Ford’s status as a large-volume car producer began with the predecessor to the Model T: the Model N, a four-cylinder, two-seater car initially priced at $500. At the time, the average car in the US cost more than $2,000, and it seemed nearly unimaginable that a car with the capabilities of the Model N could cost so littl
Love it. Just posted an essay last week about how Edison, Burbank, and Ford all exemplified an iterative and explorative approach to their fields. https://www.symmetrybroken.com/invention-as-exploration/ The details here are wonderful.
I think it's worth noting that Rockefeller himself anticipated Ford in these kinds of practices and in their value in building a competitive advantage with scale. Chernow tells the story in Titan of how while visiting a refinery Rockefeller himself worked with the worker responsible for sealing the barrels with drops of solder to figure out exactly how many drops of solder were necessary to ensure that the barrel would not leak, then sent that out in a memo company wide: "use exactly this number of drops of solder to seal your barrels before shipping"
Google strikes me as a modern example of this discipline. In building out their search engine, there was an extraordinary attention to ensuring that costs scaled sublinearly with scale. When you do this with sufficient discipline and attention to detail, it becomes nearly impossible for anybody to compete because of the cost advantage you have in operating.
Love it. Just posted an essay last week about how Edison, Burbank, and Ford all exemplified an iterative and explorative approach to their fields. https://www.symmetrybroken.com/invention-as-exploration/ The details here are wonderful.
I think it's worth noting that Rockefeller himself anticipated Ford in these kinds of practices and in their value in building a competitive advantage with scale. Chernow tells the story in Titan of how while visiting a refinery Rockefeller himself worked with the worker responsible for sealing the barrels with drops of solder to figure out exactly how many drops of solder were necessary to ensure that the barrel would not leak, then sent that out in a memo company wide: "use exactly this number of drops of solder to seal your barrels before shipping"
Google strikes me as a modern example of this discipline. In building out their search engine, there was an extraordinary attention to ensuring that costs scaled sublinearly with scale. When you do this with sufficient discipline and attention to detail, it becomes nearly impossible for anybody to compete because of the cost advantage you have in operating.