Henry Ford - quotes, aphorisms, sayings, phrases. I would like to improve the world by living in it: a selection of quotes from Henry Ford Henry Ford phrases sayings

And once it happened that Henry, who came from a poor family that did not have money for a decent education for his son, having headed the company, could not draw up a contract correctly. Because of this, even one of the newspapers called him ignorant. Ford got angry and filed a lawsuit because he believed that a person does not have to be overly literate when the main thing for a businessman is the ability to think, reflect in the right direction and not make stupid mistakes in his business.

At the same time, Ford’s invention was not at all popular at first. And in order to advertise his work - the first car created - Henry rode it around the city, in response to which he received only chuckles and contemptuous looks from those around him. But the young inventor did not give up, did not give up and believed in his victory over his ill-wishers. And Henry won!

Remember the romantic couple of robbers Bonnie and Clyde? They were the ones who regularly stole the Ford, which created a great advertisement for Henry. And their capture played into Ford’s hands, because the criminals were shot dead in a car of his brand, which appeared in a photo in the newspapers, which was seen by millions of Americans.

Henry Ford also distinguished himself in organizing the working day of his employees at enterprises. Paying $5 an hour, paid vacation, one day off, and working three eight-hour shifts created demand for jobs at Ford plants. By the way, Henry was the first person to come up with a day off!

Henry Ford left one of the world's largest automobile companies after his death, which proved that any childhood dream can be realized, no matter what and without listening to people who do not believe in your strength. So what conclusions did Mr. Ford come to on his thorny business path?

We present fifteen of the most famous motivational expressions of the famous “car king”:

1. If you have passion, you can accomplish anything. Enthusiasm is the basis of any progress.

2. No task will seem impossible if you break it down into small parts.

3. I don’t know what result advertising will bring me, but even if I earn a dollar, I will invest it in advertising.

4. Failures only give you a reason to start again and smarter. There is no shame in honest failure. The fear of failure is shameful.

5. Only two incentives force people to work: the thirst for wages and the fear of losing it.

6. If it’s hard for you, it means you’re going uphill. If it's easy for you, then you're flying into the abyss.

7. Quality is doing something right, even when no one is looking.

8. The one who does not do what he is told, and the one who does no more than what he is told, will never make it to the top.

9. Successful people get ahead by using time that others waste.

10. My secret to success is the ability to understand another person’s point of view and look at things from both his and my points of view.

12. A person dies when he stops changing, and a funeral is just a formality.

13. It doesn’t matter what you think - whether you can or not - you’re still right.

14. The air is full of ideas. They are constantly knocking on your head. You just have to know what you want, then forget it and do your thing. The idea will come suddenly. It has always been this way.

15. When it seems that the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind!

“Whether you can do something or you are sure that you cannot, in both cases you are right" / Henry Ford

Studying the biographies of successful people does not aim to copy their behavior pattern. You, my dear reader, must understand that it is your individuality that makes you worthy of success.

The hero of our article today, Henry Ford, said this about this: "All Ford cars are exactly alike, but no two people are exactly alike." The main task of every person is to find his own spark of individuality and “Keeping it alive is your only real reason for being important.”

But, just as a hammer is an ideal tool for hammering nails, some human qualities and methods of solving problems are so effective that such “tools” are worth adopting.

These are exactly what we will talk about today.

Henry Ford, the legendary 20th-century businessman, assembly line organizer, and father of the automobile industry, was born on July 30, 1863, on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan.

His family was quite prosperous, but, as Ford noted, “there was too much work on the farm compared to the results.” Henry received an education that left much to be desired at a church school. Already an adult, Ford still made mistakes when drawing up important contracts. One day he will sue a newspaper that called him “ignorant,” and to the accusation of lack of education he will answer: “If I ... needed to answer your stupid questions, I would only have to press a button in my office, and specialists would appear at my disposal with answers."

Ford did not consider illiteracy a disadvantage, but a reluctance to apply the mind in life: “The most difficult thing in the world is to think with your own head. That’s probably why so few people do it.”

As a 12-year-old boy, Henry saw a locomobile for the first time. The meeting with the crew with the engine made a huge impression on Ford and from this began his attempts to construct a moving mechanism. His parents did not approve of his passion for mechanics and dreamed of seeing Henry as a respectable farmer. At the age of 17, when he entered a mechanical workshop as an apprentice, they considered him “almost dead.”

After 4 years, Ford returns home and combines daytime work on the farm with night vigils on his next invention.

In 1887, he married farmer's daughter Clara Bryant, with whom he would live his entire life. Four years later, the couple has a son, Edsel. Clara was an intelligent and calm woman who became a real assistant to the tireless Henry. Once, when asked by journalists whether he wants to live another life, Ford will answer this way: “Only if you can marry Clara again.”

To make farm work easier, Ford comes up with a gasoline-powered grain thresher. Ford sells the patent for this invention to Thomas Edison, and he invites Henry to his company. However, even there, in the position of chief engineer, Henry is still most attracted to cars.

He was simply obsessed with the idea of ​​​​creating a car that was accessible to everyone. Ford correctly believed that: “ideas themselves are valuable, but every idea is, after all, just an idea. The challenge is to implement it practically.” In 1893, in his free time from work, Ford designs his first car.

The company's management does not approve of Ford's experiments and advises them to abandon them. But Henry remains true to his idea of ​​​​transforming a car from a luxury item into a means of transportation, and, full of hope for the future, leaves the service: “If you have passion, you can accomplish anything. Enthusiasm is the basis of any progress.”

In 1899, he became a co-owner of the Detroit Automobile Company, but in 1902, due to disagreements, he left there.

But if Ford has set his sights on turning millions of ordinary pedestrians into proud car owners, then nothing can stop him on his chosen path:

“When it seems like the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind!”

Driving his invention, Ford tours potential customers. But the new Fordmobile is not in demand, and ordinary people tease Henry as the “obsessive from Begley Street.” But does he give up? No. Ford once again demonstrates his approach to life's failures by counting them “an opportunity to start again, but more wisely.” He believed that honest failure is not humiliating, but the fear of failure is humiliating. It's hard to disagree with him.

After all, there is hardly a person in the world who always gets everything right the first time. Tenacity, determination and perseverance are the qualities of a real fighter. “People give up far more often than they fail.”“- Henry Ford thought so.

In 1902, he made an amazing advertisement for his car - while driving his car in auto racing, he was ahead of the American champion! Hey Henry! It’s hard to imagine a better PR company, but Ford, like no one else, understands the importance of advertising: “If I had 4 dollars, I would spend 3 of them on advertising.”

Who doesn't love being around a winner? Soon Ford's clientele began to grow. By attracting investors, Henry founded a company named after himself in 1903 - Ford Motor Company.

He devotes all his efforts to creating a universal car, simple, reliable and cheap. At that time, the idea of ​​a “car for everyone” was not clear to many; a mass-produced car was something fantastic, just like now, for example, a “mass-produced airplane.” However, Henry cares little about all this, because he believes that “everything can be done better than it has been done so far.”

Ford simplifies the design of the car, standardizes its parts and mechanisms. He was the first in the world to introduce a conveyor belt into machine production. This innovative solution instantly makes it a leader in the automotive industry, leaving its competitors far behind.

And although the conveyor was used in the 19th century and before it, when we say “conveyor” we mean Henry Ford, the man who, with his help, achieved his dream and unprecedented success.

In 1908, with the release of the Ford T model, good luck came to the company. The Ford T, designed by Henry himself, was not distinguished by expensive trim, but it was practical and cost much less than competitors' cars. Ernest Hemingway himself drove a Ford T converted into an ambulance van.

Sales of the Ford T bring huge profits, because Ford’s motto has always been “cheap and good”, not “cheap and bad”: Quality is doing something right even when no one is looking.

In 1909, a Ford T costs $850, in 1913 – $550. In 1914, the company celebrated the production of the 10 millionth Ford T. At that time, 10% of all cars in the world were these cars.

Also in 1914, Henry Ford decides to increase workers' wages to $5 a day. He believed that:

“If you require someone to give their time and energy to a business, then make sure that they do not experience financial difficulties.”

Probably, Ford’s main secret lies not so much in innovations in production, but in his humane attitude towards his fellow man: “My secret of success lies in the ability to understand the point of view of another person and look at things from both his and my points of view.”

It was at the Ford plant that for the first time in the United States, workers received an 8-hour shift, a 6-day work week and paid vacation. “The man who invented the day off” additionally rewarded non-smoking and non-drinking workers.

People lined up to get jobs with Ford. When selecting personnel, he only assessed readiness to work:

“I don’t care where a person came from - from Sing Sing prison or Harvard. We hire the person, not the story.”

There were no issues with staff turnover, although discipline at the factory was strict. "Time doesn't like to be wasted"“, - said Ford, not allowing himself or the workers to relax. He was convinced that: “Only two incentives force people to work: the thirst for wages and the fear of losing it.”

At his enterprise, Ford introduced the principle “less administrative spirit in business life and more business spirit in administration.”

Having decided that paperwork is slowing down the process of producing cars, Ford at his plant - just walk like that! – abolished statistics. Ford had no production meetings, no unnecessary paperwork, and no communication between departments.

Meanwhile, thanks to Henry Ford, more and more people were getting a 4-wheeled friend. His workers, receiving decent wages, bought Ford Ts, and soon the growth in sales brought such profits that Ford bought out all the shares of the company's shareholders.

"Who should be the boss?" - is like asking: “Who should be the tenor in this quartet?” Of course, the one who can sing tenor,” said Mr. Ford, now the full owner of the company.

By the early 1920s, Henry Ford was selling more cars than all of his competitors combined; out of 10 cars bought in the USA, 7 were made by him. It was at this time that he received the title of “car king”.

Ford invests money in the purchase of other factories, mines, coal mines, and everything that is required to produce cars. Thus, the “owner of factories, newspapers, ships” creates an entire empire, independent of foreign trade.

At the same time, a successful industrialist does not get hung up on dollars; it is he who owns the phrase:

“The main use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money to improve life.”

In 1922, Ford published an autobiographical book, “My Life, My Achievements,” written vividly and imaginatively.

However, neither competitors nor buyers allow Henry Ford to live peacefully until retirement, reaping the fruits of past successes. Sales of the most affordable car are starting to fall.

The creator of the Ford T believed that “if you buy it once, you will always buy it.” However, people wanted variety, and Ford could only offer “a car of any color, as long as that color is black.”

General Motors provided customers with a variety of car models and beat Ford's competitive advantage of affordability by selling cars on credit.

By 1927, sales of the Ford T had declined so much that Ford was in danger of going under. “Well-wishers” anticipated the collapse of the businessman, but Ford did not give up this time either. After all, if yesterday’s beliefs did not justify themselves, this is only a reason to come up with something new: “They are everywhere - these strange people who do not know that yesterday is yesterday, and who wake up every morning with last year’s thoughts in their heads.”

A new look at the current situation is a method of solving problems that should not gather dust in the luggage of a modern person.

Through his example, Ford showed that positive thinking works and brings results. If you are sure that luck will come to you, so it will be: “Thinking about the future, the desire to do more, brings the mind to a state where it seems that nothing is impossible.”

Ford suspends production and dismisses almost all workers, while he works on creating the next car. In 1927, he introduced the new Ford A model (prototype of the Soviet Pobeda), which compares favorably with existing ones in technical characteristics and appearance.

Ford emerges victorious again. He runs the company until the 30s, and then transfers the business to his son, but again returns to the post of head of the company after his death in 1943.

Henry Ford left the world at the age of 83, in the same place where he was born - in the provincial town of Dearborn.

Currently, the company he created is the 4th largest in the world in terms of car production over the entire period of its existence.

Henry Ford, who embodied the “American Dream,” saw his mission as improving people’s lives, because for him cars were not only machines, but also a source of joy. And when journalists asked him what such a rich man could want, Ford answered them like this:

“I would like to improve the world by living in it”.

A worthy answer that we can all think about.

Everyone is looking for an easy way to money, but at the same time they bypass the shortest one, which comes through work.

There are two incentives that make people work every day: the thirst for money, and the fear of losing it.

There are a lot of ideas around us, and very often they come to mind. You must clearly understand what you want in this life, then set a goal and confidently go towards it. It is very important to do what you love. It is at such moments that ideas come suddenly. It always has been and always will be.

I want it this way, so it will happen.

With enthusiasm, you can master any task.

Failure can be many times more instructive than success

Nothing is difficult if you know how to divide the work into parts.

Time is a very strict teacher who does not like it when it is simply wasted.

Failure is an excellent incentive to start over, but taking into account the experience gained. There is no shame in honest failure. It's much worse to be afraid of making a mistake.

A person has two motives for his behavior - the real one, and the one that sounds convincing.

The ability to accept other people's points of view is a great trait of a successful entrepreneur.

You can buy a Ford T in any color, but on one condition: that color is black.

An idealist is a person who helps others make money.

I never said, “I want you to do this.” Be smart, stimulate the employee, say: “I’m wondering if you can do this?”

With only 4 dollars, I'm sure 3 of them would have been spent on advertising.

Quality is doing your job correctly even when no one is in control of the process.

He will never achieve success who does not do what he is advised and does no more than what he is told.

The main purpose of capital is not that you can make a lot of money, but that you make money to improve your life.

A business in which there is nothing but money is a bad business.

Life is motion. Even when someone thinks that they have stopped to rest, this is not so. Apparently he is going downhill.

© Henry Ford

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 near Dearborn in Michigan, USA. American industrialist, owner of a car manufacturing plant. Died April 7, 1947 in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.

Aphorisms, quotes, sayings, phrases - Ford Henry

• Put work for the common good above profit.
• People capitulate more often than they crash!
• It is impossible to create a reputation for yourself with intentions alone.
• Producing does not mean buying cheap and selling high.
• It's easy to give; it's much harder to make it unnecessary.
• An idealist is a person who helps other people flourish.
• A business that produces nothing but money is an empty business.
• Quality is doing something right even when no one is looking.
• Defeat is simply an opportunity to start again, and this time more intelligently.
• You can get a Ford T in any color, as long as that color is black.
• Only two incentives force people to work: the thirst for wages and the fear of losing it.
• When it seems that the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind.
• Regardless of whether you think you will succeed or not, you are still right.
• I don't care where a person came from - from Sing Sing or Harvard. We hire the person, not the story.
• Those who really work do not need titles. His work is honor enough for him.
• If you have passion, you can accomplish anything. Enthusiasm is the basis of any progress.
• It seems that everyone was looking for the shortest road to money and at the same time bypassing the most direct one - the one that leads through work.
• The main benefit of capital is not to make more money, but to make money to improve your life.
• Ideas themselves are valuable, but every idea is, after all, just an idea. The challenge is to implement it practically.
• My secret to success is the ability to understand the other person's point of view and look at things from both his and my points of view.
• Each one should be placed so that the scale of his life is in due proportion to the services he renders to society.
• Asking: "Who should be the boss?" - is like asking: “Who should be the tenor in this quartet?” Of course, someone who can sing tenor.
• It is better to put all your effort into improving a good idea instead of chasing other, new ideas. A good idea gives you exactly as much as you can handle at once.
• Greed for money is the surest way to not achieve money. But if you serve for the sake of service itself, for the satisfaction that comes from the consciousness of the rightness of the cause, then money will appear in abundance by itself.
• Fat people cannot run as fast as thin people, and we make most of our transport vehicles so bulky, as if dead weight and bulk increase speed!
• If there is a secret to success, it lies in the ability to take another person's point of view and see things from their point of view as well as from your own.
• Ignore the competition. Let the one who does the job better work. An attempt to upset someone's affairs is a crime, because it means an attempt to upset the life of another person in pursuit of profit and to establish the rule of force in place of common sense.
• It is quite natural to work in the consciousness that happiness and prosperity can only be achieved by honest work. Human misfortunes are largely the result of attempts to turn away from this natural path.
• A charitable organization that does not set itself the goal of becoming redundant in the future is not fulfilling its true purpose. She's just making a living for herself.
• A man who has earned his bread has also earned the right to it. If another person steals this bread from him, he steals from him more than bread, he steals a sacred human right. If we are unable to produce, we are unable to possess.

The automotive genius Henry Ford, born a century and a half ago, revolutionized society's understanding not only of cars, but also of industrial labor. The principles that guided his work do not age, so we have collected the best of them for you

Moscow. July 30. website - 150 years ago, on July 30, a man was born in Detroit who became a legend not only of the American, but also of the world automobile industry - Henry Ford. It was he who first began to use an industrial conveyor for the continuous production of cars. Ford devoted his entire life to the production of “cars for everyone,” and for successful production, correct principles of labor organization in enterprises were necessary. The inscription on the gates of his factories read: “Remember that God created man without spare parts.” The businessman described his experience in the book “My Life, My Achievements”: the book is still a reference book for businessmen of all countries. In honor of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the forerunner of the automobile revolution, we have collected the best quotes from his books, speeches and interviews.

1) Successful people get ahead by using time that others waste.

2) With passion you can achieve anything. Enthusiasm is the sparkle of your eyes, the swiftness of your gait, the strength of your handshake, an irresistible surge of energy and will to implement your ideas. Enthusiasts are fighters. Enthusiasm is the cornerstone of all progress! Only with him is success possible. Without it, you only have possibilities.

3) Don't let those who work for you live too calmly. Always do the opposite of what they expect from you. Let them worry and look over their shoulder all the time

4) Asking, “Who should be the boss” is like asking, “Who should be the tenor in this quartet.” Of course, someone who can sing tenor.

5) The air is full of ideas. They are constantly knocking on your head. You just have to know what you want, then forget it and do your thing. The idea will come suddenly. It has always been this way.

6) Thinking about the future, constantly thinking about how to do more, creates a state of mind in which nothing seems impossible.

7) I never stand if I have the opportunity to sit, and I never sit if I have the opportunity to lie down.

8) Wise people are so smart and practical that they know absolutely exactly why this or that is unrealistic; for some reason they are prone to restrictions. This is why I prefer not to deal with certified specialists. If I had a desire to deal with my competitors by dishonest means, I would definitely recommend them to a couple of specialists. They usually give so much useful advice that they don't have time to work.

9) Freedom is the right to work a reasonable amount of time and receive appropriate remuneration for one's work to ensure a decent standard of living, the right to be able to manage one's own life.

10) In my opinion, a person cannot do otherwise than to be constantly at work. During the day he should think about her, and at night he should dream about her.

11) It’s easy to reach the point of absurdity in the habit of saving. It is better to teach your child how to spend money correctly than to save it. Young people should learn to invest, not save. They should invest the money they earn in themselves to increase their value and usefulness; after they have reached the heights of useful activity, the time will come for them to set aside a large part of their income as a guaranteed security for the future. The principle of use is the only correct one.

12) I chose the following slogan: “If anyone refuses my car, I know that it is my fault.” From the day the first car appeared on the street, I was sure of its necessity. This confidence led me directly to one goal - to build a car for widespread use.

13) Ignore the competition. Let the one who does the job better work. An attempt to upset someone's affairs is a crime, because it means an attempt to upset the life of another person in pursuit of profit and to establish the rule of force in place of common sense.

14) For some reason, they always think first of all about how to make production cheaper, and not how to simplify the product itself. And we must start with him.

15) The more acute the thirst for money, the less likely you are to get it. But if you work with the idea of ​​the public good, feeling that you are right and getting satisfaction from it, money appears by itself.

16) The relationship with banks is harmful to industry. Bankers think only in financial formulas. The plant, from their point of view, is engaged in the production not of a product, but of money. They cannot comprehend that an enterprise never stands still, that it either moves forward or rolls back.

17) Having money is absolutely necessary. But we must not forget that the purpose of money is not idleness, but to increase funds for serving people. I believe that there is nothing more disgusting than an idle life. None of us have a right to it. There is no place for parasites in civilization.

18) If you chop wood yourself, you will warm yourself with it twice.

19) It seems that everyone was looking for the shortest road to money and at the same time bypassing the most direct one - the one that leads through work.

20) The most important task of our management personnel is to develop management abilities in other people.

21) The big city is a miserable, helpless monster. Everything it consumes must be delivered to it.

22) Give a certain number of people a certain task, and in time they will complete it; but do not ask in advance whether what you want can be accomplished, for in this case you will only be answered with a whole series of arguments proving the impracticability of your goal.

23) It's not so bad to be a fool in the name of justice. Such fools live long enough to prove that they are not fools at all, or the work they started lives on and proves it.

24) Each one should be placed so that the scale of his life is in due proportion to the services he renders to society.

25) If we don't learn to use machines better, we won't have time to enjoy trees and birds, flowers and meadows.

26) Life, as I understand it, is not a stop, but a journey. Everything is in motion and was meant to be this way from the very beginning. Life flows. We live, perhaps, constantly on the same street and in the same house, but the person who lives there is different every day.

27) A best friend is someone who helps us bring out the best in our soul.

28) I tried to live my life the way my mother would have wanted it.

29) Every time I see an Alfa Romeo, I take my hat off.

30) The best car is a new car.