Customer Reviews

At Work With Thomas Edison

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Here is another terrific book from Blaine McCormick who, as he did so skillfully in Ben Franklin's 12 Rules of Management, focuses on an historic figure from whose life and work certain important "lessons" can be learned. Yes, they include lessons relevant to business but so many other kinds of lessons which anyone needs inorder to think more clearly and more creatively, to nourish and enrich one's personal life, and of equal (if not greater) importance, to persevere in the face of great adversity. Most people would agree that Edison was the greatest inventor who ever lived. Most people may not know that he was also a very shrewd businessman with a deep understanding of key issues such as allocation of resources (e.g. time management), setting proper priorities, delegating work to those better qualified to complete it, and creating and then sustain competitive advantage.

McCormick identifies and then examines ten different "Lessons" which, collectively, delineate Edison's business model:

1. Limit your way to greater creativity.

2. Talent comes and talent goes but mediocrity accumulates.

3. Creativity is all about making connections.

4. If you want to invent, build yourself an invention factory.

5. The greatest innovators have made a lot of F's.

An interesting point because most people fear failure. Edison passionately believed that the more failed experiments (whatever the situation) he completed, the more likely eventual success would be. Only through rigorous and extensive experimentation is it possible to determine what we don't know, and, what doesn't work. Moreover, what is true today and what works today may be inadequate or even wrong tomorrow. For Edison, failure (not success) was the best teacher. He was an avid student whose appetite for learning was insatiable.

6. In a capitalist society, whoever attracts the most capital wins.

7. The best-promoted technology will often beat the best technology.

8. The price of freedom is a premium most customers are willing to pay.

Another interesting point. An abundance of research data on "customer satisfaction" indicate that "convenience" (or "ease of doing business") is almost always ranked #1 or #2 among attributes. FYI, "Price" is ranked anywhere from #9 to #14.

9. Play is to innovation what rules are to bureaucracy.

10. Glow, but don't consume yourself.

McCormick organizes his material within ten chapters, including with several an "Interview with an Innovator" section which poses questions or explores issues such as "Why Do So Many Men Never Amount to Anything?" and "How to Succeed as an Innovator." Throughout the crisp narrative, the reader is provided with dozens of brief quotations from Edison's writings which correlated with relevant "Lessons" and anchored in specific situations throughout his life. All of us are by now weary of (indeed hostile to) books which provide flimsy lessons from questionable sources, such as "People Skills Lessons from the World's Greatest Hermits." Both in his book on Franklin and in this book on Edison, McCormick focuses on "Lessons" (albeit familiar) which are wholly authentic within the context he creates for them. Wisely, McCormick allows Edison the last word: "My philosophy of life is work -- bringing out the secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of man. I know of no better service to render during the short time we are in this world." There is no way I (or anyone else) can improve on that so I shall not try. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Edison in the Boardroom, co-authored by Julie L. Davis and Suzanne S. Harrison.

At Work With Thomas Edison is a great book. I had always pictured Edison as the lone inventor. Nothing could be further from the truth. This book proved many of my ideas about Edison were simply myths. On the other had this book also expanded my view about the truly amazing accomplishments of Thomas Edison (he started over 100 companies include GE and had over 1,000 patents).

As the book quickly points out Edison was one of the first practitioners in the war for talent. Edison's lab was the first innovation factory and in many ways a precursor to Silicon Valley. The lab had no rules (pet bear, pipe organ, and pranks) and was a true meritocracy. Edison's lab had a basic apprenticeship program and Edition worked with many, many people on the innovation teams that worked on projects. The electric light bulb team was over 75 people.

The book also cast a complementary light on Edison as a businessman. The innovations of the labs lead to the founding of over 100 companies. The labs innovations lead to a virtuous cycle of products, systems, and industries. This led to more innovation and more businesses. Edison was not Rockefeller nor did he want to be he wanted his business to continue to provide funding for invention. Edison was adept at capturing and using venture capital.

Edison was also quite adept at marketing. At a time before self-promotion was recognized or well understood Edison was adept at it. Edison's ability to market himself and his ideas lead to better funding, recognition, and a reputation, which allowed him to invent even more.

This is a great book. Edison was one of the greatest Americans to have ever lived.

This is one of those business books that are dime a dozen: some business prof finds an appropriate metaphor or vehicle and builds an entire book around it while expounding on whatever pet subject he wishes to promote. One or two like this are OK, but when you read them day in and day out like I have to, the formula wears very very thin indeed.

I was looking for information on Thomas Edison, in particular how he built teams and what his leadership style was. While there are some useful nuggets of information in this book, I was very disappointed at how little about Edison there was to find and how much about what McCormick calls post-corporate America (i.e. the old "new economy") and other rather banal ideas. Moreover, absolutely nothing that the author says is footnoted or documented in any way, so the reader never knows what he is basing his conclusions or assertions on. That is not second rate - it is third rate scholarship and unacceptable from any academic yardstick. Finally, the farther you get into the book, the less there is about Edison and the more off-hand advice and even simple (very conservative) economic ideology there is. I have seen similar ideas many times before and was not interested in hearing them reiterated in what I consider a less clearly written style and a less cogent manner. FInally, the examples that he trots out are already badly dated: Enron, for example, is touted as a superior post-corporate company because of the way it manages "creative" employees (I don't think he meant accounting); so is Sun Microsystems and many other info-econ companies that have seen near-catastrophic declines since the publication date of 2001 - it is so superficial that you have to wonder if there was any real thought behind any of it beyond the usual business-school shlock! As such, this is conventional wisdom from BEFORE the stock market bubble burst.

Not recommended if you are a serious reader of biz lit or economics. There are far, far better sources on Edison that are more clearly written and whose scholarship is impeccable, such as Israel's masterful book (Edison A Life of Invention). The material on the new economy is so outdated - hense so appallingly misguided - that it is almost embarassing, and this is only two years after publication.

This is a book that I have quoted often and found quite insightful. It is not about the technology that Edison used or invented. It is about his persistence, his creation of an environment where he and those researchers with him could color outside the lines, think and live outside the box of conventional practices. He was quite pragmatic. He knew that inventions had to ultimately be relevant to human needs at some level. He knew how to promote his ideas, even using non-traditional methods. The story told in the book about his promotion of the electric light announcement was priceless. A great quote of Edison included in the book is "it is not the best invention that wins in the marketplace, it is the best PROMOTED invention." I recommend this highly - even for those who are not intrigued by the precipitates of his personal craft.

At Work With Thomas Edison: 10 Business Lessons From Ame4rica's Greatest Innovator by Blaine McCormick (management professor at the Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University) is a savvy presentation of ten crucial business lessons from America's greatest inventor. A an astute businessman as well as a famed inventor and creator of the world's first research and development (R&D) operation, Thomas Edison's management techniques helped him incorporate over 100 businesses and contain much wisdom to remember in today's modern world. Innovative, inspirational, and motivational reading.

There are many books that try to extract business or leadership lessons from the lives and experiences of famous people. I must admit I have not read very many of them. This is one that I have read. I haven't read widely on Edison's life so I found it very enjoyable from the purely biographical perspective. More interesting though were the lessons the author draws from Edison's work, example and writing.

The book was written in 2001 and contains some talk about the "old economy" which feels pretty dated to me, but beyond that the author provides useful lessons in the context of Edison's life.

The book is structured around 10 business lessons we can learn from. I especially liked the chapter on building an invention factory and on getting connected (a great take on networking from more than 100 years ago)

The book gave me food for thought, put some more current ideas into historical perspective and made me want to learn more about Edison and his life. All of that packaged in a readable book of less than 300 pages. If you are interested in Edison, inventors, or like this type of biography, I'd recommend reading this book.