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Lesson #5: Curiosity Never Killed the Cat

Article Overview: “Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future,” Luce believed. “It is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.”

Lesson #5: Curiosity Never Killed the Cat

“Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future,” Luce believed. “It is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.”

He is known as the man behind Time magazine, but Luce was so much more than that. By the time of his retirement, Luce had ventured into all of radio, cinema, real estate, book publishing and more. He enjoyed wading into unchartered territory, and was able to do so precisely because he kept one eye on the past and one eye to the future.

A history buff since his days at Oxford University, Luce was able to predict some of the greatest events of his day, including World War II, the Cold War, the American Century, the civil rights movement, the rise of socialism in Britain, and more. It was because of his willingness to look into the past that he was able to develop an uncanny ability to see into the future.

How did this foresight play out in Luce’s businesses? The very fact that his influence extends far beyond magazines is evidence enough. Seizing upon the popularity of the radio, Luce developed an early association with the medium. In 1928, he developed “The March of Time,” a radio broadcast closely correlated with Time magazine’s articles. It was so successful that it ran for more than 15 years, and made an instant celebrity out of its narrator, Westbrook van Voorhis. It was so successful, in fact, that it was also adapted for the movies.

By the end of his career, Luce operated five radio stations, six television stations, and had created a popular series of books on science and history. In fact, Time Inc.’s book division reportedly grossed $40 million in the year that Luce finally retired. Luce also had a 45 percent stake in the new 48-story Time & Life Building in New York, which cost a handsome sum of $70 million.

Part of the secret behind that success lies in one simple factor: the curiosity of Luce himself. His inquisitiveness was near legendary in the industry. Staff members who would accompany Luce from his airport arrival to the downtown area would always have to be prepared to answer a rapid-fire slew of questions. Some even practiced the driving route ahead of time in order to anticipate and prepare for any potential questions.

That is why Luce was able to succeed even in areas he knew little about, because he asked all the right questions, and he never stopped asking. For instance, Luce was an avid golfer, but when it came to baseball or boxing, he could not tell the difference between a diamond and a ring. But in launching Sports Illustrated, Luce undertook an intensive cram course in every sport he needed to familiarize himself with. He was determined to learn everything he did not already know, and that he might need to down the road.

Luce appreciated the past, looked to the future, and asked all the right questions along the way. He never stopped asking what could be.

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Article Tags: american century, book publishing, civil rights movement, foresight, history buff, luce, march of time, narrator, oxford university, radio cinema, radio stations, science and history, story time, television stations, time inc, time magazine, time magazines, uncanny ability, westbrook, world war ii



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