William L. McKnight

William L. McKnight ( born September 11, 1887 in White, South Dakota, † March 4, 1978 ) was an American businessman. As president and CEO of the technology company 3M, he significantly shaped the today part of the corporate philosophy. In 1953 he founded the McKnight Foundation, which is dedicated to numerous charitable causes.

Life

William McKnight was the son of the settlers Joseph and Cordelia McKnight. After his graduation, he began studying at the Duluth Business University, which he finished with no qualifications to compete in 1907 a job as an assistant accountant at 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.). Within two years he was promoted to manager of the Chicago sales office and continuously worked his way further up, until he was appointed president of the company in 1949 as its Chairman in 1929. McKnight retired in 1966 from active professional life, but the company remained as honorary chairman until 1973. He died in 1978 at the age of 90 years.

April 20, 1995 McKnight was recorded in the U.S. in the " Junior Achievement National Business Hall of Fame" in order to appreciate his services for free enterprise.

Business Philosophy

One of McKnight's greatest merits is its business philosophy with which he created a corporate culture that encourages employee initiative, personal responsibility and innovation. His basic management rules he formulated in 1948:

It is "The more a company grows, the more important to delegate responsibility and to encourage employees to their own initiative. This requires a high degree of tolerance. Employees to whom we transfer authority and responsibility, want - if they are good - in their jobs automatically.

Error will always exist. But the fault of the staff who usually do the right things are not as serious as those that arise because the management wants to dictate to responsible exactly how they have to do their work.

A management that responds to critical error, destroys initiative. However, employees with personal commitment are vital if a company wants to continue to grow. "

Foundation

Founded in 1953 William McKnight and his wife Maude, the McKnight Foundation, headquartered in Minneapolis. The concerns of the existing to this day the foundation is to improve the quality of life of present and future generations. This objective it pursues through the award of grants, collaborations and support political reforms in many areas, including youth, the environment, art and science.

In the past 55 years, the McKnight Foundation, about 1.7 billion U.S. dollars granted in subsidies. She currently has assets of around 1.9 billion U.S. dollars and granted in 2011 alone approximately 91 million.