Leadership and Business Wisdom.

Byline: S. Kamal Hayder Kazmi

The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Henry Ford was an industrialist in America who founded the Ford Motor Company. His company developed and manufactured affordable automobiles which revolutionized the transportation industry in America. He is credited for mass production of cheap products coupled with better pay for the workers. His commitment to lowering the cost systematically resulted in several business innovations that led to the growth of the Ford Motor Company in North America and major towns of the other continents. Henry Ford was born in 1863 in Michigan. His father came from County Cork while his mother was born in Michigan by a Belgium immigrant. Henry Ford was the first born in a family of five children. At the age of 13, his father gifted him a pocket watch which he promptly dismantled and reassembled perfectly. By the age of 15, his friends and neighbors had taken note of his ability to fix things and would often request him to fix their timepieces gaining a reputation of watch repair.

When his mother died in 1876, he became deastated and unsettled. Unsatisfied with farm work, he left home in 1879 to take part in apprentice machinist in Detroit. He would acquire skills in operating and repairing steam engines. He also studied bookkeeping.

In 1891, Henry Ford got employed as an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. Three years later his talent was noticed and he was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer. He also devoted his time and resources to personal experiments on gasoline engines, and in 1896 he completed the Ford Quadricycle. During the same year, he attended an executive meeting where he presented his work to Thomas Edison who...