The Prime Movers: Traits of the Great Wealth Creators

by Edwin A. Locke

Book Overview

The super-rich really aren't like other people. They're a rare breed that inspires awe, envy, admiration -- sometimes even hatred. They're idolized, criticized, and demonized. In short, they stand out... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814405703
• ISBN13: 9780814405703
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Amacom
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Ignore the Industry Standard's Editorial Review!

Like the other prior customers reviewing Locke's book, I thought it was terrific. However, I must say a few words about the horrible editorial review of the book written by someone at the Industry Standard. I am concerned that a person who has not read the book may be mislead by the ad hominem arguments and sarcastic tone of this incompetent critique.The reviewer would have you believe that the traits of great wealth creators discussed by Locke are glaringly obvious. If this is true, why aren't there more great wealth creators? Why are there only a handful of people like Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, and Jack Welch? The answer, the reviewer suggests, is because the traits, while obvious, are not truly important. Rather, "any effort to boil down the traits common to [great wealth creators] will lack the precision and insight needed to guide others on a similar path . . . commonalities will be overly broad and generalized." But if this is so, then why (according to the reviewer) do entrepreneurs and billionaires "with half a brain" know them? And what of the massive evidence provided in Locke's analysis that the traits are, in fact, essential to wealth creation? The reviewer apparently believes we should take his or her word on faith rather than consider the facts identified and explained by Locke.The reviewer also does not care for Locke's political views, and finds his attack on anti-capitalism "extreme" and "outdated." Well, Locke's views are radical: radically rational, radically capitalistic. Anyone who thinks a fervent defense of capitalism is unneeded is either ignorant or worse. The continuing application of arbitrary anti-trust laws (as in the MicroSoft case), demands for increased government regulation of industry (e.g., health care, electrical power, oil), and the numerous pitfalls of our mixed economy amply illustrate the necessity of standing up for free minds and free markets.It is true that Locke does not devote much space to discussing how to reform the economy and move towards a freer society. The focus of the book is on the traits of great wealth creators, and Locke discusses societal factors only in this context. Similarly, to maintain his focus, Locke does not provide a full justification for his Objectivist philosophy. Rather, he refers interested readers to the works of Ayn Rand, where the philosophy is explained and justified in great detail. Locke also supplies an appendix written by Peikoff that further explains why business people need philosophy.The Industry Standard review asserts that Locke exaggerates the moral worth of wealth creation and great wealth creators. In fact, Locke explicitly acknowledges that some great wealth creators were flawed human beings. He points out several times that virtues such as rationality, honesty, and integrity are what make a person good, and that the flawed wealth creators were flawed because they did not consistently integrate these virtues into their personal lives. As f

A great book

Locke presents the essentials of what it takes to be a great wealth producer.Locke's style is refreshing. He neither gets bogged down by detailed laundry lists of unrelated attributes, nor does he present high-level descriptions with no apparent connection to his subject. Rather, he presents key traits and shows how they make real individuals immensely successful--and in some cases, shows how once successful businessmen failed when they lost these key traits.I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more successful in their career, regardless of how high they've set their sights. As Kenneth Iverson states: "If you study Dr. Locke's [book], you may not become a billionaire, but I promise that you will be a better manager, a better business leader, and a better person." Indeed.

Evidence that wealth-creation requires rational greed

We've all heard about the alleged "robber barons." For decades the world's successful wealth creators - from Rockefeller to Gates - have been brushed with that smear. But Dr. Locke shows that the smear just can't stick. The wealth creators aren't the dishonest, short-range, conniving bullies we've long been told. Instead, they're both productive AND moral. To his credit, Dr. Locke doesn't accept the prevailing view that rational self-interest is evil - or that humble self-sacrifice is noble. That's what makes this book special - in addition to Locke's ability to cut to the essential aspects of creativity in business.I found Dr. Locke's survey of the great wealth-creators to be as unique as the subjects he studies. Guided by an objective standard for gauging productive prowess, Locke identifies a handful of the most crucial personality traits held in common by history's great business creators and leaders. One of my favorites is "love of ability in others." Successful employees at every level of business will be familiar with the envy and resentment they often get from their bosses. Locke shows that those aren't the successful bosses, that it takes an enormous ego (and self-confidence) to seek out and promote the best employees one can find. In Dr. Locke's book we learn what's never yet been taught about the productive giants of yesterday and today. Better still, we're given a reality-based, time-tested, and objective yardstick for identifying the giants of tomorrow. Want to make a bundle in business? Locke says you must develop an independent vision, an active mind, competence and confidence. You must be an activist (not a mere "idea man") and be passionate about your work. You must practice the virtues of rationality, honesty, integrity, independence, justice and self-interest (self-preservation). You must buck conventional opinion, which holds that rational greed is practical, but morally suspect. Locke shows us that rational greed is practical precisely because it's moral. Immoral approaches to business tend, in contrast, to dissipate wealth.Locke doesn't just advise us. In bringing alive the achievements of the wealth creators, in citing their successes and quoting their own philosophies, he lets the creators speak to and inspire us. Here, Locke AND Rockefeller advise.This book deserves the rapt attention of entrepreneurs, business leaders, board members, venture capital firms, executive recruiters and business students. It's not just a history lesson. It's a principled "how-to" book with a moral-philosophic base that permits the user to feel he can create ever more wealth and - equally important - feel proud of the wealth he's created.

Finally, a book linking morality to wealth creation!

This book is much more than an itemized list of millionaires' habits and attitudes toward life; it more useful to the reader than Thomas Stanley's new book, for example. In The Prime Movers, Dr. Locke uncovers the essential traits of that make wealth creation and productivity possible, and provides clear and easily graspable principles for success.More importantly, Locke connects the concepts of virtue and wealth creation. Lock states: "With respect to business and to life, what is needed is an objective approach to the subject of ethics. This is made even more urgent by recent polls that show business students to be cynical about the whole subject of morality. This is undoubtedly the result of the widely held view that moral principles are nothing more than arbitrary subjective preferences. I disagree." He goes on to demonstrate that achievement in business is fundamentally predicated on virtue, and that living by certain kinds moral values is basic to the success of the greatest creators in history.The key to understanding Locke's thesis is that he disregards such character traits as faith, humility, piety, and self-sacrifice as virtues. Instead, he advocates a practical, egoistic morality based on the virtues of rationality, independence, productiveness, honesty, integrity, and justice. He goes on to explore all of these in detail, giving numerous examples from actual case studies and historical research.Dr. Locke is obviously a devotee of Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, and wears his moral convictions like a badge of honor. Nevertheless, The Prime Movers will be both useful and interesting to you even if you have never heard of Ayn Rand. This is the book that will show you, not only how to make a billion dollars, but how to become a better person at the same time.

Who Wants to Be A Billionaire?

Dr. Locke's latest book, "The Prime Movers", is the most inspiring non-fiction book I have ever read. With his in-depth discussions of the virtues and hallmarks of the world's Prime Movers, Dr. Locke shows us the value of unflinching rationality, vision, courage, and persistence. The examples also show that large-scale wealth creation is a result of following the morality of Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, regardless if the person is conscious that he or she is following her philosophy or not.Chapter 9 helps distill the essence of the Prime Mover into how one would use their abilities to make a billion dollars. Luckily, for those of us who will not use the same amount of drive and tenacity, we are shown that we can get by making a mere 2-100 million dollars.Concluding the book are appendices showing the monetary figure of Prime Mover generated wealth and essays by Dr. Locke and Dr. Peikoff. Readers not familiar with Dr. Peikoff's essay style are in for a great treat.If you've ever listened to Dr. Locke's taped lecture series on the traits of American Business Heroes, you'll fall in love with this more essentialized, internationally-scope tome. It is remarkable.