In honor of our country’s 250th anniversary, I thought I would pass along practical management wisdom of one of our Founding Fathers: Benjamin Franklin. Frankin was not only a Founding Father, but he was also the first Postmaster General and a successful businessperson, leader, inventor, writer and person. He is considered one of the smartest and wisest men our country has ever produced!
There is much we can learn from Franklin that can help us be better managers and help our operations be even more successful.
Benjamin Franklin’s Keys to Management and Operational Success
Be a Person of Character and Integrity. “Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended.” Integrity and trust are foundational to our leadership success.
The Importance of Personal Discipline. Franklin organized his day carefully and practiced strong personal accountability. At the beginning of his day he asked, “What good shall I do this day?” At the end of his day, he asked himself, “What good have I done today?” As leaders we need to manage ourselves well before we try to manage others.
The Value of Continuous Learning. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest” and “The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” The best leaders continually learn, grow, and adapt. Embracing the continuous improvement mindset and being a lifelong learner will help us and our teams be successful. We can take advantage of traditional education sources like colleges and universities, attend conferences like the National Postal Forum and MAILCOM, and take part in webinars. We can also read trade journals and good books.
Time Management and Productivity. “Lost time is never found again.” “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Effective leaders treat time as one of our most valuable resources and use it well on things that matter most.
The Power of Communication. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Clear communication strengthens leadership influence and trust.
Strive for Excellence. “Whatever you become, be good at it.” Excellence does not happen by chance. We must intentionally choose to excel at what we do, including making the choice to become more effective leaders and managers.
Build Strong Relationships. “Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.” Leadership effectiveness is built on trust and relationships. We want to be friendly and build positive relationships with all the people in our circles of influence.
Practice Humility and Emotional Intelligence. “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride.” As we know, prideful (arrogant) leaders tend to repulse people, but humble and grounded leaders tend to attract us. Humble leaders are more teachable, approachable, and effective.
Be Prepared. “By failing to prepare, you prepare to fail.” A plan is needed to fulfill our goals. Charging in without any thought to the result and how to achieve it is a sure way to fall flat on your face.
Don’t fight change. “When you are finished changing, you are finished.” Change is inevitable. Focus on proactively making positive changes - and avoid being only reactive and having changes thrust upon you.
Less Talk, More Action, & Actions Speak Louder than Words. “Well done is better than well said.” We all know that talking by itself is cheap. Talking about a project doesn’t get it done – we must act see the work through.
Don’t Procrastinate. “Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today.” It’s easy to fall into the procrastination trap. One tip to avoid this trap is to have time specific and measurable goals. And when we achieve key milestones or goals remember let’s take time to reward ourselves and enjoy the sense of achievement.
Be organized. “For every minute spent in organizing, one hour is earned” and “A place for everything, everything in its place.” To maximize our productivity and achievement of our goals, we need to take the time to plan and to organize our resources. The time we spend planning and organizing our work really does come back to us with interest.
Avoid busy work. “Never confuse motion with action.” Our time is limited, and our expectations keep growing. We need to use our time well by avoiding unnecessary tasks, delegating when it makes sense, and focusing our attention on the highest value work.
Give yourself permission to make mistakes. “Don’t fear mistakes” and “You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” Fearing making mistakes can immobilize us. Taking risks and making mistakes offer us a special learning opportunity – provided we learn from the mistakes and grow from them.
Know Yourself. “There are three extremely hard things: steel, a diamond, and to know oneself.” Self-awareness is the first tenant of emotional intelligence. Be honest with yourself and seek input from others about your strengths and areas for further development.
Get moving. “All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are moveable, and those that move.” Which class do you fall into? The most successful people in life are those that move and get things done.
Act quickly on Opportunities. “To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” Opportunities are everywhere. Our challenge is to be quick enough and smart enough to seize them when they arise.
Frugality and Wise Stewardship. “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” Franklin emphasized wise stewardship of resources. Strong leaders manage resources carefully and efficiently.
Engage Your Staff Actively. “Tell me and I forget; teach me and I remember; involve me and I learn.” Experiential learning is at the core of developing ourselves and our team members. Give people a chance to learn by doing real work – and reinforce what they did well and patiently coach them when they could do better.
Don’t Give up. “If at first you don’t succeed, try again” and “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” Striving to achieve our goals can be downright exhausting, right? There are times when we all want to admit defeat. But pushing through those down times will eventually result in significant achievements – and when we look back we will say it was worth the effort.
Wise up. “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late” and “I wish I knew then what I know now.” We can accelerate our acquisition of wisdom by intentionally seeking out growing experiences, and by taking time to reflect on what we have learned from our experiences. We can also tap into the wisdom of others who have gone before us by reading their words, listening to them speak into our lives, and seeing their actions.
Keep trying. “Diligence is the mother of good luck." One tip is to break down our bigger goals into small units of work and then complete them one at a time. Another tip is to choose to limit time spent in front of the TV, PC or I-Pad and concentrate on getting our priority goals completed.
Seek knowledge and wisdom. “If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him” and “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” We have many potential sources to learn and develop more wisdom – take advantage of them! In addition to our personal life experiences, we can learn from the experiences of others through mentoring, involvement in professional associations, attending conferences, taking classes and workshops, and reading what they write about their experiences and lessons learned.
Closing Thoughts: Benjamin Franklin’s wisdom is still highly relevant for modern managers and leaders. His teachings on discipline, integrity, learning, and other topics continue to offer practical guidance for workplace success.
The final piece of advice I wanted to highlight is the encouragement to continue to grow as a person. Franklin said, “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” Good luck as you continue your journey to be a better manager – and person!
Wes Friesen is a proven leader and developer of high performing teams and has extensive experience in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. He is also an award winning university instructor and speaker, and is the President of Solomon Training and Development, which provides leadership, management and team building training. He serves as the Industry Co-Chair of the Greater Portland PCC. His book, Your Team Can Soar! has 42 valuable lessons that will inspire you, and give you practical pointers to help you — and your team — soar to new heights of performance. Your Team Can Soar! can be ordered from Xulonpress.com/bookstore or wesfriesen.com (under Book) or an online retailer. Wes can be contacted at wesmfriesen@gmail.com or at 971-806-0812.
This article originally appeared in the July/August, 2026 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.
