For my reading reflection, I chose to read "Carnegie" by David Nasaw. I remember enjoying listening to my high school history teacher tell his story and wanted to learn more, so this seemed like the natural choice. Something that stood out while I was reading was that Andrew Carnegie was only five feet tall. That was so surprising, and also somewhat encouraging because I am not so tall myself. Taller than five feet, but only by about 8 inches. While obviously not integral to the story of Carnegie and his achievements, I found that but of trivia to be very interesting.
What I most admired after reading this monstrously long book was how positive and happy Carnegie was as a person. His personality was not that of a ruthless business baron, but that of a loving friend to all that knew him. "Carnegie’s sunny personality radiated warmth and light,” was one description of the man. This sounds like someone who I would have wanted to be friends with and would have admired even without the success and wealth. What I least admired about him was that at times his "friend of the working man" persona seemed less than genuine, like when he had the union at the Homestead Wheel Works broken up by Henry Clay Frick. Andrew Carnegie most definitely encountered adversity. He began as a penniless immigrant from Scotland, and became the richest man in the world. To overcome this, it would take his wonderful personality, which he used to befriend the right people on his way to the top, as well as his brilliant business acumen, like adopting new technologies as quickly as he could to always be the producer with the lowest costs and undercut competitors prices. I noticed that Carnegie had the competencies of creativity and innovation, persuasion and influencing abilities, and risk taking and risk management.
One part of the reading that confused me was why Nasaw's tone was so critical of Carnegie while simultaneously describing the many great things that he accomplished.
I would ask him if there was ever one specific event that caused him to believe so strongly in philanthropy, and also what the best advice he could give to live a happy and not just wealthy life. I believe that his view on hard work was that it was vital and beneficial and necessary for success, but that it must also be tempered with kindness, positivity and happiness, and that when it results in material wealth then that wealth should be given back in meaningful ways. For me, it is hard to think of a better approach to hard work.
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