In the video on Henry Ford's journey of inventing the Model T, the biggest aspect of entrepreneurship that I noticed was innovation and being quick to make judgements about what consumers will value in the future. Henry Ford is an innovator who took the automobile, which at the time was only used by higher class, and made it available for almost everyone. Ford was known for taking existing manufacturing and making it better and more efficient by adding workers or creating types of technology that would speed up the manufacturing process. It was not very easy for him to get to where he did but he was very consistent and kept trying. “The auto cartel has stopped him in his tracks, but Henry Ford is determined to show the world that to succeed in America , all you need is integrity and ingenuity” (16:33). Something that was interesting to me was how Ford was one of the only people that thought about planning for the future instead of the present. He was also one of the only entrepreneurs that thought to take existing things and make them better. Ford took already existing inventions and methods and made better versions of them because he knew the public would like it better. "Ford's second attempt, the Model A, is much more suited to the needs of modern America" (15:45). He chose to do things that he knew the public would like and knew most of the public could afford. The public supports Ford because he creates things that he knows the public can afford. "Ford raises $28,000 or $700,000 today, enough many to build his first factory in Highland Park, Michigan. And before long, he's producing 15 cars a day, priced low enough for almost any American" (21:26). When you are an entrepreneur it is important to give the public what they want. It is important to know what the consumers value most and to base your production on that. Something entrepreneurs have to do to be good at is plan for the future instead of the present. "The great entrepreneurs that really had a significant impact in the world take a long term view. They really think about it in terms of decades, not years or months" (1:18). The interaction between Ford and society is very positive because Ford does a really good job of perfecting already existing products. He knew what was going to be useful, specifically cars, so he started creating more, less expensive vehicles for the public. In professor Bylund's book "The Seen, The Unseen and The Unrealized" it says "In other words, to be successful in production, one has to anticipate the supply situation" (Bylund 138). We have also mentioned this many times in class, as well. Being able to get ahead of the game before your competitors do is very important. Those who arent paying attention to the changes happening in the market are more likely to fail when it comes to their businesses. To be a successful entrepreneur or innovator, you have to think ahead instead of in the present before your competition does.
