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| Benjamin Franklin |
There
have been many great personalities in the course of modern history. We have had
unparalleled scientific minds like that of Albert Einstein, great literary
figures like Ernest Hemingway, artists who have made incomparable contributions
like Pablo Picasso and folks who have made contributions to several aspects of
knowledge and literature like Leonardo da Vinci and Rabindranath Tagore. But among
all the great historical personalities that I have read about, I am really
fascinated by one person who was what they call as a polymath. This person had
expertise in several fields and made his mark in all of them. He was a well
known editor, scientist, industrialist, institution builder, sea farer,
politician and statesman. He is none other than Benjamin Franklin, who lived in
the United States of America in the 18th century. He achieved all
these things in a single lifetime, at an age when information was scarce and
resources non-existent. Such ambitions are unimaginable to any of us even
today, with all the resources that we have in our disposal. He is truly among
the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin viewed virtue as a path to
personal happiness and social utility.
Here
are some of the key achievements from the life of Benjamin Franklin. I have picked
up a few of them to illustrate one point which I feel has been key to his
success. And it is collaboration. Franklin was a master at networking and
collaboration. He was able to work with many people simultaneously and produce
work of great value. This was one of his key capability.
1. Network of Printers: Franklin established the ‘The Pennsylvania
Gazette’, as a successful newspaper in Philadelphia. He tried to establish
an inter colonial network of printers which grew to be one of the prominent
and influential informal network. One of his aims of setting this network was
to promote virtues among people. As recorded by Ralph Frasca, “Franklin intended
for his network of printers to teach virtue and encourage its adoption. The
network would disseminate his moral truths to a mass audience, and this would
in turn further his own political, economic, and moral ambitions”
2. Freemason: Franklin joined the
Freemason club in 1731 and became a Grand Master in 1734. He also produced several
Masonic books and remained in the organization for the rest of his life.
3. Gulf Stream Discovery: Franklin
worked with Timothy Folger and other experienced ship captains to chart the
Atlantic ocean current and named it Gulf Stream. It is known by the same name
even today.
4. Socializing with Chess: Franklin was an avid
chess player. He used chess as a means to network and meet new people during his time as a
civil servant and diplomat in England. Old Slaughter's Coffee House in London was
the place he visited to play chess and socialize, and he made many important
personal contacts during that time. When he was in Paris, later as an ambassador,
he used to go to Café de la Régence, where the best French chess players met.
5. Volunteer Fire Fighting: In 1736, Franklin
established the Union Fire Company, a volunteer firefighting company,
comprising of volunteers, who will be pressed into service as and when needed.
These were on-call fire fighters who would be pursuing other vocations in their
regular life but could assemble to fight a fire when the need arose.
6. Ameriacan Philosophical Society: Franklin established
the American Philosophical Society in 1743. The main objective of this society
was to help scientific men discuss their discoveries and theories.
7. Model College: Franklin worked with
Dr.
Samuel Johnson and Dr.
William Smith to establish the new-model college
would focused on the professions, with classes taught in English instead of
Latin. This college later became one of the constituent college of the
University of Pennsylvania.
8. Raising an army : In 1756, Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia. He recruited
a regiment of soldiers to go into battle against the Native Americans.
9. Royal Society of Arts: In 1756, Franklin had become a
member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures &
Commerce. This society is now the Royal Society of Arts or RSA. In 1775,
Franklin became the Society's Corresponding Member, continuing a close
connection.
10. Military Alliances and treaties: 1776–1785:
As the Ambassador to France, Franklin conducted the affairs of his country
toward the French nation with great success, which included securing a critical
military alliance in 1778 and negotiating the Treaty of Paris (1783).
As
you can notice from all the above examples, Benjamin Franklin knew how to work
with people, in groups, big and small. In most of his endeavors, he formed superlative teams which
propelled him to success. He was part of various literary and scientific societies
and alliances and drove them towards a common objective. No doubt, Benjamin Franklin was a great person
and he had immense personal virtues. He professed and cultivated the 13 virtues
to improve his character. But the virtue of collaboration was something he
practiced and practiced well to perfection! This is something which as a
student of habit we all have to learn.
