The ability to concentrate as well as time management is key in business and Lee Iacocca learnt this in school. He had the discipline to say: “let’s get this done in the next 3 hours and then enjoy something else.” He would work hard during the week and set-aside time during the weekend to spend with family and friends. His approach was built from his parent’s experience. His father was an entrepreneur because that was what Italian immigrants typically did in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the Great Depression destroyed Iacocca senior’s businesses, which he had mortgaged to the hilt.
Lee Iacocca grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania and promised to get the education his father could not have in his native Naples, Italy. The pressure from his father, and the personal drive to success led Lee to get top grades in his high school. He had supportive teachers in debating and mathematics. The core lesson was not to memorize facts but rather to understand how to use facts to position an argument. In other words, he solidified a methodology for attacking problems. He ran for student president and learned (the hard way) that understanding people would help you as a leader. His parents taught him to apply himself, get an education and DO SOMETHING!