BOOK REVIEW - Part 1

IDEAS THAT BECAME BIG BUSINESS

Clinton Woods

(Founders, Inc. 1959)

Read Part 2 of the Book Review

Buy this book: Ideas That Became Big Business

Ideas That Became Big Business is an out-of-print book containing a collection of 206 stories, or corporate biographies, of hugely successful companies that played (and continue to do so today) an important part in the American economy.

Most of the stories are about large publicly-owned and family owned corporations. The common thread between all of the companies is that they were all started with an idea—in some cases an invention, in others, perhaps a more effective way of producing something.

”Each story starts with an idea born in the mind of a man. Each describes the difficulties and the obstacles to making the idea work. Each is living proof of the importance of ideas and of man’s ingenuity and pertinacity in working towards his goals.”

Industries of all types are represented. Food, consumer products for the home, industrial and manufacturing products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, transportation and communication are just some of the industries included.

Familiar names abound: Anchor Hocking Glass Corp., Birdseye Frosted Foods, The Brunswick-Balke-Coll. Co., Commercial Solvents Corp., Eastern Air Lines, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Handy & Harmon, Heywood-Wakefield Company, Iron Fireman Mfg. Co., National Biscuit Company, Remington Arms Company, Scott Paper Company, Singer Sewing Machine Co., The Timken Roller Bearing Co., Venus Pen and Pencil Corp., Western Printing & Litho. Co.

Each story is approximately two pages in length. There are no illustrations. In many cases, the end of the story contains a small bit of company financial, production or sales information that was current at the time of publication.

Although the information in the book is somewhat dated in terms of current financial status and ownership, the content is still compelling and useful for a couple of reasons.

(1) Most of the brands still exist today, although they may now be small parts of larger, multi-national mega-corporations as a result of continued corporate mergers and acquisitions.  That fact is one of the things that make this book interesting.

Today, most companies and corporations have a company history of some type on their website. Some of them provide many details while others have a scant few. In many cases, the stories in this book provide additional insight and information not readily found otherwise.

(2) The book is a good source of inspiration for professionals, students and even individuals. In today’s fast-paced, product and service-overloaded society, it’s hard to believe that there’s anything left that hasn’t been thought of already.

There are still new products and services being developed every day that are based on simple ideas. Two of these that come to mind immediately are eBay’s online auctions and the electronic payment services offered by Paypal. There is no doubt that these two services have changed people’s lives and the way that business is done today.

This book might still be found in your local library, but if not, or should you prefer to purchase your own copy, two possible sources are here and here.

More about this book:  See a list of the company stories that are found inside this book and excerpt biographies in Part 2.