SUCCESS STORY
Henry Ford: A Journey to 10,000 Hours
By Reese Ferrin | Engineering Major
Mud caked on Henry Ford’s boots, remnants of his past work on his family farm. The massive building towered all around him, blocking out the rays of the sun. People and horse drawn buggies bustled all around the city. The activity was daunting and overwhelming. Ford had just made the nine hour walk from his family farm to the city of Detroit to stay with his aunt. Up to this point, Henry Ford had been living and working on his small family farm. He would tinker with the equipment and any other mechanical device he could get his hands on. His parents even let him set up a small work bench in their kitchen where he would take apart watches and other objects to understand how they worked. This fueled his love for altering devices and improving them. Henry’s father recognized his son’s interest and knack for mechanical devices. Due to this, Henry was allowed to travel to Detroit at sixteen with a job arranged by his father and housing provided by his aunt (Colt).
Throughout his life, Henry Ford experienced many different opportunities such as this that attributed to his success. Along with the opportunities, Ford’s family legacy contributed to his drive. Henry Ford’s life is a perfect example of the Gladwellian ideas expressed in Outliers. Henry Ford took advantage of his opportunities along with his family legacy to obtain the 10,000 hours he needed to master mechanical devices and his ability to fix them. This produced his rise to success.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell describes the effects of family legacy on a person’s success. He describes the legacy of rice paddy farmers and the way that this mindset allows for people from that region to be successful at math. The legacy of working hard, being patient, and sticking with something obtained from the rice paddy farming applies to math problems and how this same mindset allows for students to continue with problems until they figure it out (Gladwell 224–239).
This same idea can be applied to Ford, “when Henry turned 16, William [Henry’s father] arranged for him to stay with his aunt in Detroit and even found him a job” (Colt). Henry Ford’s father implemented into him a tenacity to work hard to succeed that came from generations of hardworking farmers. This hardworking background influenced Ford throughout his life, “he carved on a mantel at his mansion, Fair Lane: ‘Chop Your Own Wood and It Will Warm You Twice.’ The roots of the farm, and the pioneer, ran deep in his spirit” (Curcio 1).
Along with affecting Ford’s rise to success, his family legacy influenced the products that his company manufactured. One of his employees proclaimed that, “We [the employees] could see that Mr. Ford’s mind went to the farmer and the mechanic” (Colt) when it came to developing his products. Ford always focused on producing affordable and reliable automobiles for the average American, not just the excessively wealthy (The Life of Henry Ford) to bring “the freedom of mobility to the world” (Noland). Due to this mentality caused by his family legacy, Ford was able to attract a larger group of consumers for his products unlike most other car companies at the time that strove to produce expensive vehicles for the wealthy (Colt). This allowed the Ford Motor Company to move more product and become an icon in the eyes of the American people, causing the success that Ford experienced.
This commitment to family legacy continued throughout the rest of the company’s history, passed on to Henry Ford’s son, Edsel Ford. “Ford wanted his son to spend as much time on the factory floor” (Colt). This implementation of work ethic from the family farm passed onto Edsel from Henry, this family legacy continued through generations of Ford’s and continues to impact the company to this day. This family legacy contributed to Henry’s success and turned out to be a major factor in his ability to obtain his 10,000 hours.
The world of junior hockey is fierce with competition. Players “who had been skating and shooting pucks since they were barely more than toddlers” (Gladwell 1) made up the elite teams in the league. General assumption would tell you that these players worked harder, were more talented, and more dedicated to the sport and that these reasons produced their success in hockey. Upon further examination, it can be seen that these players received special opportunities early in in their development that allowed them to rise above their peers. A vast majority of these players had birthdays in January and other months early in the year near the cutoff date for age groups in the sport. This initial opportunity allowed these older kids to rise above the other players because of their size and therefore made the more elite teams, were coached by better coaches, and received more ice time. This groomed them to obtain the skills needed to be in the elite junior league and be successful in the sport (Gladwell 1–34).
Ford embodies this Gladwellian idea in his rise to be a successful businessman and engineer in the automotive world. Ford “is not a singularly talented person,” he was an innovator “who took advantage of opportunities” (Leonhardt). Henry Ford was given the inconceivable opportunity to leave his family farm, which desperately needed the aid of his labor, to move to the engineering powerhouse city of Detroit. Henry Ford’s father, William Ford, saw his son’s potential and allowed him to do so (Colt). Along with this, William arranged a job “at the Flowers Brothers Machine Shop where, for a salary of $2.50 a week, he shapes brass valves on a milling machine” (American Experience: TV’s Most-watched History Series). This triggered Henry’s timeline to success by producing more opportunities to perfect his mechanical abilities. “By 31, he was chief engineer at Edison Illuminating Company” (Colt). This opportunity to travel to Detroit caused Henry Ford to gain experience through many different shops and gain knowledge to become one of the world’s best engineers of his time.
During his early time in Detroit, Ford obtained the opportunity to live with his aunt (Colt). This allowed for Ford to focus on finding jobs and other opportunities to succeed in his new environment rather than being required to search for housing. This was a rare opportunity taking into account that a majority of the Ford family resided in rural areas due to the family’s agricultural legacy. It was an exceptional opportunity for the young engineer and greatly influenced his path to success.
In 1901, Henry Ford challenged Alexander Winton to a one mile race. Winton was viewed as the world’s best driver at the time. Ford challenged Winton with his own vehicle to show its ability (Ford Motor Company Timeline). Ford ended up winning the challenge and caught the attention of investors for his new company, The Ford Motor Company. This caused the support of “twelve investors and one thousand shares, the company had spent almost all of its $28,000 cash investment by the time it sold the first Ford Model A on July 23, 1903” (Ford Motor Company Timeline). These investment believed in not only Ford’s product but into his abilities to produce a superior product that was innovative and successful. This investments allowed Ford to produce the Ford Model A which kick started the company’s reputation to produce affordable and reliable automobiles. Without the support of investors, Henry Ford’s establishment his own automobile producing company would not have happened. Without the opportunity of racing Alexander Winton to showcase his product, Ford would not have been able to catch the eye of wealthy people of the time that were able to recognize the potential of the product. Along with this, Ford attained the opportunity to receive the correct amount of investors to gather the needed funds to produce one of the company’s most esteemed and iconic vehicles in its history, the Ford Model A.
One of the most iconic symbols of the wealthy is the co-founder of Microsoft. During a time of early computers that took up the space of an entire room, Gates was able to acquire hours upon hours of experience on these early, exclusive devices. Bill Gates was sent to Lakeside, a wealthy school that “catered to Seattle’s elite families” (Gladwell 51). This school had room in its budget to acquire a computer terminal linked to the mainframe computer in downtown Seattle. This technology was much more advanced than most universities and esteemed establishments had at the time. Due to this unique opportunity, Bill Gates was able to hone in his computer programming skills. Gates and other students regularly obtained twenty or thirty hours each week. The school continued to raise money to fund these ventures. This unique opportunity allowed for Gates to gather the 10,000 hours that he needed to become expectable at computer programming. These hours allowed for Bill Gates to become successful at computer programing and produce an extremely profitable company in the future (Gladwell 50–55). Gates describes the events in his life by saying, “’ I had a better exposure to software development at a young age than I think anyone did in that period of time, and all because of an incredibly lucky series of events’” (Leonhardt). Gladwell describes in Outliers how the 10,000 hour rule is essential for someone to become excellent at a subject and attain success through it. Malcolm Gladwell also illustrates how special opportunities allow successful people to get their 10,000 hours to become successful.
Henry Ford perfectly depicts this idea throughout his life and his rise to success. During early childhood, Henry constantly progressed his love and knowledge for mechanical devices. Young Ford rummaged through his family farm to find objects to tinker with. “No toy, no clock was safe from his investigations into their workings. He flooded a potato field in a milling experiment, blew up a boiler in another experiment involving a steam engine…, and invented and repaired things on the farm” (Curcio 5). Ford was continuously tinkering and even repaired watches and clocks for neighbors for free because he enjoyed the process and yearned to increase his knowledge (Curcio 7). Ford received the opportunity have having parents who not only tolerated his interest but encouraged it no matter what happened during the process. This unique opportunity contributed to Henry Ford’s path to 10,000 hours.
Ford’s journey to 10,000 hours spilled over into his early adult years when he traveled to Detroit to find work and opportunity. “In one shop after another [Ford began] forging a career as an expert mechanist” (Colt). Henry took advantage of the unique opportunity to live with his aunt in Detroit to continue to gather his 10,000 hours. Henry Ford was employed in numerous shops in Detroit and at each one, he was able to add to his knowledge of mechanisms and produce a wide range of skills through hours of work. Even after founding The Ford Motor Company, Henry continued to gather even more hours to make his company become even more successful throughout its history. Henry continuously inspected his factory floor and worked with his employees to develop his products. He also worked with the engineers that he hired to help produce new innovations to be used on his automobiles. Ford believed so much in the idea of gaining experience that he implemented the same values in his son, Edsel. “Ford wanted his son to spend as much time on the factory floor” (Colt). Henry believed more in receiving experience than gaining education. He brought Edsel along to work as a young boy and kept allowing him to gain experience on the factory floor and obtain his 10,000 hours to be able to effect the company’s future and continue to be successful. Ford embodies the idea of having 10,000 hours to become successful and shows this throughout his life and through his company.
The sun beat down on the rough, gravel track. A large loop at the Detroit Driving Club would be the path for this historic, mile long race. Stores were closed, the streets were flooded, and a massive crowd gathered around the track filled with people eager to view this momentous event. Two horseless carriages sat at the starting line rumbling under the power of their engines. One automobile contained a 70 horsepower motor stuffed under its metal hood, and the other just a 26 horsepower motor. The drivers, Henry Ford and Alexander Winston, approached their respected vehicles. Ford clambered into his home built automobile with his specially and personally designed 26 horsepower motor and Winston entered his professionally engineered race car with a 70 horsepower motor. Winston was acclaimed as the world’s best driver at the time. The two automobiles raced past the white chalked starting line and rumbled around the large oval track. Ten laps would add up to a mile to make up the one mile race. As the race continued on, Winston stayed in the lead with Ford, who was driving his vehicle for the first time, continued to bite at his heels. With just laps to go, Winston’s automobile overheated and he was taken out of the race. Ford pulled ahead with his superior vehicle to win the historic race by over a quarter mile. Ford advanced his love of tinkering through his activity on his family farm, bravely moving to Detroit, progressing through numerous jobs, obtaining investors, and continuously advancing his products to become successful. It takes bravery, opportunities, and hard work to pass through obstacles in your life to become successful.
Works Cited
American Experience: Henry Ford. Dir. Sarah Colt. Perf. Oliver Platt. PBS, 2013. Netflix.
“American Experience: TV’s Most-watched History Series.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 11 May 2015.
Curcio, Vincent. Henry Ford. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.
“Ford Motor Company Timeline.” Ford Corporate. Ford Motor Company, n.d. Web. 11 May 2015.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little Brown and and Back Bay, 2008. Print.
Leonhardt, David. “Chance and Circumstance.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 November 2008. Web. 2 March 2015.
Noland, Travis. “Ford and the Sustainability of the Family Legacy.” Triple Pundit People Planet Profit. Triple Pundit, 01 July 2014. Web. 10 May 2015.
“The Life of Henry Ford.” The Life of Henry Ford. The Henry Ford Museum, 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reese Ferrin, a freshman at Bethel University pursuing a degree in engineering, is originally from Conifer, Colorado. Ferrin likes hunting in the Rocky Mountain peaks of Colorado, braving the glacial oval in club hockey, and scaling the rocks of the many Colorado trails in anything with four wheel drive.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
I learned that College Writing does not have to be as awful and boring as everyone says.
Outliers portrayed the importance of recognizing the opportunities in my life and do the best to take advantage of those. If you are born in January and are in the elite, Canadian Junior Hockey League, there might be more to your success than your talent.
It is important to drop the reader into a moment in the beginning, starting with a quote or the cliche writing style does not make your writing stand out.
Good writers name the dog, giving specific descriptions connect the reader to the paper. If you can picture it, you connect to it. If you know who John Smith is, you’ll want him to succeed in the story.
Authentic dialogue brings the reader into the conversation, even if they can’t share in conversation with the characters.
Show the story, don’t explain it. Reading through a list is excruciatingly boring compared to reading a story you can picture.
Finish where you started. This connects the story and ties it all together.
If there is a question, make the reader wait for the answer. That way they are stuck in the writing trying to find it. Trying to find an answer captures the reader and makes the story more interesting.
If the story is in the mountains, take the readers to the mountains. It is important to take readers to a different place.
It is important to know what to leave out. If the reader already knows the answer or what you mean, you don’t have to state it twice.
Details matter. They give context, description, and add to the story. An ugly old car doesn’t drop you in a moment or give you a picture in your head as much as a 1973 two tone green Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Embrace your family legacy. It could be the difference in your future success.
Great writers use original comparisons. It is as blue as the sky is not as interesting as it is as blue as the movie theater raspberry icees.
Appealing to the senses adds to the moment. If you hear the glass shattering or smell the homemade cookies, your are in the moment and connected to the story.
If you want be like Bill Gates, you have to spend your high school and college years cooped up in a computer lab writing code until you get your 10,000 hours.
“Is this a class?” Professor Winter asked. A resounding no echoed through the windowless classroom in the Academic Center of Bethel University. “What is it, Reese?”
“A writing covenant,” I hesitantly responded.
“And what time is it in the writing covenant, Mark?” Winter asked again.
Mark peered over the students in front of him, “sharing time.” Luckily, the order of who would share started at the front of the class. The three rows of desks did not provide much time to mentally prepare to share in front of the entire class. The stories went by and the long, brown chalkboard filled with information. Only three left until I was forced to share the mediocre story that I had written in my torn up spiral notebook. The turn to read was finally mine. Sweating bullets, I slowly began to read the story.
I have learned not to be ashamed of what you write, no matter how bad you think it is. You can always learn from anything you write.
