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Rockefeller’s INSANE Leadership Will Blow Your Mind — Transcript

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0:00This is a biography on John D.
0:02Rockefeller, one of the greatest
0:03businessmen to ever live. And in this
0:06book are some of the greatest leadership
0:08principles that I have ever seen. Now, I
0:10know that when you think of the greatest
0:12leaders in history, you don't normally
0:13think of Rockefeller. You think of
0:15people like Alexander the Great,
0:17Napoleon, Winston Churchill. But after
0:19reading this book, I am fully convinced
0:21of his leadership genius. What
0:23Rockefeller showed me is that leadership
0:25doesn't always have to be aggressive and
0:27flashy and intense, but it can be very
0:30quiet and controlled and focused. So,
0:33what I did was I took this book and I
0:34broke it down into 10 principles that
0:36define Rockefeller's leadership so that
0:39you can apply those same principles in
0:40your work and in your life. So, with
0:43that said, let's just get straight into
0:45the first principle.
0:48The book starts off with saying, "In the
0:50early days, Rockefeller wasn't so
0:52detached from the practical side of
0:53refining as when his empire later grew
0:55and he withdrew into the impregnable
0:57fortress of his office. Devoid of
0:59superior airs, he was often seen at
1:01Kidsbury Run at 6:30 a.m. going into the
1:04cooper shop to roll out barrels, stack
1:06hoops, or cart out shavings, reflecting
1:08the thrift inculcated by his mother and
1:10puritanical religious upbringing. Just
1:12like Alexander fighting with his troops
1:14at the front of the army or Napoleon
1:16positioning cannons at Lodi or Elon
1:19sleeping in the office with everyone
1:20else, Rockefeller was always leading
1:22from the front lines. He was rolling out
1:24barrels, stacking hoops, doing whatever
1:26it was that everyone at the bottom level
1:28was doing with them. So many of the
1:30modern leaders believe that they are
1:32beyond grunt labor, but it is the grunt
1:34labor that actually shows you what the
1:36bottom employee is actually doing, what
1:38they're actually thinking, and what
1:40they're actually feeling doing the work.
1:42From Rockefeller's childhood, he always
1:44remembered what it was like to be at the
1:46bottom tier. And the book says, "In
1:48contrast to his father's disdain for
1:49manual labor, John, always a self-styled
1:52son of the common people, gloried in the
1:54rigors of country life, which he came to
1:56believe toughened him for later
1:58industrial struggle. His frugal boyhood
2:00hardened an already stoic nature and
2:03made him proof against later adversity.
2:05Why this trait makes a great leader is
2:07not just because it shows humility to be
2:09able to do the grunt labor work at the
2:11bottom, but it also just allows you to
2:13relate to the common worker. I mean,
2:15imagine you have two kings. King A sits
2:18in the back during a battle and has his
2:19servants bring him food while he watches
2:21the battle unfold from behind. And King
2:23B chooses to take the dangerous route
2:25and fights the enemy right at the front
2:27lines, putting himself in the face of
2:29danger. Of course, people are going to
2:30be more likely to follow King B simply
2:33because he's right there with them
2:34facing the danger with them.
2:36Rockefeller, at least during the rise of
2:38Standard Oil, was constantly doing stuff
2:40at the front lines. He was constantly
2:42looking over ledgers. He was constantly
2:44doing the grunt work. I mean, he was
2:45just constantly walking around and he
2:47was right in the thick of it. In the
2:49book, it says, "In this early period,
2:51Rockefeller was a chronic worrier who
2:53labored under a great deal of
2:54self-imposed stress. Though not versed
2:56in the scientific side of refining, he
2:59often exercised a direct managerial role
3:01in the plant. With fluctuating market
3:03conditions, he sometimes needed to send
3:05shipments to New York with a great
3:06dispatch and personally rushed down to
3:09the railroad tracks to motivate his
3:10freight handlers. I shall never forget
3:12how hungry I was in those days. I stayed
3:14outdoors day and night. I ran up and
3:16down the tops of freight cars when
3:18necessary. I hurried up the boys." The
3:20ability to endure pain and to go through
3:22the pain and suffering with the common
3:24worker is the at the forefront of what
3:26makes a great leader. So, if you want to
3:28be a great leader, lead from the front
3:30lines.
3:33>> [music]
3:33>> This is one of my favorite principles
3:35ever, and that's that so many of the
3:37great leaders see business as war. And
3:39they see themselves as the general. For
3:42Rockefeller, he didn't just think that
3:43he was there to conquer the entire oil
3:45industry, but he literally believed that
3:47he was a sort of crusader sent by God to
3:50bring law and order to an industry that
3:52was filled with chaos. The man with the
3:55hypertrophied craving for order was
3:57about to impose his icon rule on his
3:59lawless, godless business. As Ida
4:01Tarbell described Rockefeller in 1870,
4:04he was a brooding, cautious, and
4:05secretive man seeing all the possible
4:07dangers as well as all the possible
4:09opportunities in things, and he studied
4:11as a player at chess all the possible
4:14combinations which might imperil his
4:16supremacy. As he scanned the field of
4:17battle, the first target of opportunity
4:20lay close to home, the 26 rival
4:22Cleveland refiners. His strategy would
4:24be to subjugate one part of the
4:25battlefield, consolidate his forces,
4:27then move briskly onto the next
4:29conquest. His victory over the Cleveland
4:31refiners would be the first, but also
4:33the most controversial campaign of his
4:35career. Rockefeller's takeover of the
4:37Cleveland refiners is now known as the
4:39Cleveland Massacre, and it might be the
4:42crown jewel of his career. I mean,
4:43everything about it is just it's it's
4:46just like a leadership, a military
4:48masterclass. And once again, the reason
4:50why he is able to be a masterclass, and
4:52why he's such a good leader, is because
4:54he literally saw himself he saw this
4:56business as a war. He was a crusader
4:58leading his troops to conquer the oil
5:00industry, and these 26 refineries were
5:03in his way. For his admirers, 1872 was
5:06the anus mirabilis of John D.
5:08Rockefeller's life, while for his
5:10critics, it constituted the darkest
5:12chapter. The year revealed both his
5:14finest and most problematic qualities as
5:16a businessman. His visionary leadership,
5:18his courageous persistence, his capacity
5:20to think in strategic terms, but also
5:22his lust for domination, his messianic
5:25self-righteousness, and his contempt for
5:27those short-sighted mortals who made the
5:28mistake of standing in his way. What
5:31rivals saw as a naked power grab,
5:33Rockefeller regarded as a heroic act of
5:35salvation, nothing less than the rescue
5:37of the oil business. Oh, man. Napoleon
5:40has this genius quote that goes, "More
5:42battles are lost by loss of hope than
5:44loss of blood." And so Rockefeller, who
5:46studied Napoleon very deeply by the way,
5:48decided that his first move in this
5:50campaign was going to be to demoralize
5:52the 26 competitors. Another businessman
5:55might have started with small vulnerable
5:57firms building on easy victories, but
5:59Rockefeller started at the top believing
6:02that if he could crack his strongest
6:03competitor first, it would have
6:05tremendous psychological impact. Another
6:07brilliant Napoleon quote, "Audacity,
6:10audacity, always audacity." By taking on
6:12the strongest competitor, he not only
6:15demoralized all the smaller competition,
6:17but he also encouraged his own troops
6:19because he showed them what they were
6:20capable of. After this, everyone at
6:22Standard Oil felt like they could take
6:24anyone else. But I need to reiterate
6:26that this was only possible because
6:28Rockefeller saw business as war, and so
6:31he was able to take the tactics of
6:32Napoleon and apply them in business. I
6:35mean, just take the description for what
6:37Google says about the Cleveland
6:38Massacre, and it's very clear
6:41so clear how the parallels are. The
6:43Cleveland Massacre historically refers
6:45to a rapid force consolidation of the
6:47Cleveland oil refining industry by John
6:49D. Rockefeller. That does not sound like
6:51a business takeover. It sounds like a
6:53military takeover. And so if you want to
6:55be a great leader, then you need to be
6:56able to see business as war and take the
6:59tactics that were used in the past and
7:01be able to apply them in the future.
7:06So this is the principle that really
7:07made me realize how good of a leader
7:09Rockefeller was. And it's something that
7:11makes him different from all the other
7:13leaders in history. What he was able to
7:15do was that he was able to give off the
7:17sort of aura of confidence that showed
7:19extreme calculatedness. And what's
7:21brilliant about this is that he didn't
7:23even have to speak a word to have this
7:25effect. I mean, there's a great story in
7:27the book that shows this. At one point,
7:29Rockefeller was in a meeting with a
7:31bunch of other refiners, and this one
7:33refiner gets up at the meeting, and he
7:35actually tells the story himself. One
7:37day, several of us met at the office of
7:39one of the refiners who, I felt pretty
7:41sure, was being persuaded to go into the
7:43scheme which they were talking up.
7:44Everybody talked except Mr. Rockefeller.
7:47He sat in a rocking chair, softly
7:48swinging back and forth, his hands over
7:50his face. I made a speech which, I
7:52guess, was pretty warranted. Well, right
7:55in the middle of it, John Rockefeller
7:56stopped rocking and took down his hands
7:58and looked at me. You never saw such
8:00eyes. He took me all in, saw just how
8:03much fight he could expect from me, and
8:04I knew it. And then up went his hands
8:06and back and forth went his chair. Now,
8:09at first you might think that this is
8:10just Rockefeller lore and that it was
8:12sort of an exaggeration, but there are
8:14so many of these stories in the book and
8:17so many people, quotations of people,
8:19that describe him in the exact same way.
8:22The book even has a direct description
8:24of how Rockefeller acted during
8:25meetings. At meetings, Rockefeller had a
8:27negative capability. The quieter he was,
8:30the more forceful his presence seemed,
8:32and he played on this mystique as the
8:34resident genius, immune to petty
8:36concerns. As one director recalled, "I
8:38have seen board meetings when excited
8:40men shout profanity and made menacing
8:41gestures, but Mr. Rockefeller,
8:43maintaining the utmost courtesy,
8:45continued to dominate the room." This is
8:47something that I now call the
8:48Rockefeller, and it's the ability to
8:50show power through silence. The book
8:53continues to say, "Rockefeller equated
8:55silence with strength. Weak men had
8:57loose tongues and babbled to reporters,
8:59while prudent businessmen kept their own
9:01counsel." Two of his most cherished
9:03maxims were, "Success comes from keeping
9:05the ears open and the mouth closed."
9:07And, "A man of words and not of deeds is
9:10like a garden full of weeds." By the
9:11way, just a little side note that
9:13whenever you hear the word maxim, know
9:15that something extremely important is
9:17going to be said. Rockefeller was a very
9:19simple person. He wasn't the smartest.
9:22He simply lived by a few set of maxims
9:24that he repeated over and over and over
9:27again until he began to act them out in
9:29real life. So, maxims are extremely
9:31important, and these two in particular,
9:33"Success comes from keeping the ears
9:35open and the mouth closed." And, "A man
9:37of words and not of deeds is like a
9:39garden full of weeds. Whenever
9:41Rockefeller could, he made it his
9:42mission to just stay quiet and listen.
9:45So many people in the modern world are
9:46just so obsessed with getting their
9:48thoughts out. Like every thought that
9:50comes into their head, they just think
9:52is brilliant. And especially with social
9:54media, a lot of the times it comes off
9:56as desperate, like a cry for attention.
9:59If you can master the art of quiet
10:00confidence, then you can give off this
10:02effect that Rockefeller was able to give
10:04off of just control and confidence. And
10:07this will greatly multiply the effect
10:09that you have as a leader. There are
10:11just so many more examples of
10:13Rockefeller using this throughout the
10:14book, but this one is probably my
10:16favorite because it really shows the
10:18profound effect that this is able to
10:20have on other people. The book says,
10:22"The investment in oil refining had
10:24brought Maurice's brother James into the
10:26office, and Rockefeller came to detest
10:28him. An ex-prize fighter, James Clark
10:30was a powerful, bullying young man, and
10:32he tried to intimidate Rockefeller, who
10:34responded with a great sangfroid and
10:36courage. One morning, James burst into
10:38his office and started swearing
10:40violently at Rockefeller, who put his
10:41feet up on the desk with imperturbable
10:43poise and showed him no sign of upset. A
10:46fine actor, he always had masterful
10:48control of his facial muscles. When
10:50James finished, Rockefeller said evenly,
10:53'Now James, you can knock my head off,
10:54but you might as well understand that
10:56you can't scare me.' This fearless young
10:58man couldn't be intimidated. After that
11:01confrontation, James Clark didn't rant
11:03or bluster as much around Rockefeller. I
11:05really hate to use the word aura, but
11:07being a great leader is so much about
11:09the aura that you give off. It's about
11:11the energy. For Rockefeller, it was just
11:13an aura of deliberate and quiet
11:16confidence. By staying silent when James
11:18Clark was yelling, you can very much see
11:20the distinction between the two. James
11:22Clark is clearly uncontrollable, loud,
11:25and filled with emotion, while
11:27Rockefeller, on the other hand, simply
11:28by staying silent, was calm, cool, and
11:31collected. And he spoke only at the end
11:34after he had demonstrated that he had
11:35self-control and had the Rockefeller
11:38effect. Keep in mind that every example
11:40I've read so far has been with people in
11:42his own company, but it gets even more
11:44crazy and you get to see the brilliance
11:46of Rockefeller and how cold he is when
11:48he starts talking to people outside of
11:50his company, his competitors. The book
11:52says, "Several Cleveland refiners
11:54claimed that Rockefeller had directly
11:56threatened them. John H. Heisel of
11:58Bishop and Heisel remembered telling
12:00Rockefeller that he wasn't afraid of
12:01him, to which Rockefeller supposedly
12:03replied, 'You may not be afraid to have
12:06your hand cut off, but your body will
12:07still suffer.'" This is so unbelievably
12:10cold, but it gets even crazier when this
12:12guy named Mark Hanna wouldn't sell his
12:14company to him. He bluntly told
12:16Rockefeller that he wouldn't sell. In
12:18response, Rockefeller sighed and warily
12:20shrugged his shoulders as if expressing
12:22regret that his benighted sinner hadn't
12:24seen the light. "You will stand alone,"
12:26he warned Hanna. "Your firm can never
12:28make money in Cleveland. No use trying
12:30to do business in competition with the
12:32Standard Oil Company. If you do, it will
12:35end in your being wiped out." He
12:37repeated this exact same speech to
12:39refiner after refiner, letting them talk
12:41first, letting them get it all out, and
12:43then coldly, calmly, and in as few words
12:46as possible saying something like,
12:48"There is no chance for anyone outside,
12:50but we are going to give everybody a
12:51chance to come in. You are to turn over
12:53your refinery to my appraisers, and I
12:55will give you Standard Oil Company stock
12:57or cash as you would prefer for the
12:59value we put on it. I advise you to take
13:01the stock. It will be for your good."
13:03Rockefeller would never raise his voice,
13:05he would never shout, he would never do
13:07any sporadic action. You can very much
13:10see his presence here. He always spoke
13:13as little as possible, but when he did,
13:15the few words that he spoke had the true
13:17meaning behind them and true impact as
13:19well. And that's exactly what you can
13:21take from this. If you want to lead like
13:23Rockefeller, then you need to lead with
13:25a sort of quiet confidence. And you do
13:27this by one, speaking as minimum as
13:30possible, two, being extremely
13:32deliberate with your words, and three,
13:34have 100% confidence in the words that
13:37you're saying.
13:40John D. Rockefeller had an unfailing
13:42knack for knowing who would help or
13:44hinder him in his career, an instinct
13:46only sharpened by time. Sensitive to
13:48patronizing behavior, he bridled when
13:50anyone tried to lord it over him, and he
13:52wanted to be dealt with as a peer, even
13:54by senior men. Recoiling at what he saw
13:57as the Clark brothers' pomposity, he
13:59eventually grew as censorious of them as
14:01he had been of George Gardner. The
14:03Clarks were the first of many business
14:05partners to underrate the audacity of
14:07the quietly calculating Rockefeller, who
14:09bided his time as he figured out how to
14:11get rid of them. So, one thing you see
14:14with many of the great leaders is that
14:16they choose to surround themselves only
14:18with the best of the best. Napoleon
14:20surrounded himself only with the best
14:22marshals. Steve Jobs was obsessed with
14:24hiring the highest quality talent. Elon
14:26was literally visiting colleges asking
14:28professors who the best students were so
14:30that he could go and hire them.
14:32Rockefeller was the exact same way, and
14:33at one point he even says that this was
14:35the key reason for his success. Few
14:38outsiders knew that one of Rockefeller's
14:40greatest talents was to manage and
14:42motivate his diverse associates. As he
14:44said, "It is chiefly to my confidence in
14:46men and my ability to inspire their
14:48confidence in me that I owe my success
14:50in life." He liked to note that Napoleon
14:53could not have succeeded without his
14:54marshals. This is one of the most
14:56underrated least things that I see
14:58talked about when it comes to
14:59leadership. If you want to be a great
15:01leader, then you have to assemble and
15:03work with the best, the highest quality
15:06talent in the world. For Rockefeller, it
15:08started with Henry Flagler. Starting
15:10with Flagler's recruitment, Rockefeller
15:12began to assemble the team of capable,
15:14congenial executives who would transform
15:16the Cleveland Refiner into the world's
15:18strongest industrial company. Both
15:21Rockefeller and Flagler had a nimble
15:22mind for numbers and infinite dexterity
15:25with balance sheets. Neither was
15:26interested in modest success, and they
15:28were both prepared to go as far and as
15:30fast as the marketplace allowed. As
15:32Flagler boasted, "I have always been
15:34contented, but I have never been
15:35satisfied." Rockefeller found his
15:37partner's enthusiasm a tonic, noting
15:40that Flagler was always on the active
15:41side of every question, and to his
15:43wonderful energy is much of the rapid
15:45progress of the company in the early
15:47days. In this quote, you can see why
15:49this is such an important principle, and
15:51it only just gets more refined and
15:53further pushed in the next paragraph.
15:55Rockefeller loved Flagler's dictum that
15:57a friendship founded on business was
15:59superior to a business founded on
16:01friendship, and for several decades they
16:03worked together in an almost seamless
16:05fashion. In the early years, the two men
16:07were bound by a common dream, lived near
16:09each other, and seemed virtually
16:11inseparable. As Rockefeller said in his
16:13memoirs, "We met and walked to the
16:15office together, walked home to
16:16luncheon, back again after luncheon, and
16:19home again at night." On these walks,
16:21when we were away from the office
16:22interruptions, we did our thinking,
16:24talking, and planning together. For a
16:26man as reserved as Rockefeller, this
16:28picture suggested an unbuttoned exchange
16:31of ideas of a sort with a few people.
16:33This relationship is one that you see
16:35recurring over and over again in
16:37history, along with the best leaders
16:39having the best teams around them.
16:41Benjamin Franklin had his Junto Club,
16:43Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger had
16:44the Graham stalwarts, Walt Disney had Ub
16:47Iwerks and his animators, and of course
16:49right now we're talking about
16:50Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, and the rest
16:52of the executives at Standard Oil. It's
16:54very easy to say that Rockefeller got to
16:56the top all on his own, or anyone got to
16:59the top all on their own for that
17:00matter. But in reality, Rockefeller got
17:02to the top because he was surrounded by
17:04the best people, and they made him the
17:06best version of him. And so if you want
17:09to be the best leader, the best version
17:11of you, you need to surround yourself
17:12with the highest quality people. And if
17:15you feel like you don't have this sort
17:17of Junto Club or Graham Stalwart network
17:19of people, I actually started a group
17:21called the Biography Society, where we
17:23meet together every weekend and we study
17:26the greats online. There are leadership
17:28courses in there, genius principle
17:29courses, and I do a live presentation on
17:32one of the greats every week. The link
17:34will be in the description. Definitely
17:35go check it out.
17:39So highly did Rockefeller value
17:41personnel that during the first years of
17:43Standard Oil, he personally attended to
17:45routine hiring matters. After conquering
17:47the other refining centers, the payroll
17:49ballooned to 3,000 people and this
17:51became impossible. Taking for granted
17:53the growth of his empire, he hired
17:54talented people as found, not as needed.
17:57So this principle is sort of a
17:59continuation of the last principle
18:01because on top of having the best
18:02managers around you, the best people on
18:04the managing team, you also need to find
18:07the highest quality employees. This all
18:09comes down to hiring practices and
18:11Rockefeller was obsessed with hiring the
18:13best people. Like all the other great
18:15people in history. I mean, in Elon
18:17Musk's Ashley Vance biography, it
18:18literally says almost the exact same
18:20thing that it said in this Rockefeller
18:22biography. It said, "He interviewed
18:24almost every one of SpaceX's first 1,000
18:27hires, including the janitors and
18:29technicians, and has continued to
18:30interview the engineers as the company's
18:32workforce swelled." So both of them were
18:34obsessed with hiring the best people and
18:36one thing that I see recurring in so
18:38many biographies that no one really
18:40talks about is that when they're looking
18:41for the best people, one skill that so
18:44many people across multiple fields to
18:45look for is a good base in mathematics.
18:48Having always shown an aptitude for
18:50math, Rockefeller valued this quality in
18:52underlings. When he hired his young
18:54secretary, George D. Rogers, Rockefeller
18:56drew forth a watch to see how fast
18:58Rogers could total up a sheet of
19:00figures. At the end, Rockefeller said,
19:02"Well, you have completed it in the
19:04required time." And then promptly hired
19:05the young man who served him ably for
19:07many years. This exact thing showed up
19:10in Bill Gates' memoir where Bill Gates
19:12was talking about someone he was
19:13thinking about hiring. I figured he had
19:15to be strong in math, and since math
19:17demanded logical thinking and sharp
19:19problem-solving, I reasoned that he, and
19:21by extension I, could pick up whatever
19:24skills and knowledge were needed. Linear
19:26algebra, topology, and the rest of math
19:2855 tested my limits. Rockefeller, Bill
19:31Gates, and Elon all knew that
19:33mathematics is not just a skill to
19:35learn, but it's a mental framework for
19:37how to see the world. And this mental
19:39framework is something that will make
19:41you into a much better worker. I am
19:43currently studying physics, and I can,
19:44with 100% confidence, say that hiring
19:47people with a good mathematics or
19:49physics base will double the quality of
19:51the people at your company. It doesn't
19:53matter what field it's in. What follows
19:55after hiring someone, though, is the
19:56brilliance that Rockefeller shows of how
19:58he molds that person into his company.
20:01And it once again reiterates all the
20:03other biographies that I've studied.
20:04Rockefeller worked by subtle hints,
20:06doing out praises sparingly to
20:07employees, and nudging them along.
20:09First, he tested them exhaustively. Yet,
20:12once he trusted them, he bestowed
20:14enormous power upon them, and didn't
20:15intrude unless something radically
20:17misfired. Often, the best way to develop
20:20workers, when you are sure they have
20:21character and think they have ability,
20:23is to take them to a deep place, throw
20:25them in, and make them sink or swim, he
20:28observed. If you want to be a great
20:29leader, you can't just baby in the
20:31people that you hire. You give them a
20:33couple tests, you feel them out, and
20:35then you throw them in the deep end. I
20:36am not even kidding, the best companies,
20:38Nvidia, SpaceX, Tesla, they all have a
20:41culture of sink or swim, because it
20:43allows you to determine who is a good
20:45fit for the company and who is going to
20:46sink. The ones who are worthy will take
20:48advantage of the responsibility and the
20:50opportunity in front of them, and the
20:52ones that aren't won't. It's as simple
20:55as that. Part of why Rockefeller was
20:57able to be so good at this, though, and
20:59why he was able to pick out the right
21:00hires, was because he himself was able
21:02to do the tasks that he assigned others
21:05to do. In the early days, Rockefeller
21:07knew the name and face of each employee
21:09and occasionally perambulated around the
21:11office. He walked with a measured gait,
21:13steady as a metronome, always covering
21:15the same distance in the exact time. He
21:17had the soundless movements and
21:19modulated voice of an undertaker,
21:21gliding about with silent footsteps. He
21:23startled people by materializing at
21:25their desks and politely asking in a
21:27mellow voice to inspect their work.
21:29There's almost once again this exact
21:30same story at Nvidia where one of the
21:32workers is in the bathroom and Jensen
21:35walks in. And the guy was talking about
21:36how he didn't like to talk to other
21:38people in the bathroom, but Jensen had
21:40different ideas. I mean, in the
21:41biography it says that Jensen literally
21:43had other ideas. "Hey, what's up?" he
21:46asked. Hurley replied with a
21:47non-committal "Not much." which earned
21:49him a sidelong glance from the CEO.
21:51Hurley panicked thinking, "I'm going to
21:53get fired because he thinks I'm not
21:55doing anything. He's probably wondering
21:57what I'm doing at Nvidia." To save face,
21:59Hurley proceeded to list 20 things he
22:01was working on. "Okay." Jensen replied,
22:03apparently satisfied with the engineer's
22:05answer. I keep using the word presence
22:07again and again, but that's because
22:09presence is so important when it comes
22:11to leadership. And it's really crazy how
22:13similar Rockefeller and Gates and Musk
22:16and Jensen Huang all are. And more
22:18importantly, how similar their presence
22:20is. Unique as an individual, same as a
22:23leader. The hiring philosophies are the
22:25same, the management philosophies are
22:27the same, and that's why it's so
22:28important to be able to see the tactics
22:30of Rockefeller and to see how they still
22:32apply in the world today. To build a
22:34great team, you need to follow the best
22:36hiring practices. And if you want to
22:38become great at math like Rockefeller
22:40and be able to spot the top talent,
22:42people like Carnegie, Elon, Jeff Bezos,
22:45and Bill Gates all understood the value
22:47of mathematics. This is why I recommend
22:49the platform Brilliant. Brilliant offers
22:51interactive courses on topics like
22:53science and mathematics that lets you
22:55build your knowledge systematically to
22:57actually become good at these skills.
22:58And it gets better because Brilliant has
23:00just launched something that's truly
23:02special. This is their new tutor, a
23:04visual interactive guide that sits right
23:06on your screen while you're learning. It
23:08can see what you're working on, draw
23:10diagrams, ask you the right questions,
23:11and adapt in real time to how you think.
23:14Since I'm studying physics, I've been
23:15using this visual tutor to help me out
23:17on my basic fundamentals, and it
23:19actually has been working really well.
23:21Brilliant is one of those companies
23:22that's actually trying to improve
23:24education and actually make learning a
23:26fun experience. You can try Brilliant
23:28for free, or if you use my link
23:29brilliant.org/nickmiunos
23:31or scan the QR code, then you will get
23:3320% off the annual premium subscription
23:35plan. Definitely go check out Brilliant.
23:37They are the future of learning. Now,
23:39onto the next principle.
23:43The enemy effect is one of my favorite
23:45leadership principles because it is just
23:47so applicable in so many ways. As I
23:49explained earlier, Rockefeller saw
23:51himself as a crusader set to bring about
23:54order to the oil industry. The book
23:56says, "He was always quick to impugn the
23:58motives of enemies while regarding his
24:00own as somehow beyond reproach. The
24:02Standard Oil Company was a very orderly
24:04body, and these producers were a rabble
24:07of wild, excitable men waiting for a war
24:09cry to rush into the arena with a
24:11suitable noise. Clad in the armor of
24:13self-righteousness, Rockefeller felt no
24:15need to explain his actions and turned
24:17away from reporters at his door. And on
24:20top of seeing himself in this way, he
24:22also used it to motivate the people
24:24working for him. From the outset,
24:25Standard Oil was permeated by an us
24:27versus them attitude that emanated from
24:30the top. At moments, Rockefeller made it
24:32sound as if he and his colleagues were a
24:34band of early Christians misunderstood
24:36by the pagans. In this frame of mind, he
24:38was bound to see his opponents as
24:40benighted, misguided people governed by
24:43their narrow jealousies and unwarranted
24:45prejudices, and unaware that the old
24:47gods were now obsolete." This is
24:49something that I call the enemy effect,
24:51where you create an enemy to motivate
24:53yourself and the people who work for you
24:55to work harder. And the enemy effect is
24:57a phenomenal thing for three reasons.
25:00One, it creates an us versus them
25:01mentality, which is great because it
25:03unites the team closer together. Since
25:05the dawn of human civilization, we have
25:07had a tribal mindset, and we
25:09automatically identify with a tribe. If
25:11you have an enemy tribe, that bond now
25:13intensifies because both tribes are
25:15competing for resources. So, you need to
25:17trust people in your tribe to defeat the
25:19enemy tribe. Two, it simplifies
25:21objectives, which is great because the
25:23worst thing that you can do as a leader
25:25is overcomplicate things. If you create
25:27an enemy, the objective is simple.
25:29Defeat the enemy by making this number
25:31go up. It can be market share or land
25:33conquered, but the objective is simple
25:35and something that people can easily
25:37grasp onto. And three, it justifies
25:39extreme commitment. Suddenly, there's an
25:42enemy. Your position, your status, your
25:44resources are threatened. And so, when
25:46you create an enemy, it's something that
25:48justifies extreme commitment and
25:49devotion. And these are all phenomenal
25:51things if your goal is to grow your
25:53company. I know this all sounds
25:55extremely Machiavellian, and that's
25:57because a lot of it is. But if you want
25:59to be one of the greatest leaders to
26:01ever walk on this earth, you need all
26:03these things. You need simple,
26:04easy-to-grasp objectives. You need
26:07extreme devotion and commitment. And one
26:09of the best ways to accomplish this is
26:11by using human nature by creating an
26:13enemy. Napoleon did it with the
26:15Egyptians, Steve Jobs did it with IBM
26:18and Microsoft, Elon Musk did it with the
26:20ULA, and Rockefeller, of course, did it
26:22masterfully with the oil industry.
26:28Another thing that makes Rockefeller
26:29such a brilliant leader is that overall,
26:31he just had a very strong character. And
26:34a lot of this comes from his religious
26:36upbringing. The book says, "John D.
26:38Rockefeller was drawn to the church not
26:40as some nagging duty or obligation, but
26:42as something deeply refreshing to the
26:44soul. The Baptist Church of his boyhood
26:46provides many clues to the secrets of
26:48his character. As a young man, he was
26:50raised on a steady diet of maxims
26:52grounded in evangelical Protestantism
26:55that guided his conduct. Many of his
26:57puritanical attitudes, which may seem
26:59antiquated to a later generation, were
27:02merely the religious common places of
27:04his boyhood. And on top of this, in a
27:06world full of snares to entrap the
27:08unsuspecting pilgrim, Rockefeller tried
27:10hard to insulate himself from all
27:12temptation. As he later saw it, a boy
27:15must ever be careful to avoid the
27:16temptations which beset him, to select
27:19carefully his associates and give
27:20attention as well to his spiritual and
27:23mental and material interests. And this
27:25is a really good description for how
27:27Rockefeller acted throughout his life.
27:29He was extremely religious and devout
27:31and everyone at his company saw him this
27:33way, too. He was also just a very simple
27:36guy and he lived by very simple maxims,
27:38but he took them to an extreme level.
27:40Because of this, it allowed Rockefeller
27:42to be extremely clear on what the
27:44mission was. Already contemplating the
27:46future, Rockefeller wanted to be
27:48surrounded by trustworthy people who
27:50could inspire confidence in customers
27:51and bankers alike. He drew a
27:53characteristic conclusion, the weak
27:55immoral man was also destined to be a
27:57poor businessman. And so, because
27:59Rockefeller had this religious
28:01foundation and strong character, he was
28:03able to attract other people that were
28:05similar to him. I always repeat this
28:07maxim because it is so important, but a
28:09business is always an extension of the
28:12founder. And that's what Standard Oil
28:13was. It was an extension of Rockefeller.
28:16All of the maxims and the values and the
28:18work habits all stem from the founder.
28:20And so, if you want to be a great
28:22leader, you must build a strong
28:23character and instill those same strong
28:25characteristics into the company.
28:30Now, I know that perfectionism isn't
28:32something you commonly hear when
28:34referring to Rockefeller, but
28:35Rockefeller was an extreme perfectionist
28:38and this value seeped into his company.
28:40The book says, "Most of all, Rockefeller
28:42inspired subordinates with his fanatic
28:44perfectionism. He never did anything
28:46haphazardly and wrote hundreds of
28:48thousands of business letters that were
28:50models of concision and balanced
28:52phrasing the product of painstaking
28:54revision as one top aid recalled I have
28:57seen him sign his name to hundreds of
28:59papers at a sitting he did each
29:00signature carefully as if this
29:02particular one was to be the only one by
29:04which he was to be remembered for all
29:06time each signature became in his mind a
29:09work of art this passion for excellence
29:12originated with Rockefeller and radiated
29:14throughout the organization. The ethos
29:16of Standard Oil's operations around the
29:18world was John D. Rockefeller's
29:20personality writ large. Oh man, what a
29:23beautiful what a beautifully crafted
29:25paragraph that was. And I mean it just
29:27shows why Rockefeller was such a great
29:30leader and why this perfectionism value
29:32echoed through his company. I'm going to
29:34read that last line again just because
29:36it was that good. The ethos of Standard
29:38Oil's operations around the world was
29:40John D. Rockefeller's personality writ
29:43large. You can think of an organization
29:45like a company as an organism and that
29:48organism at the head is the founder. The
29:50more a person can mold the organization
29:52into their own personality, their
29:55standards, their values, their culture,
29:57this is the mark of a great leader. That
29:59is why it is important to have such high
30:01standards not just for your employees
30:03but for yourself because it all ripples
30:06from the person at the top. At another
30:08point in the book it says, "With his
30:10hands clasped behind his back,
30:11Rockefeller paced these words poking his
30:13head everywhere. A perfectionist
30:15alert to the tiniest details. When he
30:17saw somebody attending to a neglected
30:19unswept corner, he smiled and said,
30:22"That's right, eternal vigilance."
30:24That's right, eternal vigilance. That's
30:26just so brilliant, dude. Rockefeller was
30:29really strict with the standard, but he
30:31would always praise people when he saw
30:32them doing something right. And this is
30:34definitely something to know as well. So
30:36if you want to be a great leader, give
30:38praise when someone is doing something
30:39right, but make sure that the standard
30:42is perfection.
30:45So, I wanted to end with this one
30:47because I think at the end of the day,
30:48so much of Rockefeller's success comes
30:51down to his belief in the product of
30:53oil. I mean, the way he talks about oil
30:55is even special. In the book it says,
30:57"The business of drilling and refining
30:59oil was wrapped for him in religious
31:01mystery. The whole process seems a
31:03miracle." he once said. "What a blessing
31:05the oil has been to mankind." His career
31:07as a trust king would be for him a
31:09Christian saga, a pilgrim's process
31:12where he was the exemplary man rescuing
31:14sinful refiners from their errant ways.
31:17He referred to Standard Oil as the Moses
31:19who delivered them, the refiners, from
31:21their folly which had wrought such havoc
31:23in their fortunes. Oil to him was more
31:25than just a product, but he saw it as a
31:27blessing from God. So many leaders in
31:30the world today don't have this love for
31:32this product, this air of mystery around
31:35their product when so many of the great
31:37leaders of history did. Walt Disney was
31:39able to lead Disney Studios because he
31:41was genuinely with the craft of
31:43animation. Steve Jobs was able to lead
31:46Apple because he was genuinely in love
31:48with the Macintosh. For Rockefeller,
31:50there's this great story in the book
31:52that shows his faith and his devotion to
31:54the product, to the love of the product
31:56while everyone else was trying to cash
31:58out with their oil business. Already by
32:00the late 1860s, stern prophecies were
32:02issued about the industry's impending
32:04demise. There were two types of oil men,
32:07those who thought the sudden boom an
32:08insubstantial mirage and who cashed out
32:11in their profits as soon as possible and
32:13those, like Rockefeller, who saw
32:15petroleum as the basis of an enduring
32:17economic revolution. During the salutary
32:20nightly sermons he gave himself in bed,
32:22Rockefeller often meditated on the
32:24transience of earthly wealth, especially
32:27oil. The future of the oil business
32:29became an article of religious faith for
32:31him, as did the feeling that the Lord
32:33had blessed him and his enterprise. Oh
32:35man, that last line is so brilliant.
32:37There is something beautiful about faith
32:39for the sake of faith, even when it
32:41there's not a lot of rational sense
32:43behind it, and having it actually pay
32:45off when everyone is moving in the
32:46opposite direction. What's even greater
32:48though is that Rockefeller was able to
32:50stand behind his faith and that he was
32:52able to actually put actions behind
32:54words. At one point in the book, and
32:56this is one of my favorite Rockefeller
32:57stories, the board at Standard Oil was
33:00trying to decide on whether they should
33:01purchase the Lima oil fields, and
33:03Rockefeller wanted to go in, but the
33:05board was sort of split. And the book
33:07says, "Finally, to break the deadlock,
33:09Rockefeller took an incalculable gamble.
33:12At one board meeting, after Rockefeller
33:13made his standard pitch for the Lima
33:15investment, Pratt lost his temper, threw
33:18back his head in agitation, and shouted,
33:20'No!' Whereupon Rockefeller replied
33:22coolly, 'I will build this improvement
33:24with my own funds and underwrite it for
33:26two years.' He astonished his colleagues
33:28by pledging $3 million.
33:31At the end of that time, if it is a
33:32success, the company can reimburse me.
33:35If it is a failure, I will take the
33:37loss." Whether impressed by
33:38Rockefeller's unflinching resolve or
33:40realizing that he had lost, Pratt
33:42capitulated. "If that's the way you feel
33:44about it, we'll go to it together," he
33:46replied. "I guess I can take the risk if
33:49you can." This quote encapsulates
33:51everything that makes Rockefeller such a
33:53great leader. He hired the best people
33:55who he could work with to come to
33:57solutions. He had full belief in the
33:58product and the miracle of oil, and he
34:01showed his belief with his actions and
34:03not his words. So, if you want to lead
34:05like Rockefeller, these are the eight
34:06principles that I would follow to do
34:08that. These are principles that have and
34:10will continue to withstand the test of
34:12time, and you will be able to apply them
34:14for decades and centuries to come. Thank
34:16you so much for watching. If you like
34:18this video, you might like this video
34:19where I go over Elon Musk's leadership
34:21principles, which newsflash are very
34:23similar to Rockefeller's. And if you
34:25want a group of entrepreneurs in their
34:2720s obsessed with studying history,
34:28check out the Biography Society. That's
34:31it. See you.

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