Today and Tomorrow - Special Edition of Ford's 1926 Classic

Interesting and relevant. Update the language a bit, and Ford's "Today and Tomorrow" might be mistaken as having been written yesterday instead of 100 years ago.Henry Ford was a pioneer in lean manufacturing. His book provides us with a high level view of how the major pieces were just thought up and hammered together into the beginnings of a system that continues today.For interested in economics, Ford talks about why we should attempt perfection in manufacturing, how goods should be priced, and how wages should be paid.Those looking at management might be interested in comparison and contrasting modern management with the top down, authoritarian view that Ford gives us in his book.Regardless of what you may think of Henry Ford, I believe that "Today and Tomorrow" is a book worth reading.

Taiichi Ohno of Toyota said that he learned everything he knew about Assembly Line production--what is today known as Lean Manufacturing--from Henry Ford's books.Mr Ohno is referring to this book, Henry Ford's second. It gives in excellent and vivid detail why and how he evolved into the intensely refined process for building the Model T, which was what Mr. Ford was building when he wrote this book in 1926. This presents a fascinating narrative of the evolution of his assembly line. Like in all appearances in print, Mr. Ford is full of his corn-pone advice and philosophy. In this book, he is effective and generally convincing.In short, this was a wonderfully enjoyable read, full of fascinating details. Highly recommended.

I as a car guy went in thinking this would be more or less a brief autobiography from boyhood to the book penning as a mogul. However it is more about his desire to enable people to live better and his and his philosophy on how to do it in his own words. His automobile empire was in part the platform. The most surprising things about this book are Mr. Fords underlying reasoning behind his philanthropy and social beliefs such as healthcare, charity, and welfare. The idea do that in the Henry Ford hospital one could not receive treatment without learning about prevention. Wellness 1st, treatment 2nd in the early 1900's instead of today's don't ask just drug and cut them.A controversial figure in history? Yes, but extremely relevant ideas even today.

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.

I was not always a "Henry Ford" fan. When I was young my father worked for GM and I considered Mr. Ford and his products the enemy. I worked for Ford dealerships most of my adult life and know what an outstanding company they are. I have read a lot of books about Henry Ford, but this one was a real was a real eyeopener. Today and Tomorrow surprised me. His values,common sense, relentless pursuit of success and futuristic thinking were decades ahead of his time. I would highly recommend this book.

Good read

Book is great for anyone who is interested in Project Management or just manufacturing and life lessons in all. This book teaches one so many different things that it's hard to say where to classify it under. Put it under the must read section. Jdv.

Fascinating insight into key moments in commercial history

I've often relied on anecdotal evidence when talking about Henry Ford and mass production, but decided to learn more about his philosophies about mass production direct from the source. So, this book was perfect to find Ford explaining mass production in his own words. Post World War 1 car manufacturing was based on producing individual cars as a work of craftsmen. Each car was different, and the craftsmen were highly skilled. However, Ford realised this would not scale if the demand for cars grew and being a businessman, he wanted to sell more cars to the general public.For the many faults of mass production in the style of Henry Ford's Rouge plant in Detroit, the idea in the early 20th century was ground-breaking. The revolution he introduced dominated car manufacturing for half a century. The well-documented Lean production systems developed by the Japanese car manufacturers after World War 2 are now the standard. But in the 1910s, the idea of bringing unskilled labour from the farms to the manufacturing plants was unique. In this book, Ford explains his ideas, how they work and what the benefits are to the industry. In hindsight and through the lens of 21st century manufacturing, the mass production system seems dated. The treatment of workers, although paid handsomely, led to many of the problems in later years. Naturally, Ford is optimistic about his approach and it certainly worked for a while.I learned a lot about Ford while reading this book. It is a fascinating insight into the mind of a man who changed an industry for ever. I didn't give this book all 5 stars, because, although it is an anniversary edition, it seemed to jump to post 1926 (when this book was written), based on some edits by the publishers which, for me detracted from the original work. Nevertheless, I am glad I have this book and can reference it when discussing mass production techniques with my peers.

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

Hallo,ich war mit dem Buch nicht zufrieden. Klar - ein Buch, das ein gewisses Alter hat und quasi nicht aus unserer Zeit ist kann auch anders geschrieben sein, aber dieses Buch gefällt mir auf Grund des Schreibstils gar nicht. Es ist wohl eher etwas für andere Leute - nicht für mich.Gruß!

De actualidad total y planteamientos de gestion empresarial muy interesantes asi como planteamientos para la mejora de la sociedad y el hacer bien las cosas para el beneficio de empresa, trabajador y sociedad.

Superb