The Knowledge Project: A Farnam Street Podcast

Harvey Firestone built one of America’s great industrial empires from scratch, transforming from a farm boy to Henry Ford’s key partner. This episode reveals timeless principles about building businesses through booms, busts, and technological disruptions. This episode is based on the biography Men and Rubber: The Story of Business. Check out The Firestone Principles: 12 Timeless Lessons from an Industrial Pioneer: ⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-harvey-firestone/ (03:00) PART 1: The Best Businessman I Ever Knew(06:50) The Vanilla Extract Lesson(10:23) When Premium Doesn’t Matter (12:05) PART 2: Right Beneath the Wheels(14:21) The Back of an Envelope(16:36) If Two of Us Stay, Neither Makes Money(18:39) Betting on what Doesn’t Change(20:55) The Accidental Breakfast(24:53) The Third Option (28:19) PART 3: The Innovators Dilemma: Pneumatic Tires(32:24) The Ford Connection: A Partnership of Outsiders(35:23) Navigating the Crisis(37:17) The Underdog’s Advantage(39:24) The Million Dollar