Rockefeller is interesting as a leader because he found great balance between all six dimensions of leadership. He was intelligent enough to create the first Oil Monopoly in the US, and to know that competition is not always a bad thing. He was also confident in what he was doing, and most of his employees liked or respected him. He was determined to become the richest man in the US, and he became the richest man not only in the US, but in world history. He was also great socially and very tactful, even in heated situations. Finally, he had a great amount of integrity and did not alter facts in order to gain an advantage. All in all, Rockefeller can be revered as somebody who greatly balanced all dimensions of leadership.
- 1839 - Born in Richford, New York
- 1851 - Attends Owego Academy in Owego, New York
- 1853 - Moves to Strongsville Ohio and attended Cleaveland Central Highschool
- 1855 - Gets a job in Bookkeeping for a firm called Hewitt & Tuttle
- 1859 - Goes into produce commission business with Maurice B. Clark. Makes good money in the civil war, but looked into crude oil refining towards the end of the civil war
- 1863 - Builds an Oil refinery with some partners. In order to increase profit margin, Rockefeller used “waste” oil from refinery process to fuel the refinery, selling lubricant oils, petroleum jelly, paraffin wax and other by products
- 1865 - Buys out his former partners in 1865 for $72.500 (in 2017, would have been $1 Million), establishing Rockefeller & Andrews firm
- 1866 - His brother builts a new refinery, which Rockefeller helps managing (Rockefeller, Andrews & Flager)
- 1870 - Abolishes the partnership of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flager to make the Standard Oil Company
- End of the 1870's - Becomes a millionaire
- 1874 - Establishes partnership with Prat and Rogers to path a way in the formation of the Standard Oil Trust
- 1877 - Clashes with Thomas A. Scott, the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Standard's chief hauler. Plans to envade into the transportation and piepeline industries.
- 1879 - Is on charges of monopolizing the oil trade, starting an avalanche of similar court proceedings in other states and making a national issue of Standard Oil's business practices by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
- 1880s - Dominates the world oil market at the peark of Standard Oil power
- 1902 - Earns over in $58 million in investments at age 63 of his retirement
- 1937 - Dies at the age of 98 at Ormond Beach, Florida