Henry Ford Autobiography - My Life & Work

[keithb7]

I started reading Henry's autobiography today. 35 pages in so far and I felt the need to share it.  In general I am not a Ford fan, however we cannot deny his incredible success. Henry is saying a ton of heavy stuff in his book that really rings true today, 100 years later. His work ethics and business acumen are still relevant. Maybe even more so today as "work ethic" and "common sense" seem to going the way of the dodo bird. I am impressed so far with what Henry has to say.  I'm sure he was hated by many as well. Probably justified. He said some racist things too I'm sure. As I flip more pages we'll see. The book was written in 1920. Times have changed incredibly.  I hope the book carries on as it has so far. I'm very much enjoying it. In my job today, I work for  a very competitive corporation.  Henry says a lot of things I can really, really relate too. Hits close to home. I shake my head when I read a statement that he just knocks out of the park!  ......"The better we do our work, the better off we shall be. Which I conceive to be elemental common sense."

 

Recommend! Especially if you are old and grumpy. Like me! Fed up with what the world is becoming...Lol.

Edited September 29, 2020 by keithb7

[RobertKB]

I agree Henry Ford was innovative and very successful. He was also an anti-Semite, a racial bigot, and an admirer of Hitler. For me, his personal biases and Nazi friendliness overshadow his business acumen. Just my personal bias I guess although I do own a '63 Ford Fairlane.

[Oswardteam48]

I get inspired a lot from Mr. ford stories

[Frank Elder]

11 hours ago, RobertKB said:

I agree Henry Ford was innovative and very successful. He was also an anti-Semite, a racial bigot, and an admirer of Hitler. For me, his personal biases and Nazi friendliness overshadow his business acumen. Just my personal bias I guess although I do own a '63 Ford Fairlane.

He would have cheerfully ran or created more efficient ovens if he had the chance.......

[Loren]

Since I was small I fed on Henry Ford this or that. I learned never to look too closely at my heroes as they just end up being men (or women).

I paid a visit to The Henry Ford Museum a few years ago and I learned a great deal more about him than I could read in a book.

I found this enormous steam generator in the back. This thing was huge! It had been installed in Ford's Highland Park plant to generate all the DC power for the plant. Henry was a good friend of Thomas Edison so his plant was all DC. I was so struck by the size of this thing, then I read the sign next to it and I found out it was one of 8 in the power room! Henry had saved this one. It occurred to me that if your name was on the building and you stood over looking this massive machine and its 7 brothers all grinding away making power for your factory, it could twist your mind a little! It is no wonder he thought he was some kind of a God. Henry Ford should have retired by 1925 and let his son Edsel run the company. It is estimated that from 1925 to his death the Ford Motor Company lost $70 million all because of his stubborn belief he knew more than anyone in the room.

Walter P. Chrysler I believe had more on the ball than Henry. Chrysler was about achievement, Ford was about power.

 

[plymouthcranbrook]

Henry Ford was a man of his time. Unfortunately his time passed and he did not.

[NickPick'sCrew]

I worked for Ford for a good bit (Pension, Treasury, Credit, Audit etc.).  Met both Bill Ford Jr. and Edsel Ford II a few times, but not in a capacity that they would remember me much if at all.  My sense was that the present generation puts effort into doing better by society in general.  What Ford is attempting in Cork Town (Detroit) will be nothing short of transformational (for Detroit for sure and potentially for Ford as well) if they can pull it off.   Interesting times for the auto industry. 

[Worden18]

Recently I've watched some really good programs on Henry Ford.  As with many people that had great success stories, there is good and bad to be told.  He had as many as 9,000 narks out of the 50k that worked for him at the Rouge.  He didn't allow any talking, so if a nark heard you talking to a buddy about something outside of work, they'd report you and you could be fired.

Ford didn't allow any drinking at his company parties, and only square dancing was allowed.  He thought no one would ever need anything more than the Model T, which was why they were so far behind with the Model A.  Edsel wanted the A into production long before his dad finally agreed to do so.  One of the Dodge brothers was actually VP of Ford motor co. before they split.

[T120]

I believe today's date , October 1 is recognized as the date the first Ford Model T's left the Ford assembly line  in 1908...