Leadership Lessons from Rockefeller: The Power of Small Adjustments

Did you know John D. Rockefeller once made $20 million with a single drop of solder?

When I first heard this story, I realized it wasn’t about being a penny pincher—it was about leadership. Rockefeller wasn’t looking for massive inefficiencies to fix. He was constantly asking better questions: Why do we do things this way? Can it be improved? That mindset—attention to the small things—is at the heart of leadership.

Leadership Is About Paying Attention

When Rockefeller saw barrels sealed with 40 drops of solder, he asked if it could be done with less. After experimenting, they discovered 39 drops sealed the barrel perfectly. That small shift, when scaled across thousands of barrels, saved the company millions.

Here’s the lesson for leadership: improvement doesn’t always come from big swings. Sometimes it’s about those tiny adjustments, the ones we often ignore.

Leadership Starts With You

I’ve led businesses and teams for years, and I’ve noticed this same principle applies on a personal level. People often chase the big things—reading another book, hiring a mentor, taking another course. Those are useful, but what about the things you already do tens of thousands of times a day?

• Your thoughts: You’ll think about 70,000 thoughts today. If even 10% are negative, that’s 7,000 negative reinforcements shaping who you are. Leadership means taking control of your mind.

• Your steps and breaths: Each day you take thousands of steps and breaths. Are they intentional? Leadership means leading yourself first through discipline and awareness.

• Your habits: Even something as simple as hydration plays a role in how you show up as a leader.

Small corrections add up. Leadership is in the little things done consistently.

Leadership in Teams: 39 Drops vs. 40

Just like Rockefeller’s 39 drops, leadership in business often comes down to those small moments we overlook.

• When a team member says something slightly off to a customer, do you let it slide? Or do you correct it with care?

• When expenses creep in—subscriptions you don’t use, bloated payroll—do you notice and adjust?

• When your gut says something’s off with your culture, do you listen?

Ignoring these “one drop” inefficiencies creates long-term problems. Leadership means paying attention to those moments and acting with intention.

The Leadership Ledger

Rockefeller kept a ledger of everything, no detail too small. That’s not micromanagement—that’s awareness. Leadership is about noticing, documenting, and adjusting before small issues compound into big problems.

Final Thought

Leadership isn’t about grand gestures or massive transformations. It’s about noticing when you’re using 40 drops where 39 will do—and making the adjustment.

If you want to lead effectively—in your business, your family, or your own life—pay attention to the little things. That’s where real leadership lives.

Try harder.

Time-Stamped Show Notes

00:30 – Rockefeller’s lesson: $20M saved with one drop of solder
01:05 – Why leadership is found in the smallest details
01:40 – Improving yourself before improving your business
02:10 – The power of controlling thoughts, steps, and breaths
02:55 – Leadership is about small intentional actions
03:25 – Applying “39 drops” to business leadership
04:10 – How ignoring small issues shapes your culture
04:45 – Rockefeller’s ledger: the importance of paying attention
05:20 – Leadership means constant small corrections