7. Rockefeller exhibited the thrift he learned from his mother
During his childhood, when his usually absent father left behind hungry children his mother was forced to feed, Rockefeller learned the value of thrift. Nothing was wasted in the house in which he grew up, even table scraps were recycled as fertilizer in the family gardens. Rockefeller applied the same principle to the refining business, with all potential products from crude oil prepared and sold. Tar from sludge was sold to paving and roofing suppliers. When Rockefeller saw the price of wooden barrels go up, he cut off his suppliers, purchased raw lumber, and hired coopers to build his own, reducing costs from more than two dollars per barrel to less than one. Rather than hiring third party pipefitters and plumbers, Rockefeller included them in his own labor force, paying them an hourly wage rather than a set fee for a particular job.