Smash Notes
Charles Koch
Episodes
Notes
The Tim Ferriss Show · #381: Charles Koch — CEO of Koch Industries
-
What Has Been the Demise of So Many Companies
Some of the principles are neglected because they don’t fit a company’s priority. Also, it’s when companies are short-term oriented rather than long-term, which is why a great majority of top companies have declined.
-
Is “koch” a Dutch Pronunciation
Yes. It was later pronounced like “caw,” like a crow. Charles’ father hated that pronunciation. He was traveling for business and his last name was paged as “coke,” and he liked that better. So, that’s how it’s pronounced now.
-
Where Does Charles Get His First Name
His first and middle is is Charles de Ganahl. He is named after an entrepreneur that his father worked for. They became lifelong friends and admired one another.
-
What Would Charles Koch Risk His Personal Fortune on?
Tim Ferriss asks Charles Koch what he would risk his own fortune on, separate from betting the company. Koch says he is already investing all the liquidity he has in Stand Together, plus a lot of his time. He cites demonstrated preference: watch what people do, not what they say. That work is one reason he gets up charged. If he could put one non-commercial line in front of billions of people, he would use Stand Together's "Greater your good," so people would ask what it means. His gloss is to discover your gifts, develop them, and use them in a way that helps others and still benefits you.
-
What Are Some Worries That We Need to Pay Attention to
Charles thinks that trade, immigration, and foreign policies should be paid closer attention to. He states that if goods don’t cross the borders, soldiers will.
-
Why Does Charles Work With Social Entrepreneurs
Because they tend to have good solutions, microsolutions. They have lived through problems and worked their way out of them. They know what works and are striving to improve every day. Charles says that this is the type of society that we need, one that enables people to pursue their interests in a mutually beneficial way that leads to peace and harmony.
-
Does Charles Fund Propaganda to Confuse People About Global Warming
Charles says that he hopes not. He is dedicated to the scientific method and good science. What he is trying to do is get several open-minded groups together. He wants them to listen and join together in order to find policies that will do something about man-made emissions and prevent making people’s lives worse.
-
What Is Charles and His Company Working on to Eliminate
They are working on eliminating the aspects of all these injustices that are haunting the country. Charles says that people who are liberated and empowered succeed. He states that the world used to be utilitarian and people weren’t allowed to think differently, which stifled the progress. America was once the most successful country in the world, but some people had limited or partial rights.
-
What Are the Two Systems
We should decide if we want a system that empowers people or one that controls them. We should want to move toward the system that creates a mutual benefit.
-
Why Doesn’t Koch Like the Word, “capitalism”
Because the word assumes that what his company is after is a system where certain people have a lot of capital. His company is after a system where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential, including those who start with nothing. He feels that businesses should only profit to the extent of them helping improve people’s lives.
-
What Does Charles Look for in the Social Entrepreneurs
He looks for which social entrepreneurs that his company can help scale and capture natural imagination, which can cause change in the way people think about topics. He uses the example of criminal justice reform.
-
What Inspired Koch to Start Youth Entrepreneurs
Charles and his wife started the organization 28 years ago in Wichita. They were inspired to meet so many kids that had abilities, but had received terrible advice and grew up in poor upbringings. The Kochs wanted to teach these kids about principle entrepreneurship by offering a three dimensional education where they could change their mindsets with support from the Kochs.
-
What Happens When You Encounter Someone You Disagree With
Instead of being hostile toward them, find something you disagree on, or fight and attack them, search for something you both can work together on to contribute and help people improve their lives. This creates an unexpected ally.
-
How Do We Get Policy Changes
Charles says that we need to mobilize the people who are interested in them and help them have a voice. The next was to get politicians that wanted to help the country in the long-term, rather than focus on getting re-elected.
-
What Does Charles Koch Say a Good Partnership Requires?
On The Tim Ferriss Show, Charles Koch says he has a narrow range of abilities, so he develops those and partners for the rest. A partnership that works, he says, needs three things: a shared vision, shared values, and complementary capabilities. Where he and a partner had all three, he has generally succeeded. Where they did not, he has generally failed. His best partnership is with his wife. They had been together 51 years. They share vision and values, he is good at the few things she is not, and she is good at about everything he is not. He says they make each other better, and he counts that as one of the great advantages of his life.
-
How Do You Get People to Act on a Problem
People will only act if the action satisfies three requirements: you become dissatisfied with your current state, you have a better vision of your current state, and you have a path to get there.
-
What Is the Flaw in Our Education System
It’s not education, but it’s schooling: teach to test. Real education should be three dimensional instead of one. The three dimensions are: discover your gifts and aptitudes, do whatever you can to fully develop those, then learn how to apply them. When people utilize their potential, it moves society.
-
What Are Principles or Lessons That Have Inspired Koch
Koch states that there is a big difference between personal knowledge and conceptual knowledge. Another principle is division of labor by comparative advantage. Creative destruction is when you don’t want to be a pretentious and protective in your own shop. Self-actualization is another concept, which is a state where the selfish and unselfish merge.
-
Why Is Koch Industries So Successful
The question is always, will this enable to fulfill our obligation as a business? The principles of human flourishing, the capabilities to create value, and the ability to transform in order to contribute are the values the company upholds to remain successful.
-
How Do You Handle Comments That Claim Your Company Gives Bad Profit
You can’t avoid it. Charles asks the question, what is a company doing if their goal is to provide bad profit? It does not benefit society or the company to have bad profit. Businesses are supposed to improve people’s lives, not make them worse.