Henry Ford has a lot to teach us about life. He was born in 1886 and started as an engineer, but he quit that career path for one with more potential – entrepreneurship!
The first company that gave him work after quitting engineering? His own dad’s farm equipment store sold picks and shovels back-to-school items like notebooks or crayons during the harvest season.
Yes, the man who gave us the Model T started as a simple shop-keeping family man. But he believed in hard work and innovation and took risks to make his dreams come true. He didn’t give up! His life is a perfect example of what can happen when you follow your dreams. He built his first car for $282 in 1895, and by 2007, he had sold over 150 million cars!
So, the following are lessons from Ford’s life that you can use in your own life. If just a few of them speak to you, it’s worth going through the whole list.
Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you – create them!
Henry Ford was offered a position as an engineer at Edison Illuminating Company. He turned it down because he wanted to work with his own ideas, not someone else’s. So, he quit his previous job and started setting up the Detroit Automobile Company with stops. That company failed after just two years because of bad management, lack of capitalization and poor inventory control.
However, that was not the end! He started another automobile company with some noted people in 1896, which was also short-lived because it ran out of funds. But his third try was the charm! The Ford Motor Company, which brought us the Model T, was established in 1903 with Henry as the principal stockholder.
So, what had changed? What made the difference between success and failure? He said that he had learned how to run an automobile company by watching others – so, the lesson is clear – watch how others do something and learn from them. Don’t reinvent the wheel!
Observe what works for people who are getting the results you want
Henry Ford was always on the lookout for businesses that he could purchase or partner with to supply parts or funding for his automobile business. However, he had a problem – they were all getting too expensive.
So, what did he do? He sent his representatives to visit bicycle shops and watch how the shop owners worked on bicycles. Henry Ford’s company bought that knowledge from these shops for $2 an hour. That was a great investment! Then they reverse-engineered it and sold parts for half of what the bicycle shop owners were selling them for.
Yes, Ford’s company’s success was built on this observation model and value creation. You can do something similar with your business by simply observing others at the top of your industry – watch how they work, study them for patterns and their best practices, learn from them, and have your business take off!
Don’t be afraid to share your knowledge.
Henry Ford hated competition so much that he was willing to give away his secrets of making the Model T to get rid of it! He would rather have just one company manufacturing automobiles than several.
So, how did Henry Ford keep this monopoly? He licensed his patents to anyone who wanted them! His agreement with the licensees was to provide their own capitalization and pay him 5% of their benefits.
Yes, Ford shared his knowledge because he didn’t want competition – but also knew that it would ultimately work in his favour for other companies to invest in something that he had invented.
Take smart risks
Henry Ford started five automobile companies before finally settling on one successful – the Ford Motor Company. He took several other risks. For example, in 1917, he bought the Lincoln Motor Company to produce an alternative model to his own product. His actions signified a commitment to continually reinvent himself and his product and innovate and take risks.
Yes, failure is part of risk-taking – so if you can get your business off the ground without taking too many risks – do it! But if you want to be like Ford, then stop playing it safe and take some smart risks that might pay off in the long run.
Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks and responsibilities.
Ford was a genius at keeping his employees working – by delegating tasks and responsibilities! He delegated several jobs; for example, he kept the paint department busy designing new colours for customers who couldn’t find exactly what they wanted from the standard offerings. And, in a very early example of a social media marketing campaign, Ford had the service department setting up picnics for their customers – to thank them for purchasing a Ford automobile!
Yes, you can do this in your own business by simply evaluating how employees are spending their time and then getting them to work on critical tasks – it could be anything from tying up loose ends to brainstorming new ideas for your company.
Keep everyone involved, no matter how small their job is
Henry Ford was an expert in motivating and inspiring his employees by keeping them all involved in building and selling Model Ts and creating changes to improve efficiency or productivity.
Yes, you can do this in your own business by simply recognizing the smallest of tasks that help get your product out there and thanking people for doing them – or better yet, making their jobs easier every time by streamlining the process!
How do you want to be remembered?
Henry Ford knew exactly what he wanted to do with his legacy and how he wanted to be remembered. He had a “Public House” on the grounds of his factory, where he talked with employees and customers alike about anything that was on their minds. So how did you want to be remembered?
Yes, if your business is something that would have made Henry Ford proud, it might be worth taking some of his business ideologies into consideration.
Keep your plan flexible.
Yes, you should have a clear plan and goal for your business – but don’t become so attached to it that you can’t allow yourself to take advantage of opportunities as they arise! This is another way that Henry Ford was similar to Steve Jobs: he had a vision, and he followed it, but he knew when to adapt it if he got “off course”.
Yes, Steve Jobs certainly did this in the 2000s with his success at Apple – almost single-handedly transforming the company from a personal computer business into a mobile phone and media sales powerhouse.
Allow your customers to define your company.
Henry Ford knew that what he thought about his own company was not necessarily what the customers wanted to hear – so he let them define it. He knew that they would be quick to criticize his product or service if they weren’t happy, and he also knew that they would be much more likely to praise him when things were going well.
Yes, this is something you can do in your own business as well! Simply ask the people you’re serving what features they like and don’t like and what they’d like to see more of – you might be surprised at some of their answers, but no matter what, it is always better to be making your customers happy than not!
So if Henry Ford’s innovations can teach us anything today, it’s that we can all learn from his successes and adapt them to our own businesses.
Conclusion: 9 Life Lessons from Henry Ford Story to Inspire You
You’ve now got another great article in your arsenal for those days when you need some inspiration, motivation, or entrepreneurial advice (or if you’re working on your resume and want to sound like the intelligent businessman you are).