If President Obama had gone to Harvard Business School, instead of Harvard Law School, he might have learned this amazing lesson about American enterprise. It comes from Jill Jonnes' excellent history, "Eiffel's Tower."The greatest problem in building the Eiffel's "Tour de Trois Cent Metres" for the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition was the elevators. They would have to work safely and efficiently to handle the massive crowds expected to descend upon the City of Lights. Gustave Eiffel, being French, wanted to choose a French elevator manufacturer. But he was operating against an unforgiving deadline, and only the Yankees had the experience and the proven record.Jonnes records: "Safety, speed and quality were characteristics on which Otis Brothers and Company of New York prided itself, but above all, safety. If an Otis elevator's housing cables broke or stretched out, powerful leaf springs were released, causing the brake shoes to grip the rails, thus bringing...(Read Full Post)