Principles of Living · Bookplate

Cyrus McCormick

@cyrus-mccormick

“Cyrus McCormick was an American inventor and businessman who developed the mechanical reaper, a breakthrough that transformed agricultural production. He later founded International Harvester, making him a major figure in the industrialization of farming equipment.”

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The manifesto · 10 principles

Measure success by the social and economic value created for farmers and society at large.
Invest in manufacturing, distribution, and organization as seriously as invention itself.
Combine technical ingenuity with entrepreneurial drive to bring inventions into widespread use.
Respect the dignity of labor by designing tools that reduce drudgery and expand human capability.
Think long term: create systems, organizations, and products that can change an entire industry.
Treat business as a means to scale useful technology and make it broadly available.
Build on careful observation of how people actually work, especially in the field and workshop.
Improve productivity through innovation so that labor becomes more efficient and fruitful.
Value hard work, persistence, and disciplined effort as the path from idea to impact.
Pursue practical invention that solves real human problems, not novelty for its own sake.