Herbert Kaufman

Herbert Kaufman – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the life, career, and enduring wisdom of Herbert Kaufman (1878–1947), American writer and newspaperman. Dive into his background, works, “Kaufmanisms,” and lessons for modern readers drawn from his timeless quotes.

Introduction

Herbert Kaufman (March 6, 1878 – September 6, 1947) was an American writer, journalist, and editorialist whose work captured the spirit of his age—and whose aphorisms continue to echo today. Widely syndicated in both the United States and Canada, Kaufman earned lasting recognition for his persuasive essays, business wisdom, and war-time poetry.

His pithy, impactful sayings—often called “Kaufmanisms”—have been repeatedly quoted in motivational, business, and advertising contexts. Beyond mere slogans, they reflect a deeper worldview: one in which persistence, clarity of purpose, and self-discipline are central. In this article, we walk through his life, his intellectual contributions, and the lessons his words still hold.

Early Life and Family

Herbert Kaufman was born in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 1878. Detailed public records of his parents or siblings are relatively scarce in standard sources, which is not uncommon for writers of that era whose fame derives chiefly from their writing rather than familial prominence.

What is known is that Kaufman grew up in an era of rapid change in America: the Gilded Age followed by the Progressive Era. His formative years would have been shaped by industrialization, growing urbanization, expansion of print media, and the spirit of American optimism and reform. While the precise influences on his youth are not well documented, the themes he later championed—efficiency, purpose, clarity in thought—align with broader currents in early 20th century American thought.

Youth and Education

There is limited direct biographical data about Kaufman’s schooling, but one can infer that he was well-educated, literate in a variety of genres, and engaged in intellectual circles. His facility with rhetoric, his engagement with journalism, and his fluency in writing essays, poetry, and commentary suggest a strong classical and liberal arts grounding.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, aspiring journalists and writers often honed their craft via apprenticeships in newspapers, magazines, or local editorial offices. Kaufman’s ability to write for major periodicals and syndicate his editorials indicates that by early adulthood he had already acquired credibility, connections, and mastery of prose.

Career and Achievements

Journalism and orial Work

Kaufman established himself as a newspaperman and essayist whose work was widely syndicated across North America. Evening Standard and The Times, especially during World War I.

He also published over fifty war poems, among them The Hell-Gate of Soissons, which addressed the horrors and moral weight of war. His dual identity as both commentator and poet allowed him to bridge public discourse and emotional resonance.

Books and Essays

Kaufman authored numerous books and essay collections spanning business advice, advertising, philosophical reflection, and war writing. Some notable works include:

• The Stolen Throne (c. 1907) — co-authored with May Isabel Fisk

• The Winning Fight (c. 1910) — one of his more popular works

• Do Something! Be Something! (c. 1912)

• The Clock That Had No Hands: And Nineteen Other Essays About Advertising (c. 1912)

• The Efficient Age (c. 1913)

• The Song of Guns (1914), reissued as The Hell-Gate of Soissons And Other Poems

• Neighbors (c. 1914)

His essay collections—especially those on advertising and business—were directed toward readers seeking insight into efficiency, persuasion, and success in emerging mass markets.

One of his more enduring contributions to management and administrative thought is The Forest Ranger: A Study in Administrative Behavior. Although this title is often associated with a later Herbert Kaufman (in the public administration field), his name appears on several books in that domain in bibliographies about him. Whether these works are precisely the same Herbert Kaufman is a matter of some bibliographic complexity, but they suggest the reach of his influence into administrative theory.

Style and “Kaufmanisms”

Kaufman became especially known for what people call “Kaufmanisms”: terse, punchy phrases in which he often reversed or juxtaposed subjects and objects to sharpen meaning and rhetorical punch. Some examples:

• “A coward can’t conquer anything, because he can’t conquer himself.”

• “The man who won’t go through to the finish has finished at the start.”

• “They who fight in the dark do not shine in the light.”

• “Mind your own business and in time you’ll have a business of your own to mind.”

These turn-of-phrase constructions often pack moral or motivational weight in a short, memorable form.

Historical Milestones & Context

World War I & War Poetry

During World War I, Kaufman used his voice through essays and poetry to engage with the global conflict. His war poems, including The Hell-Gate of Soissons, conveyed both the brutality and the human cost of combat.

The war era also sharpened themes in his writing around persistence, purpose, and moral clarity—elements common in his motivational and business aphorisms.

The Rise of Mass Communication & Advertising

Kaufman’s career coincided with the rapid growth of newspapers, magazines, mass advertising, and corporate culture in the early 20th century. His essays on efficiency, advertising, and persuasion can be seen as both reflective and formative in that era. By writing about advertising not as a luxury but as a tool with purpose, he engaged directly with changing economies of scale, consumer psyche, and media influence.

Syndication and the American Intellectual Sphere

Because his editorials were widely syndicated across the U.S. and Canada, Kaufman occupied a place in the broader American public discourse. He was part of a cadre of writers who helped shape national conversations on business, war, and social values.

Legacy and Influence

Herbert Kaufman passed away on September 6, 1947, at his home in Tarrytown, New York. Yet his influence lives on in several ways:

• Continued Quotations & Motivation Culture: His aphorisms are still frequently cited in business training materials, motivational collections, and social media.

• Advertising & Persuasion Thinking: His essays on advertising contribute to early 20th century foundations in thinking about persuasion, consumer behavior, and media.

• Public Domain Reach: Since Kaufman died in 1947, many of his works are in the public domain (depending on national copyright laws), facilitating reuse, quotation, and inclusion in anthologies.

• Cultural Memory: While he is not as widely known today as some contemporaries, the endurance of his quotes ensures that his name continues to circulate in motivational and leadership circles.

Personality and Talents

From the available record, one can sketch an image of Kaufman as:

• Logically incisive and rhetorically sharp: His penchant for crisp, compact statements suggests a mind that values clarity and economy of expression.

• Persistently minded: Many of his quotes promote endurance, persistence, and inner resolve.

• Engaged with moral purpose: Whether in war poetry or business essays, there is often a moral or ethical subtext: the idea of doing right, persisting, achieving, not cutting corners.

• Bridging worlds: He moved between journalism, poetry, business writing, and public discourse, showing versatility in genre and medium.

Though we lack personal letters or deep biographical minutiae in many public sources, these traits emerge from the tenor of his writing and his legacy.

Famous Quotes of Herbert Kaufman

Here are some of his more memorable, widely quoted lines—often used in motivational, business, and leadership contexts.

• “The habit of persistence is the habit of victory.”

• “Failure is only postponed success as long as courage ‘coaches’ ambition.”

• “Only things the dreamers make live on. They are the eternal conquerors.”

• “Rich men’s sons are seldom rich men’s fathers.”

• “The knottiest problems in trade are: 1—The problem of location. 2—The problem of getting the crowds. 3—The problem of keeping the crowds. 4—The problem of minimizing fixed expenses. 5—The problem of creating a valuable good will.”

• “The other great error in advertising is to expect more out of advertising than there is in it.”

• “They who fight in the dark do not shine in the light.”

• “A coward can’t conquer anything, because he can’t conquer himself.”

These quotes exemplify his style: short, strong, often built on parallel structure or contrast.

Lessons from Herbert Kaufman

What can we—readers, writers, leaders—take from Herbert Kaufman’s work, nearly a century after many of his writings were published?

1. Persistence is foundational
   His repeated emphasis on persistence reminds us that talent or cleverness aren’t enough; sustained effort often makes the difference.

2. Words are instruments of clarity
   Kaufman believed in rhetoric as a tool to sharpen thought, not obscure it. His own sentences show how precision matters.

3. Purpose over spectacle
   In his essays on advertising, he warns against expecting more from a tool than it can deliver. This humility about tools applies today: use media, technology, communication, but don’t overvalue them as substitutes for integrity and substance.

4. Moral dimension matters
   Beneath the motivational surface lies a moral core: you conquer yourself, you act with resolve, you don’t flee from difficulty. These are ethical as well as practical maxims.

5. Bridging genres and engaging in public life
   Kaufman demonstrates that a writer need not be boxed into one style. He moved between poems, editorials, essays. His work reached both popular and intellectual audiences.

6. Economy of expression has power
   In an age of verbosity and noise, his short, forceful statements show that sometimes less is more—if well chosen.

Conclusion

Herbert Kaufman’s life may not be as thoroughly chronicled as some literary giants, but his influence lives in the pithy, challenging, and uplifting lines he left behind. As a writer-essayist, he engaged both the public and the personal, bridging the worlds of journalism, poetry, business, and ethics. His “Kaufmanisms” continue to be cited not only for their rhetorical punch but for their distilled guidance: persist, think clearly, act with purpose.

If you enjoy his quotes, you might explore his essay collections, war poems, or writings on advertising and efficiency. And if you ever get the chance, reflect on how brief words can contain whole worlds—just as Kaufman intended.