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Men and Rubber: The Story of Business

Harvey S. Firestone (with Samuel Crowther)

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Founder connections

  • Charlie MungerReading list
    Men and Rubber appears in the Recommended reading section of Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Farnam Street also reports receiving Munger’s recommendation to read it.
    Source

Summary

Harvey S. Firestone shares an account of building a business and the lessons he drew from running it. First published in 1926 with Samuel Crowther, the book examines the work of starting and leading a company. Firestone stresses the value of thought and perspective, warning that being busy or adopting a ready-made system can take the place of understanding a problem for yourself.

  • SourceMen and Rubber — Farnam Street publisher account · Opening account and reproduced book passage on perspective
  • SourceMen and Rubber — licensed Latticework description · Publisher description and bibliographic information; exact ISBN 9781778063831
  • SourceMen and Rubber — original 1926 catalog and licensed excerpt · Original author credits and description with passage on thinking

Why read it Our view

Read it to examine the difference between activity and useful thought. Firestone’s account offers founders questions about whether a system helps them understand their own business, how they get a wider perspective and when a busy schedule is hiding a decision that needs thought.