Henry Ford

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Service Is the Best Marketing

  Customers

  Providing continuous service and repairs after a sale prevents dissatisfied customers, who are the worst form of advertisement. A product's success depends on its ongoing utility to the buyer.

  Supporting quotes

  • “a business ought to start small and build itself up and out of its earnings. If there are no earnings then that is a signal to the owner that he is wasting his time”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Self-Funded Growth Through Service

  Cash

  Focus on providing excellent work and service to ensure that financial resources grow naturally without the need for borrowing or overextending.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source My Life and Work  (opens in a new tab)

• Let Workers Choose Their Path

  Leadership

  Provide a clear classification of jobs and allow employees to transfer or advance based on their own preferences and demonstrated skill.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source My Life and Work  (opens in a new tab)

• Treat profit as a trust fund

  Cash

  Profits should be reinvested into the business to improve service and lower prices rather than being distributed as large dividends.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Borrowing for expansion is one thing; borrowing to make up for mismanagement and waste is quite another. You do not want money for the latter--for the reason that money cannot do the job.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Ignore Fictional Class Divisions

  Management

  Success depends on whether a person is willing to work, not on labels like rich, poor, capitalist, or labor.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source My Life and Work  (opens in a new tab)

• Avoid Management by Committee

  Leadership

  Decisive action and major breakthroughs are rarely achieved by a committee; a single strong leader is often required to navigate crises.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Jewish influences in American life  (opens in a new tab)

• Rebuild When Integrity Is Lost

  Hiring

  If a team's moral foundation is compromised and cannot be fixed, the leader should systematically replace members to rebuild the organization.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Jewish influences in American life  (opens in a new tab)

• Systematize Idea Procurement

  Creativity

  Establish a systematic way to gather and adapt ideas from outside sources to ensure a constant stream of new material.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Jewish influences in American life  (opens in a new tab)

• Incremental infiltration leads to control

  Strategy

  Groups gain total control by first filling lower-level positions until the entire structure is changed from within.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Jewish influences in American life  (opens in a new tab)

• Maintain a Detached Perspective

  Leadership

  Stepping back to observe how a mass of people or a market functions allows one to see how to utilize labor or production more effectively.

  Supporting quotes

  • “There are two types engaged in the mere work of money-making which is better described as "money-getting," without reference to production; one type grubs away under whatever system obtains, regarding it as fixed as the solar system”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Beware of Camouflaged Reforms

  Strategy

  One should watch for how policies are rebranded or camouflaged to pass through public and political opposition while maintaining their original intent.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Jewish influences in American life  (opens in a new tab)

• Root Finance in General Utility

  Cash

  Finance should be used to support and grow general business rather than to gain a stranglehold on men and concerns.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Jewish influences in American life  (opens in a new tab)

• Learn by taking things apart

  Learning

  True understanding of how things work comes from dismantling them and seeing the internal mechanisms firsthand.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize stability for creative focus

  Mindset

  Establishing an orderly routine and financial security allows a founder to return to their core interests and innovative work with a clear mind.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Reject Precedents and Prejudice

  Mindset

  Every generation should find its own solutions rather than blindly following the methods of the past.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize environment over comfort

  Strategy

  When a project requires specific tools or more time than a current lifestyle allows, one must be willing to move to a better-equipped environment.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Focus on work, not money

  Mindset

  Worrying about money distracts from the work itself; if a person works hard at what they love, financial rewards naturally follow.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Competence earns autonomy

  Management

  A manager focuses their attention on poor performers; a truly capable worker is left alone to do their job because they can be trusted to handle it.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Practicality is the test of truth

  Mindset

  If a theory or ideal is good, it must be practical; the world progresses when people have the courage to put supposedly impractical theories into action.

  Source Henry Ford's Own Story: How a Farmer Boy Rose to the Power that goes with Many Millions, Yet Never Lost Touch with Humanity  (opens in a new tab)

• Compete by Quality Not Sabotage

  Product

  A business should focus on creating a superior product to win the market rather than trying to eliminate or degrade existing high-quality brands.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Aspects of Jewish power in the United States  (opens in a new tab)