Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-05-25
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS.
Bauker Frecerck P. Olcott Explains at Some Length
the Methods That Brought Him Success

/ N
retired as President Of the Cehtra'
Trust Company. New YORK, the hna'-
cia, world loses one of its most remark
able figures, for though he Will VISIT mis-
Office about twice week and VIII con-
time to he director In riany institu-
lions he seeks a resi- Hc has not been
|weU for some time and he desires no "
| TO cease his activity.
| Mr.. Olcott possessed in an almost
Iuniuue degree the facultJ for turning
into gold almost everything he touched.
One of the greatest bankers in the city
said the day after Mr.. Olcotts resigna-
| tion was announced:
| He could take hold of moribund
concern, a railroad. for instance, that
was on the verge of bankruptcy. and in
a few years electrify il into new life.
put it on it's feet ana turn it into a
splendidly paying property. How he
/ did it with such uniform success / don t
know but he seemed 10 have a natural
gift for turning things into gold"
| A representative of the New York
World asked Mr.. OlcOtt 20 explain his
methods of success. in order that young
men just starting on the race might
profit by his example.
| Let a young man mean to succeed. -
said MI. Olcott "let him start out with
the deliberate and firm intention to sue
ceed in life and he will reach the goal
1Snt he must stick % il: he must keep
his determination :iteadfastly and he
roust never get discouraged. If the
career in which he mas embarked and
progressed some distaha" be not 10 his
liking. if it proves distrsteful 10 him.
be must not give il up ana turn to
snr7aIhing else in which he will have
| to begin at the hcginnilr:s al over again.
No, he must keep right ahead in his
chosen course if he vans to succeed
Mr. OlcOtt sat back in his chair with
his hands upon its arms. talking slowly
ara thoughtfully. He is big man,
| with n large powerful head. big dark
twilik!iag eyes sha lied by shaggy dark
eyebrows. the left ono Of which turns
uD and the right one down His strong
chin and determined Jaw " hich he usei
| to shave until recently. are row covered
by closely cropped Stcel-gray beard
His own career. which he says he
carved out on the principles he now
lays down for Others is the best pos
sibie Illustration of the ruccess Of these
principles. His father was a banker in
Albany ard he was one of three broth
ers. He entered the family bank, but
soon realized that Albany was too small
a field for the development of his
activity. He told his father he had
made up his mind TO so to New York,
and to use his own words, "be small
toad i'm big puddle. His father tried
to dissuade him. but he caid he realized
that if he remained in Albany he would
never rise to anything above what he
was then. big toad in 4 small puddle
but still nothing but an ordinary coun-
try banker.
So he came to New York in 1866 and
went into business as stock broker
He succeeded. and then went in with
Blake !hothers who did large bus-
ness in commercial paper and foreign
exchange. After n while lie set up in
business for himself making a speciality
or commercial paper. A Partnership in
the firm Of Phelps. Stokes & Co. FOL-
lowed. and it was not until 1882 that no
entered the Central Trust Company as
Nice-president
These changes might seem to sug-
geSt that Mr.. Olcott transgressed at
the very beginning of his career the
once started in a line of business n |
man must not change. But the very
reverse is true. for each one of these |
chahses was but part of definite |
plan Mr.. Olcott had laid out for him |
self. 1t was his ambition to become n |
great banker. and so he decided. as n |
preliminary. to master in detail every !
prahch OF banking and to equip him
self thoroughly before starting.
Il determined that when I tool, n |
salarled position in n bank / should
nave nothing to learn. and that is why
spent seventeen years in studying the
details. The result was that when in
1882 took my first salaried position |
had the banking business at my fin
gers ends'
How is it, Mr.. Olcott." asked The
"orid Representatives. that whatever
you nave undertaken has turned out a
success; that YOU have turned so MANY
oahKruFt concerns into profitable
properties""
The work of 4 reOrganizer is like
That of surgeon" he replied. when
Il surgeon finds a gangrened tissue he
takes his knife and cuts il out. and the
success of the operation depends upon
his darlnG to cut deep enough to eradi-
cate the disease. So with the reorsan-
izer of losing property. When I
have to reorganize a railroad | look
over its expenses and its receipts. and
the first thing l do is TO cut the ex-
peiSes down until they are less than
The receipts. This makes the securi-
ties worth something. Railroads and
business houses get into trouble i'm |
precisely the same way as individuals
by spending more thar their in
cO,hes. Mismanagement is the secret
of almost all business failures. and
wren once strictly economical princi-
pies are applied such concerns become
profitable again. It sometimes takes
drastic treatment, and. as with indi-
vluuals. 1t needs brave man to cut
down the expenses. But it has to be
done If bankruptcy is to be avoided"
Among the corporations that have
passed under Mr.. Olcott's financial
scalpel, and been cured Of their
disease. are the Philadelphia and
Reading Railroad. the Houston AMI