Earlier today I re-watched this mini-doc on James J Hill and how he succeeded during the railroad boom despite refusing government subsidies that were plentiful at the time.

He focused on efficient capital allocation and investing in civilization.

Part of his success was derived from how simply he set the goals for his company.

"We must operate:

- the fastest locomotives,

- to pull the longest trains,

- with maximum tonnage,

- over the straightest tracks,

- using the least change in elevation,

- with minimal maintenance costs."

Every capital allocation decision he made focused on achieving these goals.

It's hard not to think about the AI boom and all of the government investment going into the sector these days after watching this. How many opportunists are circling their wagons to feed from the government trough at the moment? How efficiently is that easy money going to be allocated?

Who in AI and the booming energy infrastructure industry budding around it is taking the hard but lucrative path that James J Hill took during the railroad boom?