Ford

Henry Ford

Empires are built at certain times. Often, they are small and timebound, limited by the short duration of one person’s lifespan and by the realities of geography and resources. Sometimes, empires can stem from a single individual as opposed to a nation, spilling out through generations and across oceans. Henry Ford built one of these vast empires, and its legacy is showcased not only by his company’s continued prominence in the world, but by the endurance of his methods and beliefs.

As a farmer’s child, Ford grew up more interested in ‘tinkering’ with machines than in ploughing the fields.[1] He disassembled and examined a pocket watch that was given to him, obsessing over the details of its internal workings. As a young man, he went to work in Detroit as a machinist, becoming an expert at operating steam engines and other large pieces of equipment.[2]

Before long, Ford had begun work on a project that would change the world forever: motor cars. He combined a remarkable aptitude for engineering with the clarity of a genius, and with the creation the Ford Model T, he was the first person to bring cars to the mainstream. The Model T proved to be well-designed, well-built, and relatively modestly priced at $850 per car.[3] From humble beginnings, Ford is now the fifth largest manufacturer of cars in the world, and its products are visible in every corner of the globe.

The key to the company’s success was their innovate approach to manufacturing. What Ford realised was that there were practical applications for his grand vision of rapid, personal transportation. Inspired by the efficiency of meat packers in Michigan, he made a stunningly simple observation. The complex steps required to build a car could, he found, be broken down into simple tasks, each performed by a dedicated worker, which, piece by piece, allowed cars to be produced at breakneck speed.[4] It was called the assembly line, and it would prove to be modern capitalism’s greatest invention.

Not only did the assembly line change the way the automobile industry worked, but it altered the approach of virtually every other manufacturer too. Even today, division of labour is a common sight in many workplaces. Each worker is assigned a specific job, to be performed at a certain stage of the process. It was streamlined, simple, and wonderfully efficient. In other words, it was the perfect realisation of Ford’s vision, a man who once decried the ‘drudgery and waste’ of other industries, like agriculture.[5]

When it comes to the Magic Formula of 6, Ford’s vision is used as a pole star to navigate the complex logistics involved when implementing bold ideas. Of course, the formula challenges us to look beyond the surface and find solutions that are innovate and sometimes unusual, but we must never forget to consider the practical realities of these ideas. Like Ford, it is important to see the potential for revolutionary change and harness all our energy into making it happen. After all, what good is an idea that has the power to change the world if we can never bring it into the world?

And so, that brings us to Ford’s question in the Magic Formula of 6: “why are you waiting to do it?” This question is, of course, asked hypothetically; it is a call to take action straightaway. The work of Ford and other innovators has equipped us with the mentality that anything is possible if we put our mind to it. Solutions that were previously unimaginable can and will change the world if we can determine a way of putting them into practice.

Henry Ford’s legacy endures, as does his approach to manufacturing and life in general. He forms a key part of the Magic Formula of 6, allowing us to take hope that great change can be affected through human ingenuity. His work has implications for virtually every field imaginable – science, politics, economics, the list is truly endless – and the Magic Formula of 6 uses Ford’s pragmatism to spur us on to implement the solutions that we talk about.

As we move through the 21^st century, there is no reason why one of the pioneers of the 20^th century should be forgotten. Despite all the changes that humans are likely to encounter, despite astonishing advances in science and space exploration, we will always need to ask ourselves why we aren’t putting our plans into action.

[1]                Steven Watts (2009). The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century. New York, USA: Knopf Doubleday Publishing, p. 4.

[2]          Ibid. p. 28.

[3]                Ray Batchelor (1994). Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, p. 22.

[4]                Melvin Kranzberg and Michael Hannan (2017). History of the Organization of Work. In: Adam Augustin, Adam Zeidan, Alicia Zelazko, Alison Eldridge, Amy McKenna… & World Data Editors (eds.), Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/history%2dof%2dwork%2dorganization-648000/Women-in-the-workforce

[5]          Stefan Link (2014). Reviewed Work. Henry Ford by Vincent Curio. Business History Review, 88(2), 397-399, p. 398.

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