Transcript
Introduction
It surprised who knew him well that in old age, Rockefeller compared himself to Napoleon. The revelation came while vacationing in France, not far from a spot where the general won a great victory. A casual remark from a companion led to an extraordinary soliloquy, Rockefeller's longest on record. This is what he said. "It is hard to imagine Napoleon as a businessman, but I have thought that if he had applied himself to commerce, he would have been the greatest businessman the world has ever known. What a genius for organization."
"He also had what I've always regarded as the prime necessity for a large success in any enterprise. That is a thorough understanding of men and ability to inspire in them confidence in him and confidence in themselves. See them and he picked as marshals and the heights to which they rose under his inspiration and leadership. It is by such traits as these that men get the work of the world done. It is all a battlefield."
"Napoleon, without the able marshals he had about him, would not have been the master of his age. He went into a battle with the knowledge that his marshals could be dependent on, that in a given situation, they could be relied upon to do the necessary things. Their devotion to him, coupled with their enthusiasm. That's another great attribute. And the qualities with which his influence upon them brought out won the fight."