Delaware Business Blog

Ben Franklin’s 12 Rules of Management

Timless advice from statesman, founding father and one of the great figures in American business history- Benjamin Franklin.

    It's all about the Benjamins, baby

    Franklin’s 12 Rules of Management:

    (1) Finish better than your beginnings

    (2) All education is self-education

    (3) Seek first to manage yourself, then to manage others

    (4) Influence is more important than victory

    (5) Work hard and watch your costs

    (6) Everybody wants to appear reasonable

    (7) Create your own set of values to guide your actions

    (8) Incentive is everything!

    (9) Create solutions for seemingly impossible problems

    (10) Become a revolutionary for experimentation and change

    (11) Sometimes it’s better to do 1,001 small things right than only one large thing right

    (12) Deliberately cultivate your reputation and legacy

    2 thoughts on “Ben Franklin’s 12 Rules of Management

    1. Alan Coffey

      I saw another list in the WSJ today. It is from the CEO of Caterpillar Inc.

      Five tips for managing a global giant:
      1) Act with integrity, value your people.
      2) Complacency is incompatible with success.
      3) Stay focused on bottom-line growth.
      4) Don’t shy away from tough debates
      5) Embrace globalization

      Sounds like what you would expect from a global giant.

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