Lesson #5: Invest Your Money in People
Lesson #5: Invest Your Money in People
One day, the Kellogg Company’s treasurer was asked to go over its founder’s personal ledgers and get them into shape. “Well, these books indicated that you are worth a million dollars,” the treasurer said afterwards. “I am no such thing,” exclaimed Kellogg, who was found to be genuinely shocked.
Kellogg might have had a lifelong fear of being poor, but his goal in starting his business was never to become rich. He wanted to provide for his family, but beyond that, wealth was of little importance to him.
It is for that reason that Kellogg found it so easy to do away with his wealth. From extending benefits to his workers to donating millions to charity, Kellogg found that the best return on investment came from people.
Kellogg was one of the first businessmen to begin extending generous benefits and services to his workers. In 1927, he opened a nursery at his main plant in order to accommodate the needs of his female workers with children. He also opened up a medical and dental clinic to look after the children, and supplied them with a dietitian to ensure their proper nourishment.
During the Great Depression, Kellogg became increasingly concerned over his workers’ welfare. He created more shifts so that even more family men could be hired. U.S. President Hoover was so impressed with the plan that he called Kellogg to the White House to discuss the potential for a nationwide work scheme. Meanwhile, Kellogg also financed the construction of a ten-acre park near his Battle Creek plant to give work to those Americans who did not have any.
In 1930, Kellogg established the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to administer his $45 million in personal assets to various charities. In 1944, Kellogg also gave away 21,400 shares of company stock to a fund set up to assist veteran employees. “Dollars have never been known to produce character, and character will never be produced by money,” he once said. “I’ll invest my money in people.”
For Kellogg, the greatest good in both his business and personal lives came when he was putting his money into people – the people that mattered most. He regarded his workers as his family, and treated them accordingly. But to his real family, he wanted to leave something more important than money; he wanted to leave them with a sense of the value of money. As such, he left his fortune to his foundation.
In the end, when he had lost his eyesight, this lesson would become even more poignant for the businessman: “I would give all my money just to see the sun and the green grass again.”
Today, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation remains one of the world’s largest private charities, and owns 27 percent of the Kellogg Company.
Lesson 5 Invest Your Money in People
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“I never, at any period of my life, aspired to become wealthy, but the fierce competition perhaps developed a fighting spirit, and in the effort to secure our share, the business has succeeded,” Kellogg once said. “It is my hope that the property that kind Providence has brought me may be helpful to many others, and that I may be found a faithful steward.”
One day, the Kellogg Company’s treasurer was asked to go over its founder’s personal ledgers and get them into shape. “Well, these books indicated that you are worth a million dollars,” the treasurer said afterwards. “I am no such thing,” exclaimed Kellogg, who was found to be genuinely shocked.
Kellogg might have had a lifelong fear of being poor, but his goal in starting his business was never to become rich. He wanted to provide for his family, but beyond that, wealth was of little importance to him.
It is for that reason that Kellogg found it so easy to do away with his wealth. From extending benefits to his workers to donating millions to charity, Kellogg found that the best return on investment came from people.
Kellogg was one of the first businessmen to begin extending generous benefits and services to his workers. In 1927, he opened a nursery at his main plant in order to accommodate the needs of his female workers with children. He also opened up a medical and dental clinic to look after the children, and supplied them with a dietitian to ensure their proper nourishment.
During the Great Depression, Kellogg became increasingly concerned over his workers’ welfare. He created more shifts so that even more family men could be hired. U.S. President Hoover was so impressed with the plan that he called Kellogg to the White House to discuss the potential for a nationwide work scheme. Meanwhile, Kellogg also financed the construction of a ten-acre park near his Battle Creek plant to give work to those Americans who did not have any.
In 1930, Kellogg established the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to administer his $45 million in personal assets to various charities. In 1944, Kellogg also gave away 21,400 shares of company stock to a fund set up to assist veteran employees. “Dollars have never been known to produce character, and character will never be produced by money,” he once said. “I’ll invest my money in people.”
For Kellogg, the greatest good in both his business and personal lives came when he was putting his money into people – the people that mattered most. He regarded his workers as his family, and treated them accordingly. But to his real family, he wanted to leave something more important than money; he wanted to leave them with a sense of the value of money. As such, he left his fortune to his foundation.
In the end, when he had lost his eyesight, this lesson would become even more poignant for the businessman: “I would give all my money just to see the sun and the green grass again.”
Today, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation remains one of the world’s largest private charities, and owns 27 percent of the Kellogg Company.
Lesson 5 Invest Your Money in People
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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