- What surprised me the most?
The most surprising thing I've learned about Andrew Carnegie is that he was such a poor boy when he was younger, and he was able to become the big sensation that he is known as today.
- What about the entrepreneur did I most admire?
I mostly admired Andrew Carnegie for obtaining his wealth from the industry, but was still even after acquiring all this fame a philanthropist. This is admiring because he was able to achieve great riches and still have compassion for others, which is hard to come by.
- What about the entrepreneur did I least admire?
I least admired how it was questionable how he was able to obtain all of this power and become a villain in some circumstances in regards to business. But, it is important to remember where he came from and that he had to climb to get to where he got.
- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? What did he do about it?
Coming from a poor childhood, Carnegie faced adversity all his life because he was simply born into it. He watched his father struggle as a weaver and chose to rise from this and became a wealthy business man because of this adversity he faced.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Andrew Carnegie had to have competencies to get to where he was in his more professional and successful career. I noticed that he was particularly gifted with leadership skills, and management in "all walks of life."
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
One part of the reading that was confusing to me was his complete change in attitude and work altogether once he acquired his riches and became a philanthropist. This whole process seemed to be a little confusing as he changed from day to night.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
I would ask him what made him make such a drastic change? What was his dream all along?
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I feel like Andrew Carnegie thought that hard work was essential in any work of entrepreneurship specifically. I share this opinion, and its obvious that he does too because he had to put in hard work to become as wealthy and successful as he became.
Hey, Julia, excellent analysis of "Entrepreneur: Andrew Carnegie." You provided great detail and perspective into Carnegie's decision making and work ethic. I read about Phil Knight and based on your posts and others; I have to come to realize that all great entrepreneurs share specific attributes. This includes an incredible focus, a gritty attitude, and an exceptional vision. These traits allow them to achieve their dreams because they are willing to go the extra mile and see opportunities the others don't.
ReplyDeleteHello Julia,
ReplyDeleteWhile I did not read the book that you chose, this seems like a great reflection of it and you really seem to give a lot of insight to Carnegie himself. I think it is great that you were able to stick with the theme that he was so hard working and brought himself up from almost nothing to be very successful. This goes along with what you pointed out about how you think that Carnegie would value hard work and hard work in entrepreneurship.
Hi Julia,
ReplyDeleteI really like your description that you used for this post! I did not read this book; however, I felt like I understood most of what the book was about. It was really interesting and cool to see how he developed over time. He faced adversity throughout his career and became successful.