CELEBRATING CHARLES F. KETTERING
“Problems are the price of progress. Don’t bring me anything but trouble. Good news weakens me.” One would have thought that this was an idle trouble causer. But, wait a minute and listen to the story of this problem solver.
Charles F. Kettering was born in 1876 on a farm in Ohio. As a student he loved to read and to experiment. Maybe that is why he would later say: “Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.” He tried about half the tools on his parents’ farm to find the best way to pick potatoes. After high school he taught for three years in an effort to raise his University fees. He entered University at 22 years of age but had to drop out in second year due to poor eyesight. He then worked as a telephone lineman for several years before returning to Ohio State University and graduating at age 28.
Our problems should never deter us from pursuing greatness. We must never let other people’s limited opinions limit our pursuits. After graduation, he took up a job as an experimental engineer with National Cash Register (NCR). In the five years there, he created a low-cost printing cash register, an electric cash register and developed an accounting system for banks among other inventions. While still at NCR, from his home garage, he invented an improved vehicle ignition system. Spurred by this invention he set up the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco) in 1909 with the help of a few friends. That year he got a challenging order for 8,000 ignition systems from Cadillac. This “problem” led to the creation of the first electric starter. Sometimes because we are comfortable with our old problems, we are never elevated to the creation of new solutions. We cannot use an old map to navigate new territory. In 1916, United Motors Corporation acquired Delco, which was later acquired by General Electric in 1918. Kettering was invited to direct the new General Electric Research Corporation that was subsequently formed. Research deals with creating solutions to current and future problems. Problems are wasted when they are left unchallenged. Kettering himself said that his interest was in the future because that is where he was going to spend the rest of his life. As head of GM Research for 27 years, he spearheaded the company’s product development and acquired 140 patents to his name. His notable achievements included the development of “ethyl” leaded petrol to correct engine knock, the refrigerant, “Freon”; and faster-drying and longer lasting paint finishes for motor vehicles. He also created the lightweight diesel engine that helped improve the moving power of railroads. Kettering retired from General Electric in 1947 but continued to serve as a director and research adviser until his death in 1958. He received nearly 40 honorary doctorates and a myriad of awards, honours and medals. His legacy lives through the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for medical research established in 1927 and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research founded by GM Chairman Alfred P. Sloan in 1945.
The life of a problem solver inspires greatness in subsequent generations. Kettering bequeathed to us this saying; “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” Problems are the mineshafts that lead us to the hidden treasure. They are the key to any worthwhile enterprise. Our problems carry with them the seeds for our greatness. Anyone without problems is truly bankrupt because he has no seeds to create a better future. Our greatness is brilliantly disguised in our most nagging problems.
Charles F. Kettering was born in 1876 on a farm in Ohio. As a student he loved to read and to experiment. Maybe that is why he would later say: “Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.” He tried about half the tools on his parents’ farm to find the best way to pick potatoes. After high school he taught for three years in an effort to raise his University fees. He entered University at 22 years of age but had to drop out in second year due to poor eyesight. He then worked as a telephone lineman for several years before returning to Ohio State University and graduating at age 28.
Our problems should never deter us from pursuing greatness. We must never let other people’s limited opinions limit our pursuits. After graduation, he took up a job as an experimental engineer with National Cash Register (NCR). In the five years there, he created a low-cost printing cash register, an electric cash register and developed an accounting system for banks among other inventions. While still at NCR, from his home garage, he invented an improved vehicle ignition system. Spurred by this invention he set up the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco) in 1909 with the help of a few friends. That year he got a challenging order for 8,000 ignition systems from Cadillac. This “problem” led to the creation of the first electric starter. Sometimes because we are comfortable with our old problems, we are never elevated to the creation of new solutions. We cannot use an old map to navigate new territory. In 1916, United Motors Corporation acquired Delco, which was later acquired by General Electric in 1918. Kettering was invited to direct the new General Electric Research Corporation that was subsequently formed. Research deals with creating solutions to current and future problems. Problems are wasted when they are left unchallenged. Kettering himself said that his interest was in the future because that is where he was going to spend the rest of his life. As head of GM Research for 27 years, he spearheaded the company’s product development and acquired 140 patents to his name. His notable achievements included the development of “ethyl” leaded petrol to correct engine knock, the refrigerant, “Freon”; and faster-drying and longer lasting paint finishes for motor vehicles. He also created the lightweight diesel engine that helped improve the moving power of railroads. Kettering retired from General Electric in 1947 but continued to serve as a director and research adviser until his death in 1958. He received nearly 40 honorary doctorates and a myriad of awards, honours and medals. His legacy lives through the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for medical research established in 1927 and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research founded by GM Chairman Alfred P. Sloan in 1945.
The life of a problem solver inspires greatness in subsequent generations. Kettering bequeathed to us this saying; “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” Problems are the mineshafts that lead us to the hidden treasure. They are the key to any worthwhile enterprise. Our problems carry with them the seeds for our greatness. Anyone without problems is truly bankrupt because he has no seeds to create a better future. Our greatness is brilliantly disguised in our most nagging problems.
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