An Entrepreneur's Legacy

http://www.inc.com/articles/2007/12/hendricks.html

by trekker7 • 19 years ago

17 6 19 years ago

staunch• 19 years ago

Definitely inspiring. Nothing quite like self made men who stay grounded.

There's one thing I'm conflicted about when it comes to the idea of creating jobs for so many people like this. It just seems so close to modern day feudalism. There are some significant differences obviously, and there's probably nothing immoral about the modern version. Ultimately though there's essentially a king (owner), his knights (directors), and the peasants (workers). This guy may have been a benevolent dictator, but his death puts all of those people's future at risk. If the new CEO isn't as smart and ethical (likely) they're in for harder times because they put their livelihoods in his hands.

I think I would feel much better about enabling 100 families to become financially independent for the rest of their lives than supporting 10,000 dependents for N years.

nextmoveone3• 19 years ago

maybe you could help 100 people, but those 10000 would probably starve if they dont have a job, simply because they cant think or execute a plan well enough to achieve financial success.

palish• 19 years ago

Everyone can think, but most people choose not to. It seems like the only exception is someone with a mental disability.

skmurphy• 19 years ago

An owner is not a king. If your goal is 100 families who are financially independent there are likely another 1,000 to 100,000 that support them with jobs they need because they haven't made enough to become financially independent. These may be direct employees, or at suppliers, partners, customers. These are voluntary associations, not hereditary.

Successful businesses create and rely upon interdependencies. Feudalism was one structure for reciprocal obligation (certainly post Magna Carta in England) but there are many others. For me the goal is to create products that customers value and build a company that people want to work at because of its shared values, regardless of who is running it. Ken Hendricks clearly embodied a "leadership is service" model and for me is good example of a business leader.

An Entrepreneur's Legacy

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