Entrepreneurial Advice from Charles Schwab

Everyone who follows business is familiar with Charles Schwab.  So I will not review his history and success. He just wrote a book titled “Invested: Changing Forever the Way Americans Invest.”

However, my comments are not about his book, but about his interview with Fortune magazine staff.   Mr. Schwab is an entrepreneur.   One key fact, he is dyslexic, but did not know it in college.  As the article points out, he turned a challenge into a strength.  He learned to delegate and focus on his strength, marketing.  He trusted his key executives with HR, finance and operations.

So, in a sense he learned three valuable lessons many entrepreneurs do not.  First, I am not an expert at everything. Second, recruit a team of individuals with skill sets I lack to propel my business. Third, I must learn to trust my team and not second guess them. 

As I read the article I thought about my mentor. He is practicing lawyer and economist. In fact, he taught economics for several years.  He preferred flat organizations. In one of my jobs with him he had national sales, international sales, HR, research, IT, operations, financing, export, marketing, communications, community development, existing business services, and the general counsel all reporting to him. He knew enough about each subject to ask valid and intelligent questions, and how to manage expectations.  It takes a unique individual to have knowledge in all these diverse subjects. It also means he cannot be easily manipulated.

Title of article: “Charles Schwab on the Lessons He’s Learned Over a Lifetime of Investing”.

Link to article:  https://fortune.com/2019/09/30/charles-schwab-lessons-advice/