The Prime Movers: Traits of the Great Wealth Creators [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Limiting himself to the study of greatness in the field of business, Edwin Locke defends the latter explanation. Based on a close analysis of the lives of 70 great wealth-creators, his book identifies and discusses the seven essential characteristics of business heroes from the late 19th century to the year 2000.

Locke argues that wealth creation is essentially an *intellectual* process, contrary to the claims of those whom Ayn Rand called the «mystics of muscle», who hold labour to be the exclusive source of wealth. More than that, wealth creation is a *spiritual* achievement, i.e. one that is made possible by a man's virtues - the various facets of his rationality.

Therefore, all of the «traits of the great wealth creators» identified by Locke are either intellectual or moral, i.e. they pertain to businessmen's thinking, motivation, judgment or character- as against their sex, race, family situation or environment. In other words, they are all volitional : they are not traits that you either have or do not have, but products of your own choices- the most basic of which, as Ayn Rand has shown, is the choice to focus on reality or to evade it : chosing to focus, chosing to be reality-oriented, is the root of all greatness.

Edwin Locke's book is brief, concise, filled with real-life examples and neatly organized : after a chapter on the nature of wealth creation and its cultural and political pre-conditions, he devotes one chapter to each of the seven traits and concludes with a promising chapter entitled «How To Make a Billion Dollars», in which he tells you how to apply the traits to your own life, rejects alternative explanations of business success, and deals briefly with a few issues that hamper the pursuit of wealth, such as the doctrine of «giving back», antitrust legislation, egalitarianism and the demonization of «greed».

Apart from the biographical recommendations to be found at the end of each chapter, «The Prime Movers» can be profitably complemented by Edwin Locke's own lectures (produced by Second Renaissance) on « American Business Heroes» (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Hill and Morgan) ; «The Life and Achievements of Thomas Edison» ; and «Heroic Business Dynasties».

Locke's style is refreshing. He neither gets bogged down by detailed laundry lists of unrelated attributes, nor does he present high-level descriptions with no apparent connection to his subject. Rather, he presents key traits and shows how they make real individuals immensely successful--and in some cases, shows how once successful businessmen failed when they lost these key traits.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more successful in their career, regardless of how high they've set their sights. As Kenneth Iverson states: "If you study Dr. Locke's [book], you may not become a billionaire, but I promise that you will be a better manager, a better business leader, and a better person." Indeed.

To his credit, Dr. Locke doesn't accept the prevailing view that rational self-interest is evil - or that humble self-sacrifice is noble. That's what makes this book special - in addition to Locke's ability to cut to the essential aspects of creativity in business.

I found Dr. Locke's survey of the great wealth-creators to be as unique as the subjects he studies. Guided by an objective standard for gauging productive prowess, Locke identifies a handful of the most crucial personality traits held in common by history's great business creators and leaders. One of my favorites is "love of ability in others." Successful employees at every level of business will be familiar with the envy and resentment they often get from their bosses. Locke shows that those aren't the successful bosses, that it takes an enormous ego (and self-confidence) to seek out and promote the best employees one can find.

In Dr. Locke's book we learn what's never yet been taught about the productive giants of yesterday and today. Better still, we're given a reality-based, time-tested, and objective yardstick for identifying the giants of tomorrow.

Want to make a bundle in business? Locke says you must develop an independent vision, an active mind, competence and confidence. You must be an activist (not a mere "idea man") and be passionate about your work. You must practice the virtues of rationality, honesty, integrity, independence, justice and self-interest (self-preservation). You must buck conventional opinion, which holds that rational greed is practical, but morally suspect. Locke shows us that rational greed is practical precisely because it's moral. Immoral approaches to business tend, in contrast, to dissipate wealth.

Locke doesn't just advise us. In bringing alive the achievements of the wealth creators, in citing their successes and quoting their own philosophies, he lets the creators speak to and inspire us. Here, Locke AND Rockefeller advise.

This book deserves the rapt attention of entrepreneurs, business leaders, board members, venture capital firms, executive recruiters and business students. It's not just a history lesson. It's a principled "how-to" book with a moral-philosophic base that permits the user to feel he can create ever more wealth and - equally important - feel proud of the wealth he's created.