By Frank Tibolt
Author of A Touch of Greatness
Wise old Andy Carnegie, multi-millionaire philanthropist and builder of men (he created 43 millionaires) became an omnivorous reader as soon as he first learned to read.
He particularly liked stories of biography about successful and rich men. He quickly learned that most successful men made a habit of writing down goals and striving for them. He read this so often he regarded it as the secret of success. He preached it to anyone who'd listen.
He went so far as to think up a little trick for finding out how many of his own employees wrote down goals and aimed at them. This he did as follows:
He thought up a questionnaire of 15 questions so worded to make them think he wanted their opinions and suggestions. Here were some of the questions:
• How long have you been working here?
• What prompted you to come to work for us?
• Are you satisfied with your pay and working conditions?
• Do you have any suggestions for improving conditions, or improving the company?
• Are you earning enough money for the work you do, in your opinion?
• Do you make enough money to take good care of your family?
Etc. etc. 15 questions in all. But in between the 15 was one, the only one he was interested in.
That one was:
Do you have the habit of writing down goals and working to reach them?
When the questionnaires came in, he had his accountants separate the "yes" sheets from the "no" sheets. There were 226 Yes sheets and 3572 No sheets. Then he checked the earnings of each employee. The 226 Yes sheets were among the 10% of the highest earners in the company. The No sheets were among the 90% of the lowest earners.
After the test was over he confessed his trick and explained he did it to persuade them to become GOAL SETTERS. And it paid off. The production of the plant increased and hundreds began goal-setting. Many of them became rich. Forty-three of them became millionaires.
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