How Henry Ford Changed The World by Thinking Differently

Henry Ford had a big dream, he was determined to build motorcars that the majority of people could afford. He said, “When I’m through, about everybody will have one”.

However, there was a problem that he had to solve to make his dream a reality. He had to find a way to build cars more efficiently to lower the price so the general public could afford one.

Increased productivity

Ford had been trying to increase his factories’ productivity for years. Step-by-step his streamlining process got better but he was still building cars like everyone else – one at a time, and it was not good enough to make his dream a reality.

He kept thinking about how he could increase productivity to lower the cars price and one day in 1913, Ford got an idea that drastically changed the whole process.

The question that changed everything

Ford was observing the manufacturing of the cars when he thought to himself that employees were moving to the tasks that needed to be done and spending extra time on that movement. So he asked himself, how could the tasks come to the employees to save time.

This very important question changed everything.

By thinking differently than before, Ford noticed an opportunity that led to a great innovation. This innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from more than 12 hours to only two and a half hours.

This idea introduced mass production to the world and started an industrial revolution. Ford was able to make his dream of “put[ting] the world on wheels” a reality and on June 4, 1924, the 10-millionth Model T rolled off the Highland Park assembly line.

By asking, how can the tasks come to the employees, Ford got the idea of using an assembly line to produce the cars more efficiently and this certainly had great impact.

The power of thinking differently

This story of Henry Ford is a great example of how one question can have a huge impact. How stopping and paying attention can make dreams come true.

The good news is that we are all capable of coming up with amazing ideas that can change our lives, grow our business, change our customer’s lives and even the whole world.

Creativity can strike out of nowhere, however, if you just wait for it you will most likely not get much accomplished.

So, take action today and start practicing your creativity.