• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Farnam Street Logo

Farnam Street

Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out

  • Newsletter
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Log In
  • Become a Member
TweetEmailLinkedInPrint
Leadership|Reading Time: < 1

William McKnight: The Basic Rule of Management that Propelled 3M

In 1907 William L. McKnight joined Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co (3M) as an assistant bookkeeper. He rose quickly through the ranks and became president in 1929 and chairman of the board in 1949. His timeless management philosophy laid out below, encouraged 3M management to “delegate responsibility and encourage men and women to exercise their initiative.”

The Basic Rule of Management

As our business grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to delegate responsibility and to encourage men and women to exercise their initiative. This requires considerable tolerance. Those men and women, to whom we delegate authority and responsibility, if they are good people, are going to want to do their jobs in their own way.

Mistakes will be made. But if a person is essentially right, the mistakes he or she makes are not as serious in the long run as the mistakes management will make if it undertakes to tell those in authority exactly how they must do their jobs.

Management that is destructively critical when mistakes are made kills initiative. And it’s essential that we have many people with initiative if we are to continue to grow.

“If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give the people the room they need.”

— William L. McKnight

***

Still curious? Pair with David Packard’s 11 Simple Rules For Getting Along With Others.

Source

Read Next

Next Post:The Role of Race in History “History,” write the Durants in The Lessons of History, “is color-blind, and can develop a civilization (in any favorable …

Discover What You’re Missing

Get the weekly email full of actionable ideas and insights you can use at work and home.


As seen on:

New York Times logo
Wall Street Journal logo
The Economist logo
Financial Times logo
Farnam Street Logo

© 2025 Farnam Street Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Proudly powered by WordPress. Hosted by Pressable. See our Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Sponsorship
  • Support
  • Speaking

We’re Syrus Partners.
We buy amazing businesses.


Farnam Street participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by linking to Amazon.