Henry Ford: The most successful businessman of his time

If one could look back in time and view the great achievements made in the 20^th century, Henry Ford would be one that would provide a remarkable story of how he was able to accomplish what many could not, through continuous determination and vigilance. His rag to riches tale is one that is inspiring, leaving us with hope for our goals.

 His story begins in Michigan, where he grew up into the farming life. His family worked hard to provide for their family. His father was a dictatorial man who wanted him to succeed in every way that he could. He allowed his son to work on machinery to make the farm life easier, than working on the farm itself. Henry had a passion for figuring out machinery. He began by working with wristwatches, taking them apart and studying the inside in the way it operated. His curiosity led him to go on to study machinery, where he walked 9 miles to Detroit to stay with his Aunt in order to gain more experience there.

         By relocating in order to achieve his goal, he worked long hours in many different shops as an expert machinist. At 31, he landed a job at the Edison Illuminating Company, which led to his success in building the first horseless carriage. He knew transportation was difficult and wanted to make a drastic change. His goal was to make a car available to everyone and not just the wealthy. After all the hard work and studying into developing the first horseless carriage, he finally drove his own on June 4^th, 1896.

         Henry Ford captured the attention of his community as well as many prominent people, eager to invest in his new horseless carriage. But his investors wanted the car to be available only to the wealthy since it would be considered a luxury car. Ford however, given that he was once born poor, did not agree to this decision, leading to them backing down. Nothing stopped Ford from moving forward with his idea, even if his investors didn’t agree anymore.His great audacity led him to incorporate his own company; Ford Motor Company.

         The implementation of his new company began working on many models of cars which each had its own unique set of problems that came with it until he developed the Model T. It was the best car built out of all the models, rarely breaking down and not needing much maintenance. It sold for a price affordable by many and soon became the most popular car in America. Finally, those who were stuck at home or on the farm were able to explore America like never before.

         With the enormous success he encountered from his inventions, he was able to afford to have a family with the wealth he accumulated. He married Clara Bryant and had only one child, a son named Edsel. Henry adored Edsel as he lived up to his expectations. His son Edsel would later become a strong businessman just like him. He was chosen to be head of Ford Motor Company by his father. But there were some conflicts soon after he became appointed. When things didn’t go his way, Henry became upset and confronted him. Edsel felt humiliated at times which began to weaken his relationship with his father.

         With the amount of power Henry Ford had from his success, he used it in a manner, which upset many people. He wanted to control everything on his own, not giving credit to anyone but himself. Henry particularly had distaste amongst the Jewish community stating that they wanted all the power. This was a bad rap for his reputation and many others started going against him. His ego was questioned in a courtroom one day, and he was shunned when he knew he was illiterate in answering many of the questions asked. This reminded him of his early years where he was not educated properly. He was forced to work on his image once again.

         As the 20^th century rolled into the 1920’s, many people were investing in higher end luxury cars, which made Henry contemplate on the matter of materialism and what is important. This made him feel uncomfortable but he had to accept it. Due to the Model T being on the market for a long time and other new innovative cars being developed, his sales dropped drastically. In 1927, Ford implemented a new plan and developed a Model A car. It received great reviews and gave Henry the limelight once again.

         As the Great Depression formed, sales of the Model A stalled leading him to lower his employee count. It was a hard time for Ford Motor Company with their profits lowering about 50 percent. His relationship with his son Edsel became weak due to their differences in the way the handled the company. Henry did not approve of his personal life, especially him drinking. Edsel saw his father’s way of running the company harsh due to the way he treated his employees. Henry Ford later dealt with union strikes, which caused him to fight for his power.

         In his later years, Henry saw the death of his son Edsel which shattered him. He knew that he wasn’t such a great father to him and regretted treating him unfairly. He continued to run as the president of Ford Motors but his health was deteriorating. Henry died on April 7^th, 1947 and his grandson Henry took over the company and the once called Fordlandia was transformed back into a jungle.