How Did John Rockefeller Influence His Work?

When most people hear the name Rockefeller the majority of them initially think of the wealth associated with the name. This is not a surprising initial reaction since Rockefeller is known to be one of the world’s richest men (Bibliography). More often than not what goes un-noted is what lead to John Rockefeller’s success and wealth and the contributions he has made that are not merely monetary.
John Rockefeller’s leadership and business intuitions were recognized at an early age. By the age of 14 he embarked on a number of small-business ventures as a teenager, landing his first real office job at age 16, as an assistant bookkeeper with Hewitt & Tuttle, commission merchants and produce shippers (Biography). His hard work continued until he eventually began taking on his own business ventures. Throughout all of Rockefeller’s business pursuits he always seemed to not only excel at the business tasks at hand, but profit greatly. While working as a commission merchant in hay, meats, grains and other goods his company's first year in business had grossed $450,000. His un-canny eye for different business avenues lead him to what would eventually become one of the most profitable business opportunities during his lifetime, the untouched oil refinery business.

With success came acquisitions, as Standard began buying out its competitors (History). Rockefeller endured failures alongside his accomplishments, but I believe the way he handled his business affairs also lead to their continued successes. I have read over and over again how John Rockefeller did not take a lot of business risks and always kept things as simple as possible to keep costs down and revenues