Sublime

Malcolm Cowley assisted me in three important ways: His New Yorker profile of Perkins, “Unshaken Friend,” published in 1944, was the most comprehensive account of Perkins’s life to date.

Years later, he made millions by using the same psychology in business. For example, he wanted to sell steel rails to the Pennsylvania Railroad. J. Edgar Thomson was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad then. So Andrew Carnegie built a huge steel mill in Pittsburgh and called it the ‘Edgar Thomson Steel Works.’

Over the years Chuck Proudfit has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars from Skillsource profits for ministry work ranging from micro-enterprises to job retraining to At Work On Purpose, the work life ministry he founded.

The company’s competitive advantage, it appears, was mostly Carnegie—his relentless pressure, his hounding to reduce costs, his instinct to steal any deal to keep his plants full, his insistence on always plowing back earnings into ever-bigger plants, the latest equipment, the best technologies.

Being a Code-stickler was the perfect cover for Nyasha to maintain his freedom of operation. His un-charismatic, introvert, geeky persona was the ultimate protection from any accusations of biased political agenda or personal ambition.