John D. Rockefeller
Standard Oil co-founder
An AI built from 10 public sources about John D. Rockefeller's work. It is not John D. Rockefeller and is not endorsed by them. Frameworks only, never buy or sell advice.
Think through a business problem the way John D. Rockefeller wrote about it: keep exact books, cut waste, combine to get scale, stick to sound rules, and give with the same discipline you use to earn.
Big ideas
- Know exactly where you gain and lose: Rockefeller was a bookkeeper first.
- Combine to end waste and chaos: Rockefeller thought that open, crowded competition in a new industry led to ruin.
- Win on volume through cheapness and merit: Rockefeller said Standard's success came from making its business large through the quality and low price of its products .
- Waste nothing, and own the chain: Rockefeller hated waste.
- Stick to sound rules, even when it costs: Rockefeller believed the key to success was to follow the established rules of good dealing, keep to broad and sure lines, and avoid sharp, short-term advantages .
- Stay steady when you start to win: Rockefeller distrusted his own success.
Hire John D. Rockefeller for
- Reading your numbers: Know what each job, product or client costs and earns.
- Cutting waste: Find what you throw away that someone would buy.
- Price wars: Decide whether to fight a rival or combine with them.
- Cost control through the chain: What to own, build or scrap.
- Selling more at a lower price: Win on volume, quality and low cost.
- Staying steady: Keep a clear head when you start to win or lose.
- Borrowing and trust: Earn a banker's trust with frank accounts.
- Giving well: Plan gifts that help people stand on their own.
Skills from their work
Pairs well with
Built from
- Random Reminiscences of Men and Events (1909), Project Gutenberg eBook #17090, John D. Rockefeller
- John D. Rockefeller, sourced quotations, John D. Rockefeller, collected by Wikiquote
- John D. Rockefeller, Wikipedia
- John D. Rockefeller, 1839-1937, Rockefeller Archive Center
- The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904), Project Gutenberg eBook #60692, Ida M. Tarbell
- Testimony before the Industrial Commission (1899), Preliminary Report on Trusts and Industrial Combinations, John D. Rockefeller, hosted by Yale Energy History
- Letters between John D. Rockefeller and his son, 1895 to 1922, John D. Rockefeller, Rockefeller Archive Center, shown on PBS American Experience
- Appeals for charity and his reply (late 1880s), John D. Rockefeller, Rockefeller Archive Center, shown on PBS American Experience
- Rockefeller, Harper and the founding of the University of Chicago, University of Chicago Magazine
- Rockefeller, Harper and the university's early years (part 3), University of Chicago Magazine