My Life and Work
Gelesen von LivelyHive
Henry Ford
(4,714 Sterne; 63 Bewertungen)
Henry Ford profiles the events that shaped his personal philosophy, and the challenges he overcame on the road to founding the Ford Motor Company. Throughout his memoir, he stresses the importance of tangible service and physical production over relative value as judged by profits and money. He measures the worth of a business or government by the service it provides to all, not the profits in dollars it accumulates. He also makes the point that only service can provide for human needs, as opposed to laws or rules which can only prohibit specific actions and do not provide for the necessaries of life. Ford applies his reasoning to the lending system, transportation industry, international trade and interactions between labor and management. For each, he proposes solutions that maximize service and provide goods at the lowest cost and highest quality. He analyzes from a purely material viewpoint, going as far as to argue that the need for a good feeling in work environments may reflect a character flaw or weakness. However, his unflinching focus on the ultimate material products and necessities of life provide clever insights in how he created an efficient and flexible system for providing reliable transportation for the average person. (Summary by LivelyHive) (11 hr 34 min)
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Bewertungen
My Life and Work
Joe Mantu Dey, BSEE
(4,5 Sterne)
An inspirational story of a technological, financial, and social entrepreneur. Ford from childhood discovered his thrill and curiosity for how machines worked! He took apart clocks and engines to gain activity knowledge. He focused his mind on creating machines that were of value, utility, and service to his fellow man. He developed an organization that was focused on selling quality machines at the lowest possible price to the maximum number of consumers. Sam Walton of Walmart and the founder of Amazon adopted this pricing strategy to create the largest retail stores. Ford innovated in factory assembly line production. He transported the work to the worker to minimize extra movements by each worker. He looked at all factors that motivated and maximized the productivity of each worker. This examination led him to reduce each worker daily work time from 12 hours to 8 hours/day. He looked at his workers as partners. And accordingly, he adopted profit sharing for majority of factory workers.
Inspiring
D
(5 Sterne)
If this was a compulsory read in schools I'm sure the world would be better for it. While there may have been a couple things I didn't agree with the author on, this was an excellent insight into business and how it should serve society. It also makes it clear while capitalism didn't work perfectly in Ford's time, it has certainly not improved in our modern time, with human greed flourishing more than ever. I enjoyed very much hearing about Ford's journey, way of thinking and the dawn of the mass market automobile. Of the approximately 50 books I've listened to on the this app, this has been one of the more enjoyable and quite probably the most useful.
Come Back, Henry Ford
jdanison
(5 Sterne)
How could I get an MA in Eng Lit and never read Ford's autobiography? An extraordinary man! My mind is still reeling from hearing a captain of industry speaking of himself as a servant of society. And he practiced what he preached. $6/day was good money back then. He helped create our once thriving middle class, and the financiers & speculators he loathed have been true to character and are destroying it as I speak. They bankrupted Detroit and are doing all they can to steal the pensions of the working men Ford served! The reader is OK, a bit flat and monotonous, but doesn't get in the way of the text.
Loved it!
BookLover
(4,5 Sterne)
This book is great! Henry Ford has excellent business sense but also is a fantastic motivator. Very inspiring and this book is ahead of its time. I agree with another reviewer that I imagined Henry was reading it. I feel like I’ve met Mr. Ford. Great book!!
great book great lessons
José
(5 Sterne)
what an excellent book. extraordinary individual. so much to learn from this person. recommended to all politically correct present generation so that they may correct their shallow ideology and with a bit of luck still do something constructive to leave for their children.
adam
(3,5 Sterne)
Interesting read about production and a philosophy of plenty. Ford was a troubled figure and some of his anti Semitic view come through here. He provided much material support to the third Reich and was an idol of sorts to Hitler.
Best book I've listened to so far
(5 Sterne)
Henry Ford was a true visionary. I promise you will not make it through this book and come out with the same view of life.
love makes things happen!
(5 Sterne)
when thinking some people far away somewhere at the planet, spend their time to prepare, recording the great books for me, I feel grateful.