William L. McKnight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William L. McKnight (born 11 November 1887 in White, South Dakota, died 4 March 1978) was an American business man who served his entire career in 3M corporation, rising to chairman of the board from 1949 to 1966.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
William L. McKnight was the third child born to homesteaders Joseph and Cordelia McKnight, who left the East in 1880 to claim a homestead in South Dakota. William was born in the family’s sod house in White, South Dakota.
McKnight attended Duluth Business University, and on graduation began working for 3M Corporation as an Assistant Bookkeeper in May 1907, on a salary of $11.55 per week. McKnight began to understand the truly dire financial situation of 3M, and his ideas for making better products and still cutting costs gained him the admiration of the company’s general manager, who soon promoted McKnight to the position of cost accountant. Two years after that, he was placed in charge of the company’s Chicago office.
In 1914, McKnight was promoted to general manager of 3M and moved to the company’s headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. In June 1916 McKnight became 3M’s vice president at age 29. Soon afterwards, Lucius P. Ordway, the company's President, became ill, leaving McKnight running 3M - he officially became president in August 1929. He served as president until 1949, as chairman of the board from 1949-1966, and as honorary chairman of the board until 1972.
McKnight’s business sense and emphasis on research and development helped bring 3M back from the brink of bankruptcy and turn it into the large, multinational corporation.
[edit] Business Philosophy
McKnight encouraged 3M management to delegate responsibility and encourage men and women to exercise their initiative and his management theories are still the guiding principles for 3M.
Many believe McKnight's greatest contribution was as a business philosopher, since he created a corporate culture that encourages employee initiative and innovation. His basic rule of management was laid out in 1948:
-
- 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.
[edit] Personal life
McKnight married in 1915 and had one daughter Virginia McKnight Binger, who married James H. Binger
[edit] McKnight Foundation
The McKnight Foundation was started with residual funds from McKnight's will. The Foundation is independent of the 3M Company, and shares no corporate staff. In 2006, it had assets of $2Bn dollars, and was still run and managed by the family
