The Koch Brothers control on of the world’s largest fortunes. Charles Koch is the current chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koch Industries, whereas his brother David Koch serves as the Executive Vice President. Listed in the top ten richest people in the world, Koch has much business advice to share with the world. The following listing of quotes from ‘Good Profit’ focus on sharing some of his knowledge.
“Allowing people the freedom to pursue their own interests (within the limits of just conduct) is the best and only sustainable way to achieve societal progress. For individuals to develop and have a chance at happiness, they must be free to make their own choices and mistakes, rather than be forced to accept choices made for them by others.”
“But, although the future is unknowable, it is not unimaginable. As Ludwig von Mises put it: The entrepreneurial idea that carries on and brings profit is precisely that idea which did not occur to the majority. It is not correct foresight as such that yields profits, but foresight better than that of the rest. The prize goes only to the dissenters, who do not let themselves be misled by the errors accepted by the multitude.”
“Companies are always lobbying for special treatment, but during that recession a large number of them stepped up their pressure on the government for favors. They did so quite effectively—but at the expense of taxpayers and consumers, and to the rigged disadvantage of their competitors.”
“I vividly recall the first two life-changing books I came across: F. A. Harper’s Why Wages Rise and Ludwig von Mises’s Human Action.”
“If producers knew not only what consumers want now, but what they will want in the future, their job would be pretty easy.”
Charles #Koch joined employees at the annual holiday luncheon at company headquarters in Wichita, Kansas today! pic.twitter.com/RTxEb9elw0
— Koch Industries (@Koch_Industries) December 17, 2015
“Interview process typically consists of a series of separate interviews, with each interviewer assessing a candidate’s alignment with a unique set of personal traits. These traits are arranged as focus areas based on our Guiding Principles and are as follows: (1) Integrity and Compliance; (2) Value Creation, Principled Entrepreneurship, and Customer Focus; (3) Knowledge and Change; (4) Humility and Respect; and (5) Skills and Knowledge required in the role.”
“My lessons weren’t specific to business, but they were fundamental values—integrity, humility, responsibility, work ethic, entrepreneurship, a thirst for knowledge, the desire to make a contribution, and concern for others—that profoundly influenced the way I do business and live my life to this day.”
“Polanyi argued that we only truly know something—that is, have personal knowledge of it—when we can apply it to get results.”
“Societies that don’t embrace freedom wind up with the least prosperity. Venezuela is a country rich in natural resources, yet after just fourteen years under a socialist government, it now rations food, electricity, water, and other staples.”
“The capitalist achievement does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens, but in bringing them within reach of factory girls in return for steadily decreasing amounts of effort.”
#Hannity EXCLUSIVE: Coming up on @SeanHannity radio Charles #Koch discusses Good Profit! pic.twitter.com/IqmrlcHQPn
— Koch Industries (@Koch_Industries) December 8, 2015
“The process of discovery begins when we observe, often vaguely, a gap between what is and what could be. Our intuition tells us something better is just beyond the range of our mind’s eye. To build a culture of discovery, we must encourage, not discourage, the passionate pursuit of hunches (no matter their origin).”
“The role of business in society is to help people improve their lives by providing products and services they value more highly than their alternatives, and to do so while consuming fewer resources.”
“This was Good Profit 101: providing the best hassle-free service to our clients at the lowest cost to them and attracting the best employees based on the opportunities we offered. Our goal was—and still is—to be the counterparty of choice to our customers, vendors, communities, and employees.”
“Thomas Sowell eloquently counters this assumption when he writes, To the economically illiterate, if some company makes a million dollars in profit, this means that their products cost a million dollars more than they would have without profits. It never occurs to such people that these products might cost several million dollars more…without the incentives to be efficient created by the prospect of profits.”
“Those who favor a grand plan over experimentation fail to understand the role that failed experiments play in creating progress in society. Failures quickly and efficiently signal what doesn’t work, minimizing waste and redirecting scarce resources to what does work. A market economy is an experimental discovery process, in which business failures are inevitable and any attempt to eliminate them only ensures even greater failures.
Beginning on #BlackFriday, @BNBuzz will feature a limited quantity of Good Profit books, signed by Charles #Koch! pic.twitter.com/fDAGAGITRL
— Koch Industries (@Koch_Industries) November 23, 2015
“Creating superior value for our customers while consuming fewer resources and always acting lawfully and with integrity. Good profit comes from making a contribution in society—not from corporate welfare or other ways of taking advantage of people.”
“By good profit, I don’t mean high margins or high return on capital, or lots of profit by just any means. What I consider to be good profit comes from Principled Entrepreneurship™—creating superior value for our customers while consuming fewer resources and always acting lawfully and with integrity. Good profit comes from making a contribution in society—not from corporate welfare or other ways of taking advantage of people.
“Relentlessly strive to come up with new and better products and produce them more efficiently than the alternatives.”
“The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”
Charles Koch takes some time to sit down and discuss his new book ‘Good Profit.’ Koch is an iconic businessman whom has spent his life dedicated to fulfilling his vision and enabling real value in the economy and marketplace.
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