ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

February 10, 2005

"...People who describe culture and values and how people behave - I've heard people refer to it as 'the soft stuff' - they often underestimate its importance. The soft stuff actually is the hard stuff."

- Carly Fiorina, Hewlett Packard Ex-CEO / Chairman

"The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how effectively people share their competence with those who can use it."

- Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1911)

Carly Fiorina

In July 1999, Carly Fiorina joined HP as chief executive officer, and was named chairman a year later. Fiorina led the reinvention of the company by returning HP to its roots of innovation and invention, reorganizing it to be more agile and competitive, and charting a new strategy to help customers and consumers prosper in the digital age. As part of that reinvention, Fiorina led the company's 2002 merger with Compaq Computer, one of the largest high-tech mergers in history. As chairman of HP, she also worked to build on HP's historic commitment to social responsibility, taking global citizenship to another level by leveraging HP's worldwide presence to make a difference in the lives of millions of people.

Fiorina has a bachelor's degree in medieval history and philosophy from Stanford University. She holds a master's degree in business administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland at College Park, Md., and a master of science degree from MIT's Sloan School.

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, the center of the linen industry on November 25, 1835. The industrial revolution destroyed the weavers' craft and Andrew's mother went to work to support the family, opening a small grocery shop and mending shoes. "I began to learn what poverty meant," Andrew would later write. "It was burnt into my heart then that my father had to beg for work. And then and there came the resolve that I would cure that when I got to be a man."

Andrew's mother, fearing for the survival of her family, pushed the family to leave Scotland for the possibilities in America. She borrowed 20 pounds and in 1848 the Carnegies moved to Pittsburgh.

Andrew took work in a cotton factory as a bobbin boy for $1.20 a week. Later, he worked as a messenger boy in the city's telegraph office. He did each job to the best of his ability and seized every opportunity to take on new responsibilities. In what would be a life-long pursuit of knowledge, Carnegie took advantage of a small library that a local benefactor made available to working boys.

One of the men Carnegie met at the telegraph office was Thomas A. Scott. Scott hired him as his private secretary and personal telegrapher at $35 a month. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Scott was hired to supervise military transportation for the North and Carnegie worked as his right hand man.

The Civil War fueled the iron industry, and by the time the war was over, Carnegie saw the potential in the field and resigned from Pennsylvania Railroad to join the Keystone Bridge Company, which worked to replace wooden bridges with stronger iron ones. In three years, he had an annual income of $50,000.

"I think Carnegie's genius was first of all, an ability to foresee how things were going to change," says historian John Ingram. "Once he saw that something was of potential benefit to him, he was willing to invest enormously in it."

In 1900, Carnegie wrote the asking price for his steel business on a piece of paper and had one of his managers deliver the offer to J.P. Morgan. Morgan accepted without hesitation, buying the company for $480 million. "Congratulations, Mr. Carnegie," Morgan said to Carnegie when they finalized the deal. "you are now the richest man in the world."

Carnegie then turned his attention to giving away his fortune. He used his money to help others help themselves. He spent much of his collected fortune on establishing over 2,500 public libraries as well as supporting institutions of higher learning. By the time of his death, he had given away over 350 million dollars. He died in Lenox, Massachusetts, on August 11, 1919.

It is a different world today - and yet it is very much the same. Change is brought about by those who have vision, desire, and the will to exert both. It is never a smooth process and tough decisions are part of the journey. In the end, the difference does matter - to many. Thank you.

Wishing you all the best.

Sincerely,