Lesson #1: Be Ruthless
Lesson #1: Be Ruthless
Why was Murdoch so confident in his ability to achieve his goals? How did he know that despite all the odds he was going to succeed, he was going to make it in the cutthroat news business? Because Murdoch knew just how ruthless he could be when he was going after something he really wanted. Murdoch is fiercely passionate about his business and, more than anything else wants to see it grow to new limits. He would regularly work 16-hour days, a habit which continues even as he approaches his late 80s. Murdoch claims he will never quit his company, noting that his mother is well into her 90s and continues to maintain a busy schedule.
“Most newspaper companies still have their heads in the sand, but other media companies are aggressive,” says Murdoch, with his being amongst the most aggressive of them all. Murdoch was willing to do whatever it took to make his company a success, no matter whom or what he had to cross over along the way. Murdoch’s success has come about as a result of his willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of his business.
Murdoch is a staunch anti-Soviet and anti-communist, but in the early 1990s, he ignored his own personal beliefs because he spotted a potential moneymaking opportunity for his company. He had become intrigued with the possibilities in China, whose government was in the process of liberalizing the country’s economy but which still had a tight control over the information flow in the country. Murdoch approached the government with a proposal for satellite broadcasting, but was met with skepticism.
Murdoch was determined to win over the Chinese government. He threw the BBC off his Star network after claiming that it was overly attacking the Chinese by replaying scenes of the Tiananmen Square massacre. He then attacked the BBC for only broadcasting in English, which few Chinese could understand. A few years later, Murdoch also ensured that his publishing firm, HarperCollins, dropped the memoirs of Chris Patten, a former governor of Hong Kong who was fiercely critical of the Chinese government. Murdoch pulled out all the stops in order to secure business in the country and he succeeded – Chinese President Jiang Zemin praised Murdoch for his “objective” coverage of the news in their country.
There was no obstacle too big for Murdoch to overcome. He even became a U.S. citizen in 1985, losing his Australian citizenship, in order to be able to legally own an American television station. “It is perfectly natural that people would be a bit paranoid about me,” says Murdoch. He introduced the world to a new kind of sensational news, pushing the limits and testing the public’s values. With his never-ending ambition, Murdoch engaged in an endless series of takeovers and acquisitions until he had created an empire that controlled more of the world’s information than any other single entity.
Lesson 1 Be Ruthless
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“We have no intention of failing,” says Murdoch. “The only question is how great a success we’ll have.”
Why was Murdoch so confident in his ability to achieve his goals? How did he know that despite all the odds he was going to succeed, he was going to make it in the cutthroat news business? Because Murdoch knew just how ruthless he could be when he was going after something he really wanted. Murdoch is fiercely passionate about his business and, more than anything else wants to see it grow to new limits. He would regularly work 16-hour days, a habit which continues even as he approaches his late 80s. Murdoch claims he will never quit his company, noting that his mother is well into her 90s and continues to maintain a busy schedule.
“Most newspaper companies still have their heads in the sand, but other media companies are aggressive,” says Murdoch, with his being amongst the most aggressive of them all. Murdoch was willing to do whatever it took to make his company a success, no matter whom or what he had to cross over along the way. Murdoch’s success has come about as a result of his willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of his business.
Murdoch is a staunch anti-Soviet and anti-communist, but in the early 1990s, he ignored his own personal beliefs because he spotted a potential moneymaking opportunity for his company. He had become intrigued with the possibilities in China, whose government was in the process of liberalizing the country’s economy but which still had a tight control over the information flow in the country. Murdoch approached the government with a proposal for satellite broadcasting, but was met with skepticism.
Murdoch was determined to win over the Chinese government. He threw the BBC off his Star network after claiming that it was overly attacking the Chinese by replaying scenes of the Tiananmen Square massacre. He then attacked the BBC for only broadcasting in English, which few Chinese could understand. A few years later, Murdoch also ensured that his publishing firm, HarperCollins, dropped the memoirs of Chris Patten, a former governor of Hong Kong who was fiercely critical of the Chinese government. Murdoch pulled out all the stops in order to secure business in the country and he succeeded – Chinese President Jiang Zemin praised Murdoch for his “objective” coverage of the news in their country.
There was no obstacle too big for Murdoch to overcome. He even became a U.S. citizen in 1985, losing his Australian citizenship, in order to be able to legally own an American television station. “It is perfectly natural that people would be a bit paranoid about me,” says Murdoch. He introduced the world to a new kind of sensational news, pushing the limits and testing the public’s values. With his never-ending ambition, Murdoch engaged in an endless series of takeovers and acquisitions until he had created an empire that controlled more of the world’s information than any other single entity.
Lesson 1 Be Ruthless
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. |
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Confidentiality Agreement Referral Networking Solution Disappearing Leader Sample Press Release Optimize For Ask Checklist |
|
 | ||
 |
More PR Resources
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
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 and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||