MEN AND RUBBER

The book Men and Rubber by Harvey S. Firestone is a recommended reading by Charles T. Munger in Poor Charlie's Almanack. This is the complete 1926 edition of the book, where Firestone shares his insights on what made his company a success, how to avoid misleading wisdom, and his personal views on living. As Firestone says, “Business is made up of opportunities for great sacrifices and great accomplishments.” He emphasizes the importance of thought and reflection in business, stating that “a man may keep very busy indeed without doing any thinking at all, and the easy course — the course of least resistance — is to keep so busy that there will be no time left over for thought.” Firestone also notes that people often try to dodge thought or find a substitute for it, and that “we try to buy thoughts ready-made and guaranteed to fit in the shape of systems installed by experts.” He believes that discussion is often used as a substitute for thought, and that committees can be “just an elaborate means of fooling one's self into believing that a spell spent in talking is the same as a spell spent in thinking.” The book is a historic and valuable resource for students of thought and business. This 1926 edition is provided in a slim volume with full text at an affordable price. The table of contents includes: Chapter I: The Labor of Thinking Chapter II: Swapping Horses and Ideas Chapter III: Wild Rose Lotion Chapter IV: Starting the Company Chapter V: The First Profits Chapter VI: Starting in the Pneumatic Tire Business Chapter VII: The Development of the Industry Chapter VIII: Management and Frills Chapter IX: Is it Necessary? Can it be Simplified? Chapter X: The Human Relation Chapter XI: Some Things We Have Learned About Selling Chapter XII: Taking the Bunk Out of Sales Chapter XIII: Camping with Edison, Ford, and Burroughs Chapter XIV: Camping Through the Smoky Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley Chapter XV: More Camping, Some Business Philosophy, and Two Presidents Chapter XVI: Between Failure and Success Chapter XVII: America Should Produce its Own Rubber Chapter XVIII: Why I Am in Business As Firestone states, “All students of thought should get this historic book.” It is a valuable resource for anyone looking to gain insights into business, thought, and personal philosophy.