Peter
7 Wonders of the Industrial World
This BBC series is one of my all-time favorites. The frustrated engineer in me has always enjoyed these types of programs which show how huge engineering problems have been solved. I mention the series because I just watched the episode on the transcontinental railroad for the 5th or 6th time. Not all of the stories take place in the USA but they are all worth watching if you have an interest in this kind of thing.
History Channel’s The Men Who Built America
With more episodes being planned, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the series will cover the building of the first transnational railroad. This particular story is full of outrageous behavior by characters rightfully called Robber Barons.
Leland Stanford, railroad tycoon.
One of the most entertaining stories is about the financing of the western half of the railroad. This consortium began from the central California laying track eastwards while the other started simultaneously in the Midwest building eastwards. The plan was for the two to meet in the middle and connect their tracks. Both groups relied heavily on government support to make the enormous projects viable. This support came in the form of both land grants for right-of-ways and money. In some cases the right-of-ways were 20 to 30 miles in width. The cash component was paid out every time the line achieved a mileage milestone and not before. This created some cash flow problems for the consortiums. The western group headed by Leland Stanford and Collis Huntington received incentives from the federal government consisting of $24 million in financing and over nine million acres of land for railway rights of way.
Just a quick heads up as I rush out the door for a meeting.
Forbes has a brief article titled Late-Blooming Billionaires
“Some strike it rich young, but for the tycoons on this list, wealth came only after long years of work, failure and chance inspiration.”
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: The Ultimate Disrupter
Here’s an article on one of the finest business minds out there today: Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Amazon will be around for a long time because it has a solid business model and provides real value in the market-place unlike companies such as Facebook, Groupon, Pinterest, and a host of others which are nothing more than facilitators for time wasting.
He’s a pro-customer, tightfisted risk-taker who is conditioning Wall Street to embrace his erratic earnings. If you’re running a business with high margins — watch out.
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