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Ford's reinvention of manufacturing did not involve just one step forward, but several stepsall at once, all in the pursuit of a coherent vision: the smooth flow of value-adding work in service of the customer.
Before Ford and his colleagues came along, cars were mostly built top to bottom by the same person or a small group of people. The next logical step in the evolution of the manufacturing process would have been to split up the content of the work, say into body and chassis, to be completed by two specialized teams. Then split it again into components. Then add the element of time: measure the time it takes to complete each element of work, ensuring that work moved from step to step at a standard pace. When you've reached that point, then and only then should you begin to consider a moving assembly line.
Henry Ford and his colleagues, such as production manager Charles Sorensen, moved in precisely these steps, but only as experiments to test his grand theory, steps along this journey to continuous flow, steps toward his vision of America on wheels. Many industries have found themselves stuck somewhere in between for decades and many are still stuck.
Creative Tension
Imagine a giant rubber band holding together two thingsthe vision of an ideal state and a clear view of current reality. Great accomplishments in human affairs occur when that tension is greatest. An impossible vision stands the best chance when pursued with an intense curiosity and mind open to current reality.
One counterpart without the other is useless. A vision that lacks understanding of current reality lacks the ability to accomplish anything. A view of current reality that lacks vision leads to frustration and cynicism. Both vision and realism are needed to accomplish great things.
Henry Ford was both a visionary and a realist, and an excellent example of strong creative tension. In most organizations, when the tension on that rubber band is too much, we do one of two things: We either lower our vision or we overestimate current reality. Ford's vision made him famous. He believed there could be a car in front of every house; and he saw what had to happen to get there.
Ford's vision had several distinguishing characteristics that are important for those who wish to develop their own creative tension. First, the customer was in the driver's seat. It is true that Ford said let the customer have "any color he wants as long as it's black." His vision wasn't perfect; but it surpassed everything else based on price, reliability, availability and use.
General Motors, of course, built on this vision and took over first place in market share by adding variety. But, it was Henry Ford who saw a future much different and much better than his current day. The title of Ford's popular 1926 book, Today and Tomorrow, reflects this.
The second distinguishing characteristic of Ford's vision was that it was multidimensional. Henry Ford looked at every aspect of his business to achieve his grand vision: product, process and people. His product vision was based on interchangeable parts that fit together every time and a product that didn't break down as you used it; a product so cheap to build that everyone could afford it.
Ford and Sorensen also created what we today call modular assemblythe process of putting together subassemblies before installing them on a vehicle. Modularity at that point was nothing more than putting hoses and attachments on the radiator before installation, but this simple innovation was another step toward Ford's ultimate goal.
Ford's process vision was based on the continuous and waste-free flow of material all the way from the iron ore mine to the customer. His people vision was based on a capable, trained and motivated workforce that worked in a coordinated way and was also able to afford the products that the factory made. Any one piece of that vision was incomplete; together they were dynamite.
Ford's vision changed the landscape of industry. At the turn of the century, there were many small producers of automobiles all over the Midwest and Northeast. In Pennsylvania, for example, the town of York had established itself as a major player in the industry. Fourteen different car companies were hard at workincluding one employing the great uncle of the other author, who went on to design and build a few trucks of his own (including perhaps one of the first with four-wheel hydraulic brakes).
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