I have no faith in the policy of
scattering one's resources, and in my experience I have rarely if ever
met a man who achieved preeminence in money-making--certainly never
one in manufacturing--who was interested in many concerns. The men who
have succeeded are men who have chosen one line and stuck to it. It is
surprising how few men appreciate the enormous dividends derivable
from investment in their own business. There is scarcely a
manufacturer in the world who has not in his works some machinery that
should be thrown out and replaced by improved appliances; or who does
not for the want of additional machinery or new methods lose more than
sufficient to pay the largest dividend obtainable by investment beyond
his own domain. And yet most business men whom I have known invest in
bank shares and in far-away enterprises, while the true gold mine lies
right in their own factories.
I have tried always to hold fast to this important fact. It has been
with me a cardinal doctrine that I could manage my own capital better
than any other person, much better than any board of directors. The
losses men encounter during a business life which seriously embarrass
them are rarely in their own business, but in enterprises of which the
investor is not master.
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