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100 Years of Business History

Learn from thecompanies thatchanged the world.

Discover the exact playbooks, strategies, and growth lessons from America's most iconic brands, distilled for today's builders.

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Photograph of 3M — 1902
Featured Story
1902Two Harbors, MinnesotaManufacturing

How 3M built a culture where failure is the product

Post-it Notes were an accident. So was Scotch Tape. 3M built a company that treats accidental discovery as a management system.

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This week's lessons

What SMBs can learn

ai and automation

AI and automation: adopt the tool, not the hype

Every major technology transition in American business history created winners who applied the tool to their existing strengths — and losers who chased the technology itself.

data and decisions

Data and decisions: how to see your business the way great operators do

The operators who outlast their competition are not smarter. They see more. The discipline of measurement is the discipline of seeing clearly.

branding

Branding: build a story before you need one

A brand is not a logo. It's a promise, repeated consistently, until it becomes an expectation. The companies that build durable brands start with the story, not the design.

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Explore the archive

Browse 100 years

By Industry
RetailTechnologyLogisticsFood & BeverageHealthcareManufacturingFinanceMedia
By Decade
1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
By State
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdaho
By Founder
Sam WaltonFred SmithSteve JobsWalt DisneyRay KrocJim SinegalHoward SchultzPhil Knight

The framework

Eight growth lessons

ai and automation

AI and automation: adopt the tool, not the hype

Every major technology transition in American business history created winners who applied the tool to their existing strengths — and losers who chased the technology itself.

data and decisions

Data and decisions: how to see your business the way great operators do

The operators who outlast their competition are not smarter. They see more. The discipline of measurement is the discipline of seeing clearly.

branding

Branding: build a story before you need one

A brand is not a logo. It's a promise, repeated consistently, until it becomes an expectation. The companies that build durable brands start with the story, not the design.

customer experience

Customer experience: the competitive advantage that compounds

Every touchpoint is either building or eroding the relationship. The operators who understand this build businesses that grow without advertising.

All eight growth lessons
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Recent stories

Photograph of Nike — 1964
1964Portland, OregonRetail

How Phil Knight built Nike by betting on athletes, not advertising

Nike didn't have better shoes than Adidas or Converse for most of its history. It had a better story about who wore them.

Mar 12, 2025Apply the lesson
Photograph of Starbucks — 1971
1971Seattle, WashingtonFood

How Howard Schultz turned a coffee bean store into a third place for America

Starbucks didn't invent espresso or premium coffee. It invented a category of experience — the comfortable third place between home and work.

Mar 5, 2025Apply the lesson
Photograph of UPS — 1907
1907Seattle, WashingtonLogistics

How UPS built a century of reliability by counting every second

UPS drivers don't turn left. That single rule, applied across 100,000 vehicles, saves 10 million gallons of fuel per year. That's what radical measurement looks like.

Feb 26, 2025Apply the lesson
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