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Product Description
Winner of the 2003 Shingo Prize!
Henry Ford is the man who doubled wages, cut the price of a car in half, and produced over 2 million units a year. Time has not diminished the progressiveness of his business philosophy, or his profound influence on worldwide industry. The modern printing of Today and Tomorrow features an introduction by James J. Padilla, Group Vice President, Ford North America. It also includes an enhanced selection of photos illustrating the processes and facilities Ford covers in the text. Taiichi Ohno acknowledged that a key stimulus to JIT was his close reading of this book. Today, these same ideas are re-emerging to revitalize American industry in new ways.
"I, for one, am in awe of Ford's greatness. I believe Ford was a born rationalist -- and I feel more so every time I read his writings. He had a deliberate and scientific way of thinking about industry in America. For example, on the issues of standardization and the nature of waste in business, Ford's perception of things was orthodox and universal."
— Taiichi Ohno
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Henry Ford knew it all! From leadership, dreams, vision & human motivations to JIT manufacturing and self directed teams, Henry Ford is teaching us how truly honest and customer oriented business generates human accomplishment and leads to a better society. It shows in a simple and well structured way why U.S.A. rose to their current world leading status, and demonstrates that this achievement is directly related to sound business practices. It proves that the only viable business is serving the customer. It shows that wealth can flourish from elimination of waste in all forms. It reminds all "business" men that true long-term success can only be founded on successful long-term visions and that the true purpose of business is to make whole nations wealthier rather than just few individuals rich. It proves that profitable business should centre on humans, not money. A GREAT BOOK back when "today" was in 1926, and still a great book today on the edge of the third millenary!
Format:Hardcover
I have been working in the field of 'lean' process improvement for a few years now. Like many other I was led to believe that it all started in Japan in the 1950's. Wrong! The roots of the Toyota Production System were in the Ford Production System - so why isn't this fact broadcast by the very business academics and 'lean consultants' who peddle their wares in the marketplace? Why isn't this book required reading for EVERY employee, employer and MBA student? Perhaps because Henry Ford achieved his success without the help of legal and financial departments full of expensive overhead - corporate lawyers and accountants! In fact he actively eliminated them from his businesses! Ford's dream was to create a form of transport that anyone could afford - for example the workers in his factories - because this would free people from a hand-to-mouth existence and release their time to reinvest in developing themselves and supporting their families and communities. Ford was a social engineer as much as a mechanical and process engineer - his goal was to reduce poverty. To achieve his vision Ford focussed on the process of manufacture; he empowered employees by creating a new organisational model - a context that insisted on industry, innovation and creativity from everyone. Contrary to the stories told later, he paid all workers a higher than average minimum wage; he only allowed employees to work 8 hours per day; and he expected a good day's work in return for a fair day's wage. Ford insisted on discipline and set clear expectations. Only those prepared to work in this way were welcome: trade unions were not required because the vision of the employer and employee were aligned. In reading the account of his philosphy in his own words I became aware of how much the stories I had heard of Henry Ford had been distorted; I was struck by how relevant the lessons are today; and I felt annoyed that it has taken me so long to discover this fascinating book! So I'm doing my bit to spread the word! Simon Dodds
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
The book that inspired Taiichi Ohno
21 Oct 2001
Format:Hardcover
This is an outstanding book for those folks in manufacturing who are starting out on their "Lean" journey. The book teaches the uninitiated an original thinker's way of recognizing "waste" in manufacturing, and often, how to deal with that waste. Taiichi Ohno took a "shipload" of this book with him to Japan in the '50s and made sure that every Toyota engineer read the book. The rest is history as to how Toyota packaged this information for the rest of the world, including the United States, in its now famous "7 wastes of manufacturing." You will enjoy the book and learn what an outstanding visionary Henry Ford really was.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A Visionary in Many Arenas
16 Feb 2005
Format:Hardcover
This is the book that made me appreciate Mr Ford's accomplishments and how he changed the world of business, particularly manufacturing. He was a leader and true visionary in many aspects of business, which are chronicled herein, and many of the roots of Lean are documented in this text. Aside from kanban and `jelly beans', he didn't miss much of the fundamentals of what we see as Lean.
The impacts of Ford's principles on business, the economy, social ramifications, and more are profound. The ideas, thought processes, and applications are expressed well and we can learn from these today. Too bad much of the rest of American business lost sight of Ford's techniques as they became enamored with scientific formulae like EOQ (economic order quantities) without questioning the assumptions.
The impacts of Ford's principles on business, the economy, social ramifications, and more are profound. The ideas, thought processes, and applications are expressed well and we can learn from these today. Too bad much of the rest of American business lost sight of Ford's techniques as they became enamored with scientific formulae like EOQ (economic order quantities) without questioning the assumptions.
17 of 23 people found the following review helpful
An historical document of our contemporary
17 May 2005
Format:Hardcover
There are different "uses" for this book - some I'd recommend, and others not.
I WOULD NOT recommend this book for it's insights on -
Economics: Ford explains a classic industrial notion that a company paying employees more will increase its sales because employees will buy more company product. Not only is this a false assumption of employee behavior, it also only approaches plausibility for very large consumer product companies.
Finance: Ford describes how financial instruments are short-term narcotics and long-term ills. His opinion seems to ignore the buffering benefits of finance, as well as the gains created for society by letting financial tools open possibilities.
HOWEVER, YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE -
It is current: Ford describes a organizational skill poorly understood and mostly ignored: coordination. In the book, many processes are described that Ford says are all well known to other companies, but how the Ford Corporation made the processes interact was their power. Today's out-sourcing is more palatable knowing this skill.
It is insightful: An excellent alternative to the "profit-motive" of companies is presented: service-motive. Not because profits are bad does Ford present the service-motive, but because profits are give unreliable feedback. Ford sees the maintenance of service to the public as a more durable goal.
It is historical: Not only does it provide the roots to Taiichi Ohno's - Toyota's - operations strategy, but it also gives clues to why Ford lost dominance. The Toyota roots pop up in Ford's writing on waste, on cleanliness (5s), on continuous flow, and on timing. The clues pop up with his ignorance of customer desires vs. needs, his overconfidence in managing highly diverse businesses, and his inattention to downstream processes.
If you know the limitations of Today and Tomorrow, you then can reap great benefits by reading it as if it was written last week. Many of its ideas have yet to fully play out in the world of industry.
I WOULD NOT recommend this book for it's insights on -
Economics: Ford explains a classic industrial notion that a company paying employees more will increase its sales because employees will buy more company product. Not only is this a false assumption of employee behavior, it also only approaches plausibility for very large consumer product companies.
Finance: Ford describes how financial instruments are short-term narcotics and long-term ills. His opinion seems to ignore the buffering benefits of finance, as well as the gains created for society by letting financial tools open possibilities.
HOWEVER, YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE -
It is current: Ford describes a organizational skill poorly understood and mostly ignored: coordination. In the book, many processes are described that Ford says are all well known to other companies, but how the Ford Corporation made the processes interact was their power. Today's out-sourcing is more palatable knowing this skill.
It is insightful: An excellent alternative to the "profit-motive" of companies is presented: service-motive. Not because profits are bad does Ford present the service-motive, but because profits are give unreliable feedback. Ford sees the maintenance of service to the public as a more durable goal.
It is historical: Not only does it provide the roots to Taiichi Ohno's - Toyota's - operations strategy, but it also gives clues to why Ford lost dominance. The Toyota roots pop up in Ford's writing on waste, on cleanliness (5s), on continuous flow, and on timing. The clues pop up with his ignorance of customer desires vs. needs, his overconfidence in managing highly diverse businesses, and his inattention to downstream processes.
If you know the limitations of Today and Tomorrow, you then can reap great benefits by reading it as if it was written last week. Many of its ideas have yet to fully play out in the world of industry.
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