What made Henry Ford so successful?
He had great ideas and the fortitude to apply them to the production of his Model T. His notion that the car had to be affordable to the people who built them was an important factor in it’s success. The Model T was reliable, inexpensive and easy to use. It was fed gasoline instead of oats and was reasonably economical. The cost was kept down by producing them en mass on the assembly line – a concept he created. You could have one in “any color you want – as long as it was black”. He knew how to design, plan, build, market and maintain his product. He could wear every hat and he often did. He also built a strong network of dealers for distribution of his product. The story of Henry Ford’s success is a classic case study of the industrial revolution and to me, should be required learning for everyone.
