像这样的一个职员就会不可避免地受到上司的青睐，上司会留心观察你，对你的表现颔首称赞。过不了多久，你就会发现，上司会就你的职责范围之内的业务征求你的意见和建议，而你给出的建议如果十分合理可行的话，上司可能就一些超出你职责范围之外的问题征求你的建议。这就意味着一种合作关系正在逐渐形成。即便这种合作关系不是与你的上司之间，也会是在你与其他的人之间的一种合作关系。在这种情况下，你的一只脚已经踏上了向上攀登的梯子的第一级，你是否能够沿着梯子一步一步往上攀登就在于你自己了。
你可能经常会听到一句别人常说的道理：“如果你没有完成上司的任务，最好的办法是循规蹈矩，乖乖的听从他的命令。”我要告诉你的是，这样做是错误的。这是一种错误的说法和做法。在你前进的路上没有固定的规律可循，没有必须遵守的规则不可以打破。要为维护上司的利益而勇于不断地违背上司命令。一个人如果不能够勇于时时打破原有的陈规旧俗和条条框框，勇于制定新的规则，他就永远不可能成为一个非凡的人。固有的规则与条条框框只适合那些没有远大志向的庸人，你要时刻记得你是注定要成为别人上司的人，你要注定成为一个发出命令的人，成为一个不遵循别人指定的规则、不遵守别人命令的人。一旦你确信你所做的决定将有利于维护你公司的利益和你的老板的利益，确信你这样做的结果是什么，确信你会勇于也乐于承担责任的话，你就不要再犹豫彷徨，徘徊不定，放手去做吧。只有你确信你所在部门的业务比你老板所经营的要远远好得多的时候，你才有可能成为一个好的合作伙伴。一旦你有机会单独采取独立行动，就要积极地、不遗余力地向他展示出你的才华与能力将会给公司带来什么样的利益与好处，而且要告诉你的上司，你早就预料到了会产生这样的结果，向他证明他发出的指示与命令是多么的愚蠢和错误。尽你最大所能超越你的上司，而且要在尽可能短的时间内做到这一点。如果他是一个合格的上司的话，他就不会讨厌或是反对你的做法；如果他阻挠你这样做的话，他就不值得你再为他效劳——尽早立刻离开他，哪怕会有一点暂时的牺牲和损失也在所不惜。然后去寻找一个真正能够欣赏你的才华的上司。在卡耐基公司里，我们年轻的合作伙伴们就是这样来展示自己的能力与才华，赢得自己前进的动力的。他们向我们展示出的比我们对于自己所要做的事情和所要求的结果所知晓的，几乎要多出一半。他们其中有些人在某些情况下的做法是如此的果断和勇敢，看起来似乎不是我而是他们拥有这家公司，而我则像一个愚昧无知、傲慢十足的纽约人一样对着自己其实一窍不通的事情指手画脚。当然了，他们现在就不会像原来那样手脚受到很大束缚了，因为他们现在已经成为了真正的老板和上司，因为他们正是我们公司需求的那一类人才。
未来的合作伙伴，未来的百万富翁脸上都没有什么明显的标志，也没有什么能够显示他们将来一定是高人一等的人。但是，这些人一定是那些进项与收入永远大于消费与支出的人。这样的人在很早的时候就开始积蓄自己的钱，可以说，在他刚刚开始赚第一分钱的时候他就开始存钱了。无论你能够存起来的钱有多么的少，也要坚持把它存起来。然后开始谨慎地进行投资。你不一定非得把这些钱投资在证券上，但是你所投资的方面必须是你有足够的理由认为你这笔钱在此所进行的投资是有极好的回报的。要记住，永远不要冒险地把钱当作赌注一样压在赌博上。终会有一个千载难逢的机会出现在你的面前，你可以大胆地进行投资了。你积蓄的那一丁点儿钱可能由此为你打下了坚实的基础，它所带来的结果可能是你所始料不及的，它所带来的回报甚至会让你大吃一惊。商业投资者一般都十分信任能够节约自己每一分钱的年轻人。因为你一点一滴的积蓄可能由此而产生的结果是你会赢得100美元，而有了这100美元，冥冥之中那点石成金的迈达斯国王就会帮助你赢得1000美元，而你的这1000美元就会又生成5000美元，你最初那少得可怜的资本就这样不断的发展壮大起来。你的上司真正需要的并不是你为他赚取的那些有限的资本财富，而是一个像你这样能够证明自己是一个有商业潜质的人，因为你有创造资本财富的习惯。而以各种可能创造资本财富的最佳方式里面，最好的方式就是通过调整你的这种习惯适应他的方式。先生们，所有的这一切都是由于你所积蓄的第一个100美元而产生的。所以，现在就行动起来，积蓄点什么吧。未来的百万富翁是那些能够像蜜蜂一样善于从不同的花朵上采集花粉来酿造蜂蜜的人。
当然，我们还要看到，我们不应该仅仅局限于积蓄钱财和资本，我们应当有比这更高更远大的目标。将单纯地获取财富和资本作为最终的目标是极端可耻的。让我这样来想吧，你不停地积蓄自己的财富和资本，不停地渴求更多的财富，这只能作为一种手段，而不是作为一种目的。你可以通过这种手段和方式来积蓄财富，从而为你同时代的同胞们做一点有益的事情。但有一条规则要时刻牢记，时刻遵循，那就是，永远不要让你的支出大于你的收入。
你可能年复一年的在一个低等的职位上徘徊，于是你就开始变得不耐烦起来，或者变得消沉低落，感觉倍受冷落打击。毋庸置疑，在目前这样一个商业吸引着越来越多人注意的社会环境里，对于一个没有任何货币资本的年轻人来说，要开创他自己的事业是极其艰难的，更何况是在这样一个必须有巨额资本才能够立足的大都市里，其困难程度就又加深了一步。然而，我仍然想告诉你们，有一点你们会感到振奋鼓舞，那就是，在这个世界上没有哪一个国家能够像美国一样能够让所有精力充沛、才华横溢的年轻人有机会充分地展示自己，奋力地向上攀登，也没有哪一个城市能够像美国的城市一样能够给雄心勃勃的青年在最高层留有充分发挥自己的空间。可以这么说，即使市场的需求只是精明强干的一流书店管理员，这也永远不可能得到满足。（在此请大家注意我所使用的形容词）这里的供求关系从来就没有平衡过。年轻人总是在找各种各样的理由，在不停地抱怨说，他们之所以失败主要原因是由于他们所处的环境和当时的情况十分地特别，在这种情况下任何人的成功都是不可能的。甚至根据一些人的说法，他们从来都没有碰到过一个机会。可是，我要说，这纯粹是一派胡言。从来不可能有这样的年轻人，只要他曾经有过工作的经历，曾经受雇于某一家公司的话。在他的生活中就不可能从来都没有任何一丁点的机会，也不可能从来就没有碰到过一个极好的时机。事实上，任何一个人在他踏入工作岗位的第一天起就在他的顶头上司头脑中留下了一个印象，上司就会对他进行评价。等过一段时间，如果这个年轻人是一个德才兼备的人才的话，公司的董事会就会对他进行全面的评估，反复地权衡分析他是否有能力，是否诚实可靠。他的习惯、他的关系、他的品行以及他的性格脾气都会在评估分析的范围之内。如果说这个年轻人从来就没有过任何的机会，那只能说明经过他的上司与老板一再的分析与评价，发现他缺乏必要的素质与能力，认为他不值得公司与他建立更加密切的关系，因为他们通过这个年轻人的一些令人讨厌的行为举止、还有习惯和社会关系看出了这一点，而这个年轻人却以为自己的上司非常的愚蠢，没有看到这些。
还有一类年轻人，他们把自己的失败归咎于自己的上司总是提拔那些他偏爱的人或者是与他有关系的人。他们还振振有辞地说自己的上司不喜欢比自己更聪明更能干更有能力的人，他们总是设法挫败那些雄心勃勃的年轻人的锐气，看到这些年轻人在自己的手下乖乖听命时便得意洋洋。其实根本不会存在这样的事情。事实正相反，再没有比找不到合适的人来填补职位空缺更让人心焦的事情了，也没有人会比老板更加渴望能够找到这样的人了。目前在匹茨堡没有一家公司不是在到处不停地寻求商业奇才，他们会告诉你说目前市场上始终都最为缺乏的商品就是这样的人力资源。智慧与才华永远都是大受欢迎的，你要埋下这样的种子等待它生根发芽，不断的成长。因为这样的一种商品无论你积蓄多少，在哪儿都会有最好的市场。不要将你的智慧与才华这些商品囤积，你能够卖出的智慧与才华越多，你就能够索要的价格就会越高。与种植燕麦相比，它们可能不会像燕麦一样，永远都会保证你大丰收，但是它们比起种植燕麦的优点来就是你永远都不用为找不到市场而发愁。在碰到任何生意的时候，只要是合法的，你都要毫不犹豫的放手去做，因为当时在美国没有什么生意可做。不要考虑结果是什么，也许你为此付出了不懈的努力，投入了前所未有的精力。而这样的生意结果也许是这个勤勉能干的人付出了自己所有的资本都没有得到任何的回报。各行各业都会有自己的萧条时期，都会有特定的衰落时期，在这个时期内制造商和贸易商都会经受严峻的考验。在这个时期内，工厂要照常运转，即使不能赢利，甚至是在亏损生产，因为只有这样才能够使整个公司和工厂的员工得以保住工作饭碗，使他们能够齐心协力，让自己的产品始终在市场上占有一席之地。从另一方面说，任何能够满足人们的需求的制造业和贸易最终也应该是赢利的，前提是你能够合理经营。
接下来我要说的就是成功的首要条件了，这是最大的秘密所在：将你所有的精力、所有的思想、还有所有的资金都集中投入到你所从事的一件事情上去。你开始在某一个行业中起步，慢慢的努力在这一行业中站稳脚跟，然后奋力地向前，争取成为这个行业的佼佼者；你要听取并接受每一种可能有利于改进自己完善自己的方法，使用最先进的机器，尽你最大可能了解你所从事的这一行业，争取做到了如指掌。
有些人失败的主要原因就在于他们分散了自己的资金，这也就意味着他们同时也分散了自己的精力。他们将自己的资金或是投资在这里或者投资在那里，要么投资在这一方面，要么投资在那一方面，将自己的投资搞得到处都是。人们常说“不要把你所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里”，这句话完全不对。我要告诉你们的是，要把你所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里，而且要紧紧地盯住这个篮子。要四处看一看，不时地保持警惕。这样做的人很少会失败，因为要看住一个篮子或者是挎着一个篮子都是比较容易做到的。在我们这个国家中人们却经常是尽力挎着好几个篮子，结果却打碎了大部分的鸡蛋。想一想吧，如果一个人要挎三个盛鸡蛋的篮子的话，他就得把一个篮子放在头上，而这个篮子在头顶上会很容易摇摇晃晃，他走起路来就极有可能摔跤。现在许多美国商业界人士所容易犯的一个错误就是他们没有将自己的精力与资金集中在某一件事情上。
我再总结一下我刚才所讲到的几点：要有一个远大的目标，向着最高处攀登；一定不要去酒吧喝酒；不要去沾烈性酒，如果非要喝的话那只能是在你吃饭的时候；永远不要投机；不要批准使用超过你现金余额的钱；把公司的利益看作是你的利益；要为维护上司利益勇于不断地违背上司命令；集中所有的精力与资金干好一件事情；将你所有的鸡蛋放到一个篮子里，并且要紧紧地盯住它；让你的消费与支出永远都低于你的进项与收入；最后一点，要有耐心，不要迫不及待，不要焦躁不安，因为正如爱默生所说的那样：“除了你自己之外，没有人能够欺骗你，将你阻挡在成功之外。”
对于那些生来一无所有的年轻人，我想向他们表示祝贺。因为他们出生在一个令人荣耀的境地，这种环境注定了他们必须孜孜以求、不懈地努力才能够改变自己的处境，才能够出人头地。对于一个年轻人而言，他要挎的最重的篮子莫过于一个盛满了各种证券的篮子。他通常会让这个篮子压得摇摇晃晃、站立不稳。在我们的这个城市里有无数的青年，他们依靠自己的力量努力拼搏，站在了最优秀的人群前列，成为对社会有用的公民。他们无愧于授予他们的所有荣誉。而大部分富豪的子孙们却难以抵制住先辈留给他们的一大笔财富的诱惑，沦落为对社会没有任何价值的寄生虫。如果我能够选择的话，我宁愿给一个年轻人留下一些磨难让他去承受、去磨砺，而不是留给他万能的金钱，让金钱成为他的负担和重压。值得你们害怕的竞争对手不是来自这个富有的阶层，不是你的那些富有的合作伙伴的后代子孙们，你要时刻警惕的竞争对手是那些来自于贫穷家庭的贫穷的青年们，那些比你还要贫穷的青年人，他们的父母亲甚至没有能力负担他们在这个学院里上一门课的费用，而你们却拥有这个能够让你们在自己的同类中有了立于前排的决定性优势。你们要重视这些看来不可能在你这一个职位上向你挑战或者超越你的年轻人。不要轻视那些从普通的学校里走出来，一头扎进工作中的年轻人，也不要轻视那些在办公室里干诸如端茶扫地一类最低等活的年轻人，他很可能就是一匹黑马，你最好还是密切的注意他，终有一天他会向你挑战的。
安德鲁•卡耐基(1835-1919)
简介
安德鲁•卡耐基出生于苏格兰，12岁的时候他跟随他的家庭一起移居到了美国。人们对他的评价是“一个举止傲慢，容易冲动，为人热情、忠诚而又精明的理想主义者”。他最初当了一名锭子工，每周的薪水只有1.2美元。在16岁的时候，他成为宾夕法尼亚州铁路上的一名电报员，在那里他一呆就是12年。此后他投入自己所有的资产建立凯斯通桥梁工程公司，并极具眼光地展望到钢铁桥梁业具有不可限量的前景。于是他开始专门致力于钢铁生产行业，成为美国的钢铁大王。后来他还收购了一家石油公司、一条铁路，并购买了大量的汽船。在1901年的时候，他将自己建立的卡耐基钢铁公司以2.5亿美元的价格卖掉，此时卡耐基钢铁公司生产的钢铁已经占全美钢铁销售总量的25%。
卡耐基将自己的成功归因于自己周围所有人的共同努力。他曾经为自己的墓碑写过墓志铭，在上面他是这样写的:“这儿躺着的是一个这样的人，他深谙如何将自己周围的人变得比他自己更加聪明。”无论是在他生前还是在他死后，人们对他的评价都是褒贬不一，有的人称他为暴君，而有的人则称他为圣人。作为一个商人，卡耐基对于与竞争对手进行谈判协商的概念是对方必须完全妥协。而作为一个雇主，他则挖空心思地从工人身上赚取每一分能够落到自己腰包里的钱，而他给工人与雇员的工资简直可以用这样一句话来形容:大钱你别要，小钱要归我。在1892年霍穆斯德钢铁工人大罢工时，卡耐基远在苏格兰，但他雇佣了300名平克顿警卫，试图镇压工人的罢工。这场劳资间的冲突最终发展成为血腥的武装冲突，在卡耐基的历史上留下了极其不光彩的一页。
尽管如此，许多人仍然把卡耐基看作是一位圣人，因为在他临死前他将3.25亿美元捐献给了慈善机构，捐助了7000个教会机构。卡耐基同洛克菲勒两个人是美国最早赞助慈善事业的人。同时，卡耐基十分关注青少年教育事业。他不仅捐助了大量的图书馆和高等学府，而且亲自积极地著书立说，就各种社会问题发表自己的看法与见解。本篇“通往商业成功的道路”是他在匹茨堡加里工商大学发表的一篇演说稿。在这篇犀利尖刻的演讲稿中，卡耐基阐述了他提出的著名的理论:“为维护上司利益勇于不断地违背上司命令。”同时在这篇文章中他还着重强调了独立采取行动的重要性。
The Road to Business Success
Andrew Carnegie
I can give you the secret. It lies mainly in this. Instead of the question, “What must I do for my employer?”substitute“What can I do?”Faithful and conscientious discharge of the duties assigned you is all very well, but the verdict in such cases generally is that you perform your present duties so well that you had better continue performing them. Now, young gentlemen, this will not do. It will not do for the coming partners. There must be something beyond this. We make Clerks, Bookkeepers, Treasurers, Bank Tellers of this class, and there they remain to the end of the chapter. The rising man must do something exceptional, and beyond the range of his special department. HE MUST ATTRACT ATTENTION. A shipping clerk, he may do so by discovering in an invoice and error with which he has nothing to do, and which has escaped the attention of the proper party. If a weighing clerk, he may save for the firm by doubting the adjustment of the scales and having them corrected, even if this be the province of the master mechanic. If a messenger boy, even he can lay the seed of promotion by going beyond the letter of his instructions in order to secure the desired reply. There is no service so low and simple, neither any so high, in which the young man of ability and willing disposition cannot readily and almost daily prove himself capable of greater trust and usefulness, and, what is equally important, show his invincible determination to rise. Some day, in your own department, you will be directed to do or say something which you know will prove disadvantageous to the interest of the firm. Here is your chance. Stand up like a man and say so. Say it boldly, and give your reasons, and thus prove to your employer that, while his thoughts have been engaged upon other matters, you have been studying during hours when perhaps he thought you asleep, how to advance his interests. You may be right or you may be wrong, but in either case you have gained the first condition of success. You have attracted attention. Your employer has found that he has not a mere hireling in his service, but a man; not one who is content to give so many hours of work for so many dollars in return, but one who devotes his spare hours and constant thoughts to the business. Such an employe must perforce be thought of, and thought of kindly and well. It will not be long before his advice is asked in his special branch, and if the advice given be sound, it will soon be asked and taken upon questions of broader bearing. This means partnership; if not with present employers then with others. Your foot, in such a case, is upon the ladder; the amount of climbing done depends entirely upon yourself.
One false axiom you will often hear, which I wish to guard you against:“Obey orders if you break owners.” Don’t you do it. This is no rule for you to follow. Always break orders to save owners. There never was a great character who did not sometimes smash the routine regulations and make new ones for himself. The rule is only suitable for such as have no aspirations, and you have not forgotten that you are destined to be owners and to make orders and break order. Do not hesitate to do it whenever you are sure the interests of your employer will be thereby promoted and when you are so sure of the result that you willing to take the responsibility. You will never be a partner unless you know the business of your department far better than the owners possibly can. When called to account for your independent action, show him the result of your genius, and tell him that you knew that it would be so; show him how mistaken the orders were. Boss your boss just as soon as you can; try it on early. There is nothing he will like so well if he is the right kind of boss; if he is not, he is not the man for you to remain with-leave him whenever you can, even at a present sacrifice, and find one capable of discerning genius. Our young partners in the Carnegie firm have won their spurs by showing that we did not know half as well what was wanted as they did. Some of them have acted upon occasion with me as if they owned the firm and I was but some airy New Yorker presuming to advise upon what I knew very little about. Well, they are not interfered with much now. They were the true bosses--the very men we were looking for.
There is one sure mark of the coming partner, the future millionaire; his revenues always exceed his expenditures. He begins to save early, almost as soon as he begins to earn. No matter how little it may be possible to save, save that little. Invest it securely, not necessarily in bonds, but in anything which you have good reason to believe will be profitable, but no gambling with it, remember. A rare chance will soon present itself for investment. The little you have saved will prove the basis for an amount of credit utterly surprising to you. Capitalists trust the saving young man. For every hundred dollars you can produce as the result of hard-won savings, Midas, in search of a partner, will lend or credit a thousand; for every thousand, fifty thousand. It is not capital that your seniors require, it is the man who has proved that he has the business habits which create capital, and to create it in the best of all possible ways, as far as self-discipline is concerned, is, by adjusting his habits to his means. Gentlemen, it is the first hundred dollars saved which tells. Begin at once to lay up something. The bee predominates in the future millionaire.
Of course there are better, higher aims than saving. As an end, the acquisition of wealth is ignoble in the extreme; I assume that you save and long for wealth only as a means of enabling you the better to do some good in your day and generation. Make a note of this essential rule: Expenditure always within income.
You may grow impatient, or become discouraged when year by year you float on in subordinate positions. There is no doubt that it is becoming harder and harder as business gravitates more and more to immense concerns, for a young man without capital to get a start for himself, and in this city especially where large capital is essential, it is unusually difficult. Still, let me tell you for your encouragement that there is no country in the world where able and energetic young men can so readily rise as this, nor any city where there is more room at the top. It has been impossible to meet the demand for capable, first-class bookkeepers (mark the adjectives), the supply has never been equal to the demand. Young men give all kinds of reasons why in their cases failure was clearly attributable to exceptional circumstances which render success impossible. Some never had a chance, according to their own story. This is simply nonsense. No young man ever lived who had not a chance, and a splendid chance, too, if he ever was employed at all. He is assayed in the mind of his immediate superior, from the day he begins work, and after a time if he has merit, he is assayed in the council chamber of the firm. His ability, honesty, habits, associations, temper, disposition all these are weighed and analysed. The young man who never had a chance is the same young man who has been canvassed over and over again by his superiors, and found destitute of necessary qualifications, or is deemed unworthy of closer relations with the firm, owing to some objectionable act, habit, or association, of which he thought his employers ignorant.
Another class of young men attribute their failure to employers having relations or favourites whom they advanced unfairly. They also insist that their employers disliked brighter intelligences than their own, and were disposed to discourage aspiring genius, and delighted in keeping young men down. There is nothing in this. On the contrary, there is no one suffering so much for lack of the right man in the right place, nor so anxious to find him as the owner. There is not a firm in Pittsburg today which is not in the constant search for business ability, and every one of them will tell you that there is no article in the market at all times so scarce. There is always a boom in brains, cultivate that crop, for if you grow any amount of that commodity here is your best market and you cannot overstock it, and the more brains you have to sell, the higher price you can exact. They are not quite so sure a crop as wild oats, which never fail to produce a bountiful harvest, but they have the advantage over these in always finding a market. Do not hesitate to engage in any legitimate business, for there is no business in America, I do not care what, which will not yield a fair profit if it receive the unremitting, exclusive attention, and all the capital of capable and industrious men. Every business will have its season of depression-years always come during which the manufacturers and merchants of the city are severely tried-years when mills must be run, not for profit, but at a loss, that the organization and men may be kept together and emp1oyed, and the concern may keep its products in the market. But on the other hand, every legitimate business producing or dealing in an article which man requires is bound in time to be fairly Profitable if Properly conducted.
And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret: concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in it; adopt every improvement, have the be the best machinery, and know the most about it.
The concerns which fail are those which have scattered their capital, which means that they have scattered their brains also. They have investments in this, or that, or the other, here, there and everywhere. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" is all wrong, I tell you "put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket. " Look round you and take notice; men who do that do not often fail. It is easy to watch and carry the one basket, It is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most eggs in this country. He who carries three baskets must put one on his head, which is apt to tumble and trip him up. One fault of the American businessman is lack of concentration.
To summarize what I have said: Aim for the highest; never enter a bar-room; do not touch liquor, or if at all only at meals; never speculate; never indorse beyond your surplus cash fund; make the firm's interest yours; break orders always to save owners; concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket; expenditure always within revenue; lastly be not impatient, for, as Emerson says, "no one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourselves. "
I congratulate poor young men upon being born to that ancient and honourable degree which renders it necessary that they should devote themselves to hard work. A basketful of bonds is the heaviest basket a young man ever had to carry. He generally gets to staggering under it. We have in this city creditable instances of such young men, who have pressed to the front rank of our best and most useful citizens. These deserve great credit. But the vast majority of the sons of rich men are unable to resist the temptations to which wealth subjects them, and sink to unworthy lives. I would almost as soon leave a young man a curse, as burden him with the almighty dollar. It is not from this class you have rivalry to fear. The partner's sons will not trouble you much, but look out that some boys poorer, much poorer than yourselves, whose parents cannot afford to give them the advantages of a course in this institute, advantages which should give you a decided lead in the race-look out that such boys do not challenge you at the post and pass you at the grand stand. Look out for the boy who has to plunge into work direct from the common school and who begins by sweeping out the office. He is the probable dark horse that you had better watch.
ANDREW CARNEGIE 1835-1919
Carnegie, who has been characterized as “impulsive, haughty, idealistic, warm, loyal, and shrewd”, was born in Scotland and immigrated with his family to the United States when he was 12 years old. His first job was as a bobbin boy, earning $1.20 a week. At 16 Carnegie became a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he stayed for 12 years. He then struck out on his own and started the Keystone Bridge Works, envisioning the need for steel bridges. Eventually, Carnegie concentrated on steel production, later buying an oil company, a railroad, and steamships. When he sold the Carnegie steel Company for $250 million in 1901, it accounted for 25 percent of all steel sold in the United States.
Carnegie attributed much of his success to the men around him. At one point he wrote an epitaph for his grave that read, “Here lies one who knew how to get around him men cleverer than himself. ”In life and in death, Andrew Carnegie has been called both a tyrant and a saint. As a businessman, Carnegie’s idea of conciliation with competitors was their complete surrender to his demands. As an employer, he squeezed all that he could from his employees, offering them wage packages that in effect amounted to “tails I win, heads you lose”. During the Homestead Steel Workers’ strike of 1892, Carnegie remained at a safe distance in Scotland while 300 Pinkerton guards were hired in an attempt to crush the workers. The conflict ended in a bloody battle and remains a black mark on Carnegie’s legacy.
However, Carnegie was considered a saint for giving away more than $325 million to charitable causes before his death, including 7, 000 church organs. Carnegie, along with john D. Rockefeller, was the first to make a big business of philanthropy. He also cared deeply for the education of youth; therefore, he not only endowed libraries and universities, but also actively wrote and spoke on social issues. The Road to Business Success is from and address given to the students of Curry Commercial College, Pittsburgh. In this poignant speech, he elaborates on his famous axiom, “Always break orders to save owners,”and discusses the critical importance of independent action.
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