I’m watching a tv series called the Machines that built America. There are several renditions of this series that focus on Men, Food, Cars etc. the reason I’m making this blog post I’d that there are common threads in all of these success stories that include:
Individual drive and creative force
Failure and resurgence
Partnership - Black and Decker
Competition - Coke and Pepsi
Government Contracts
It is the fact that so many companies that we perceive as the products of Private Enterprise are also products of huge government contracts, often in times of war but also proving to be the lifeline of money that helped keep the company afloat in war and in peace. The reason I think this is noteworthy is because there is a popular belief that somehow government money is not necessary and somehow bad the same is true in healthcare. The attitude that Medicare and especially Medicaid for the poor is bad. Simply not true. So I’ll add some success story examples as I go.
Black and Decker were two guys who met while at work for the telegraph company. Decker was a tinkerer and thought they should start a company making a mixing bowl to make candy. This lead to a drill which was contracted for by the military.
Similar stories for Petersen-Milwaukee hole shooter drill saved by the Navy and DeWalt power saws. Black and Decker hand held trigger drill. Women in factories were taking them home so they switched to household drills.
Each of these three companies; Milwaukee, DeWalt and Black and Decker benefited from military contacts that lead to domestic consumer markets. Then Black and Decker bought DeWalt, leaving two companies; Black and Decker and Milwaukee. Then Black and Decker created a cordless drill. Cordless tools became the standard for market dominance. NASA commissioned a cordless drill to go to the moon.
Take a look at all the other great dual partnerships and rivalries.
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