Prime Movers

Prime Movers
By Edwin Locke

I pulled this book from the TJ Murphy Library and suspect that it will be the last of my 2004 quest for enlightenment and distinguishing characteristics of a self reliant man. Edward Locke is a Deans Professor of Leadership and Motivation at the Robert H Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. To pull this book together Locke used his student’s research papers on heroes in business. Rather than focus on the hero, Locke focuses on common traits of a few known heroes. He delineates a set of traits and then correlates each to a few business heroes to give life into the trait. Coincidently, Locke narrows his field of traits down to seven; the same number of “Decisions for Success” that I just read in Andy Andrews’ book Travelers Gift. Albeit the authors come for different schools of thought, both books use heroes to prompt one to think and get focused on self reliance and equates to a term that holds out until the end of this review.


The Prime Movers
1 Independent vision
2. An active mind
3. Competence and confidence
4. The drive to action
5 Egoistic passion
6. Love of ability in others
7. Virtue

The Travelers Gift
1. I am responsible for my success
2. I will listen to counsel of wise men
3. I am a person of action
4. I have a decided heart
5. I choose to be happy
6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit
7. I will persist without exception



On the first ingredient from the above recipe both authors describe a solitary man where the critical decisions come with a sense of loneliness. The degree for which one can maintain his or her independent mind and ground it in fact, will determine how close you come to being a Prime Mover like Carnegie, Morgan, Ford, Rockefeller, Edison, and Truman. Locke puts forth the assertion that vision is essential to creating wealth. He also maintains that effective communication of ones vision is essential to being a Prime Mover.

The operative words relative to an active mind are volition, reality, and intuition. Thought is not automatic and disciplined thought requires a person to balance new ideas in reality to prove a practical application. An active mind and being a person of action both call for one to initiate the thought and give it sustenance. Locke spends time putting a character to this process.

Competence and confidence will enable a decided heart or vice-versa. Once you make the decision to succeed in business, your natural skills to create something from nothing and find practical application expand. With that expansion your knowledge base and skill set grows and thus expanding your confidence. The difference between Prime Movers and Non Prime Movers is the latter (1) cannot acquire a high skill level of knowledge, or (2) acquire a high level of skill and knowledge but fail to recognize what they do not know, or (3) possess knowledge and skill but fail to act on them. Knowledge and foresight must be combined with motive power. Not being a Prime Mover does not make one unsuccessful.

A drive to action may begin with an affirmation to be a person of action. It is important that the action be properly placed and ceased when it is time. My favorite character used in the book was my old boss Jack Welch. And yes we were branded with the four “E”. They are energy, the ability to energize others; the edge to make tough decisions and execution to do more than simply decide to do something.

Egoistic passion is probably the hardest concept for folks to get. I would suspect that egotistic is the overshadowing cousin to egoistic. The egotistic person would be found making an impression by living life large and following trends set by others. The egotistic person will soon meet is doom when the leaders he is secretly following desert him without a clue. Making an impression without attending to the virtues of rationality, honesty, integrity, independence, and justice, is the difference gone unnoticed; hence the demise of the egotistic person and his egotistic witnesses. The actual meaning of egoism is concern for one’s own interest with a responsibility towards moral virtues. True egoists are selfish in that they look at facts and use reason, not whim to make decisions. And yes the decisions are rationally in their interests. By definition, Egoists are champions of fare exchange of value.

I would surmise that egoism is the centerpiece of this book in a helpful and challenging way. Locke tells tale of great Prime Movers who passionately pursued ideas of their own original mind and drove multitudes of work force towards success. The net result was an economy better off than before the Prime Mover. The result was wealth in multiple venues by a multitude of people. The perception of that multitude upon the subject Prime Mover trends that he must be an egotistical bastard who hoards all his money. Never mind the value brought to society or individual man.

“Love of ability in others” and “I will listen to counsel of wise men” line up upon a common axiom. That being “no man is an island”. This chapter, coming right after egoistic passion gives evidence that Locke clearly recognizes the reality of society. What I find unique about a Prime Mover is that he does not cry about those who do not contribute. He simply moves on to the next person to put on his team. He surrounds himself with winners as opposed to loser. Hence as rational would go; if you’re not on a team could you be egotistic?

Locke quotes Ayn Rand often in his book. I believe the following from the character, John Gault in Atlas Shrugged, allows both Prime Movers and Travelers Choice to sit in the same library. “Virtue is not and end in itself. Virtue is not its own reward or sacrificial fodder for the reward of evil. Life is the reward of virtue – and happiness is the goal and the reward of life.” It is worth taking a moment as Locke does in the book to examine life without these Prime Movers. Of course it is not a destiny meant for all. That message is vested in the title of the book. Could one simply say “Prime Movers” and then call role for those that match the description; so that we could all take a moment and say thank-you? The book is indeed about success where success is measured in making money or in a broader view creating wealth. To appreciate this one must let go, of his egotistic penchant towards blaming his or her failure on those who have succeeded in bringing wealth to our society, and begin looking for the Prime Mover traits within. Money is only expressions of success…get a hold of your ego, flip a coin and express yourself.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.