Tweet

Tuning into the Future: How Sarnoff Engineered Success

Article Overview: Sarnoff rose from poor immigrant, to office boy, to communications manager, to president of one of the most successful companies of his time, and all because he asked himself one simple question: what’s next? How did Sarnoff always seem to find the next big thing?

Tuning into the Future: How Sarnoff Engineered Success

Sarnoff rose from poor immigrant, to office boy, to communications manager, to president of one of the most successful companies of his time, and all because he asked himself one simple question: what's next? How did Sarnoff always seem to find the next big thing? Innovation: Sarnoff pursued his engineers so doggedly that there was no chance but to succeed. He made it his life's mission to understand the ins and outs of not only his business, but of the technologies that backed it up. By refusing to ever accept the status quo, Sarnoff made sure his company was always at the forefront of new, cutting-edge technologies.

Promotion: Some experts have disputed whether or not Sarnoff was the sole telegraph operator working during the crash of the Titanic. If it is in fact not true, it only goes to show Sarnoff's self-promotion skills even more. He used a tragic accident to propel himself into the country's spotlight, and he never turned back.

Perseverance: Boss after boss rejected Sarnoff's idea for a "radio music box," believing that the average American would never have any use for a radio in their home. Even after being laughed out of their offices, Sarnoff believed in himself and persevered until in the end, he was the last one laughing.

Ruthlessness: Sarnoff might not have been the nicest boss at all times, but he knew how to stand his ground, and believed in himself enough to not ever give up the hard fight.

Service: "It is probable that television drama of high caliber and produced by first-rate artists will materially raise the level of dramatic taste of the nation." Speaking of TV, Sarnoff once said, "It is a creative force which we must learn to utilize for the benefit of mankind. It is an art which shines like a torch of hope in the troubled world." From his business to his politics, Sarnoff believed in living a life of service to others. Where he felt it was his duty to take action, he made no hesitation.

When Sarnoff died in 1971, his obituary in the New York Times read, "He was not an inventor, nor was he a scientist. But he was a man of astounding vision who was able to see with remarkable clarity the possibilities of harnessing the electron."

Sarnoff began his career when he was just nine years old, selling Yiddish, then English newspapers on the streets of New York City. By the time he was ten years old, the English he had learned from the newspapers was enough to get by in school, and soon find a better job to help support his family. As fast as he had learnt English, so too did he climb the ranks of corporate America, planning every step of the way. "I hitched my wagon to an electron rather than the proverbial star," he said. After all, Sarnoff believed that "A life that hasn't a definite plan is likely to become driftwood."

Related Articles
  Lesson #3: “The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.”
  Lesson #4: “Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in men.”
  From Russia to Radio: The Early Years of Radio Czar David Sarnoff
  Lesson #5: “Work and live to serve others.”
  Lesson #2: “The Titanic disaster brought radio to the front, and also me.”

Article Tags: caliber, communications manager, creative force, cutting edge technologies, forefront, hard fight, hesitation, music box, perseverance, poor immigrant, promotion skills, radio music, rate artists, ruthlessness, self promotion, successful companies, taste of the nation, telegraph operator, television drama, tragic accident



Related Forum Posts
Future Financial Corporation - I've never heard of Future Financial Corporation is this a new company?
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Success = Thinking (Head) + Heart (Feeling / Interest) + Hand (doing/ action). Success - H3 Robert
Re: How do you back up your computer? - Seems like backup has definitely hit a nerve. Evan, thanks for sharing your experience with the Backblaze service. Regarding the time it takes to backup: * The initial backup will take a little while (one to two weeks for most users) depending on your Internet upload connection and the amount of data you have. You can click the "How long will my first backup take?" link to find out the estimate for you. * Future backups will be very quick as Backblaze will only backup new files and the pieces of those that have changed. Thanks! Gleb
Re: Success - I study success intently, and would like to share: Here's two excellent and nearly identical success-formulas from a couple of the world's masters. FIRST FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Clear, Definite Purpose 3. Committed Decision 4. Take Action In Faith (Bonus Secret Sauce: 5. Repeat Consistently) I made a video about this, but am not allowed to link it yet. Google "Ryze Success Steps" for it. Oh, and this is Napoleon Hill's (Master Of Success Laws)'s Formula. SECOND FORMULA: 1. Passionate Desire 2. Understand It Is Already Done (Faith) 3. Relax & Allow It To Unfold (Go about your life calmly) This one is courtesy of Abraham-Hicks (inspiration for the movie The Secret). Hope that helps!
Success Strategies - How to get the results you want now? Success Strategies and Action Steps I have used are: The Power of Choice Where you are at this present moment, is exactly perfect from the choices you have made. If you want to be somewhere else, you have to decide clearly what that is (your goal/outcome) and create action steps to achieve this. The Power of Focus The book "The Power of Focus" by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt, is one of my treasures in my Entrepreneur Library. If you focus on what you want versus what you do not want, your conscious and sub-conscious mind will direct attention to this. The movie, What the Bleep, Down the Rabbit Hole, explains this in detail about quantum physics and what we create in our lives. The Power of Commitment This is not about commitment to others. The first step is the commitment, your word, you make to yourself. Accountability and responsibility are additional success strategies and ingredients to creating the success, defined by you, that you want. The commitment to others reflects your integrity, your word and the team you work with. Co-workers, clients, yoru family, friends and community. My Success Acronyn in Success Breakthroughs(c) is: S pecific & self-directed U nlimited opportunities & possibilities C reate powerful outcomes C onsistent measureable results E xperience pwoerful transformation S olution and action-oriented S uccessful habits and outcomes Break Through to Powerful LIfestyle & Performance Choices Moira


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

A New Year in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Listen to Your Inner Melody

Stay Employed In A Down Economy

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.