Why Charles Schwab Paid $25,000 in 1918 for a Productivity Tip That Took Less Than 30 Minutes to Explain

Imagine the year is 1918, and you’re at the helm of one of the biggest steel companies in the world.

You’re swimming in a sea of potential, but the paddles of productivity are just out of reach. Every day, you watch your executive team scrambling from one task to the next with no real, clear focus. They’re sucked into the day whirlwind.

This isn’t a scene from a black-and-white movie; it was the daily grind that Charles M. Schwab, the President of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, knew all too well.

To overcome his challenge, as the story goes, Charles M. Schwab paid Ivy Lee $25,000 for a time management strategy.

According to the tale, Ivy Lee was a productivity consultant who offered to improve the efficiency of Schwab’s team. He asked for just 15 minutes with each of Schwab’s executives and claimed that after three months, Schwab could pay him whatever he thought the strategy was worth.

Schwab later wrote a check for $25,000 (roughly $400,000 today), an enormous sum, especially for advice that took less than half an hour to impart.

It’s not the hours you pour in but what you pour into the hours that count.