From Chapters 20, 21 and 22
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2004 1:10 pm
From Chapters 20, 21 and 22
In chapters 20, 21 and 22 of our featured book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds by John Bogle, writes about the more personal aspects of his career. In Chapter 20 he leads us through his creation of Vanguard. The chapter is about Entrepreneurship. He was surprised to learn in a 1997 senior paper by a Yale student that he himself was an entrepreneur. He agrees that he is a leader who has turned an idea into an enterprise. If you add a requirement that those ideas become the mainstream, then he does not qualify as an entrepreneur. In terms of his personality and outlook he has all of the qualities of a classic entrepreneur as defined by Schumpeter.
On attribute that caught my attention is that John Bogle is credited with having "Âan uncanny ability to recognize the obvious" and "the gift of making the obscure seem obvious and the opaque transparent". My experience is that simple, understandable explanations often reflect one's clarity of thought, not a lack of intellectual ability.
He discusses Leadership in Chapter 21 including not only expected qualities such as a sense of purpose but also the necessity of having experienced failure. Another is courage, which led him to say on page 421: "In the long run, when there is a gap between perception and reality, it is only a matter of time until reality carries the day."
In Chapter 22 John Bogle draws our attention to treating people right, treating people as Human Beings. He has challenged audiences to find the phrase human beings in any book on corporate strategy. He considers this as being a central element of Vanguard's culture, both within the company and in dealings with its shareholders.
Have fun.
John R.
In chapters 20, 21 and 22 of our featured book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds by John Bogle, writes about the more personal aspects of his career. In Chapter 20 he leads us through his creation of Vanguard. The chapter is about Entrepreneurship. He was surprised to learn in a 1997 senior paper by a Yale student that he himself was an entrepreneur. He agrees that he is a leader who has turned an idea into an enterprise. If you add a requirement that those ideas become the mainstream, then he does not qualify as an entrepreneur. In terms of his personality and outlook he has all of the qualities of a classic entrepreneur as defined by Schumpeter.
On attribute that caught my attention is that John Bogle is credited with having "Âan uncanny ability to recognize the obvious" and "the gift of making the obscure seem obvious and the opaque transparent". My experience is that simple, understandable explanations often reflect one's clarity of thought, not a lack of intellectual ability.
He discusses Leadership in Chapter 21 including not only expected qualities such as a sense of purpose but also the necessity of having experienced failure. Another is courage, which led him to say on page 421: "In the long run, when there is a gap between perception and reality, it is only a matter of time until reality carries the day."
In Chapter 22 John Bogle draws our attention to treating people right, treating people as Human Beings. He has challenged audiences to find the phrase human beings in any book on corporate strategy. He considers this as being a central element of Vanguard's culture, both within the company and in dealings with its shareholders.
Have fun.
John R.