Below are quotes from Henry Ford depicting his great characteristics of leadership.
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
Henry Ford understood the hard work needed to be successful, especially in the aspect of working together. Without this understanding, Ford would not have been as successful.
"Don’t find fault, find a remedy."
A person who uses problem solving to find a remedy opposed to a fault is bound to be successful. An attitude such as this is contagious. Because of the way Ford was able to keep moving forward, he was able to make it through the rough times of experimentation and failures early in his career.
"Employers only handle the money – it is the customer who pays the wages."
Henry Ford was well respected by all due to his high pay to his employees and his low prices of his automobiles. He was the first financial magnate of the time to be a people's business man.
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it."
Henry Ford was a thinker. He made his own legacy through his determination, creativity, and hard work.
"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."
Henry Ford believed that there is always a lesson to be learned from a mistake, and this mindset payed off when he finally broke through with his most successful product the Model T. However, this success obviously didn't come without a lot of failures beforehand.
"You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do."
Henry Ford was a "do-er". He earned everything he ever had. Ford is an example to all on how one can live the American Dream.
"If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own."
Henry Ford's ability to relate to his customers and employees was a major reason for his success. If he did not give high wages and low prices, his business would not have been as successful.
"Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars."
Henry Ford had a positive attitude. He kept persevering to achieve his goals. Anyone who is as successful as Ford has to have an exceptional attitude.
"Vision without execution is just hallucination."
Henry Ford was a visionary, but he understood that there is work that needs to be done in order to make visions reality.
"There is no man living who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can do."
Henry Ford sees the potential in everyone and everything. He believed that anyone has what it takes to be a success, they just need to unlock their undeveloped capabilities.
"I cannot discover that anyone knows enough to say what is and what is definitely not possible."
Henry Ford truly believed that anything is possible. No matter how great the task, he was willing to take it on and conquer it.
"A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large."
Henry Ford was extremely unselfish. He constantly put others needs before his own and looked to serve others. Ford instilled this way of life into his company and the benefits showed.
"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."
Henry Ford had a firm belief in quality, but was in tune with the consistency in one's work ethic needed to achieve quality. In everything he did, Ford gave an effort to be great.
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
Henry Ford understood the hard work needed to be successful, especially in the aspect of working together. Without this understanding, Ford would not have been as successful.
"Don’t find fault, find a remedy."
A person who uses problem solving to find a remedy opposed to a fault is bound to be successful. An attitude such as this is contagious. Because of the way Ford was able to keep moving forward, he was able to make it through the rough times of experimentation and failures early in his career.
"Employers only handle the money – it is the customer who pays the wages."
Henry Ford was well respected by all due to his high pay to his employees and his low prices of his automobiles. He was the first financial magnate of the time to be a people's business man.
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it."
Henry Ford was a thinker. He made his own legacy through his determination, creativity, and hard work.
"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."
Henry Ford believed that there is always a lesson to be learned from a mistake, and this mindset payed off when he finally broke through with his most successful product the Model T. However, this success obviously didn't come without a lot of failures beforehand.
"You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do."
Henry Ford was a "do-er". He earned everything he ever had. Ford is an example to all on how one can live the American Dream.
"If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own."
Henry Ford's ability to relate to his customers and employees was a major reason for his success. If he did not give high wages and low prices, his business would not have been as successful.
"Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars."
Henry Ford had a positive attitude. He kept persevering to achieve his goals. Anyone who is as successful as Ford has to have an exceptional attitude.
"Vision without execution is just hallucination."
Henry Ford was a visionary, but he understood that there is work that needs to be done in order to make visions reality.
"There is no man living who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can do."
Henry Ford sees the potential in everyone and everything. He believed that anyone has what it takes to be a success, they just need to unlock their undeveloped capabilities.
"I cannot discover that anyone knows enough to say what is and what is definitely not possible."
Henry Ford truly believed that anything is possible. No matter how great the task, he was willing to take it on and conquer it.
"A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large."
Henry Ford was extremely unselfish. He constantly put others needs before his own and looked to serve others. Ford instilled this way of life into his company and the benefits showed.
"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."
Henry Ford had a firm belief in quality, but was in tune with the consistency in one's work ethic needed to achieve quality. In everything he did, Ford gave an effort to be great.
"Henry Ford was one of the greatest leaders of American History, because of his invention of the assembly line, boost in America's economy, creation of mass transit, emotional connections with others, and through the treatment of his workers. He was the founder of Ford Motor Company, and with that one of the richest men of his time period. The Ford Model T is what made his the most money. However, without his invention of the assembly line, his legacy would not be nearly as successful. Henry Ford revolutionized the world when he created the assembly line. After he created his first car, he continued to work to develop the Ford Model T. This car was extremely successful, however, Ford’s potential wasn’t being reached with the standard way of producing cars, so he wanted to find a more efficient alternative to produce cars. He ended up producing the first assembly line. The assembly line allowed one man to do the same amount of work that four used to do. Because of the law of supply and demand, Ford had to lower his prices, however this ended up being much more profitable. People like the Dodge brothers’ companies were harmed in the car building industry, because they couldn’t match Ford’s production and prices. Now the assembly line is used everywhere in mass production. Not only did Ford make more money in the industry than anyone else, but his workers did also. They were paid very well and, had very short days. Henry Ford once said, “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: make the best quality goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.” He even had to go to court with the Dodge Brothers, because he was running them out of business with his production and prices. Whether it is in the production of cars, or any other large construction process, the assembly line can be used in just about any production/ work. Clearly, Henry Ford’s history altering assembly line makes him a leader, not only in his industry of car building, but in the whole world’s idea of efficiency in production. Henry Ford believed that one doesn’t have to be in a position of power in order to be a leader. This was true for him in his profession. Being a company owner, one could say that his position wasn’t of power in the grand scheme of the country, much less the world. Even though he was just a company owner, Ford’s impact on the world was great. He changed the whole idea of production with one system. Ford didn’t even have enough money to start his own business, he had to get people to help. Henry Ford is the definition of someone living the American dream by going from rags to riches, and is an inspiration to many. Henry Ford was also a leader in other ways as well. One was how he strongly believed in equality. Henry Ford allowed LGBT people to still use his health system when many others disagreed. Next, Henry Ford valued human capital. He made sure his workers were motivated and loyal by paying them $5 a day with an eight-hour shift. In comparison to many other people's companies' like J.D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, his workers were rich. Last, Henry Ford was in-tune with people’s, especially his workers, needs and emotions. If someone were to need a change in their schedule for example, he would see that their needs were met. He believed in gaining the trust and showing that he truly cared about each and every one of his workers. This was unlike most everyone else. In conclusion, through his successes, and views on life, Henry Ford was one of the most outstanding leaders of his time and now." -Text from Jacob Wilkinson's essay "Henry Ford". |
You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader. |