When people think of entrepreneurial success, they often think of Henry Ford, but what made his Model T a success? What made his utopian colony, Fordlandia, a total failure? I look at these ventures through the lens of design thinking as an alternative to the follies of industrialism.

1. Building A Faster Horse
Henry Ford and Design Thinking

2. Jeffrey Humble
UX Designer, Head of Design at
At CareerFoundry, we want to help everyone learn
about the power of design. Through online coursework
and hands-on practice, we strive to teach the skills that
will make our students employable and a force for good
in the future.
@JeffBumbles

3. What Is Innovation?
@JeffBumbles

4. True Innovation Isn’t a One-Off Event
@JeffBumbles

5. Henry Ford
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6. @JeffBumbles

7. empathy
Understanding your end user’s
needs is the first step to
innovation
Innovation is an iterative cycle
of improvement based on the
end user’s needs
Experimentation

9. innovation comes from
designing for the user
innovation comes from
prophetic geniuses
@JeffBumbles

12. The Story of the Model T
The Industrial,
American,
Capitalist
Version!
@JeffBumbles

13. “I have a dream, that
the middle class can
afford to get stuck in
traffic too”
Henry Ford
@JeffBumbles

14. “I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but
small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best
materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern
engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary
will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure
in God's great open spaces.”
Henry Ford
@JeffBumbles

15. Henry Ford
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16. Henry Ford
@JeffBumbles

17. Henry Ford
Model T
@JeffBumbles

18. Henry Ford
The End UsersModel T
@JeffBumbles

19. Henry Ford
The Real Story of the Model T
@JeffBumbles

20. Business Goal:
First durable,
mass-market
automobile
New Technology:
Moving assembly
line process,
interchangeable
parts
model t
Ford’s manufacturing process in 1908
10,000 Cars @JeffBumbles

21. Ford’s manufacturing process in
Business Goal:
Another durable,
mass-market
automobile
Old Technology:
Moving assembly
line process,
interchangeable
parts
model t
1920
933,000 Cars @JeffBumbles

22. Business Goal:
First durable,
mass-market
automobile
New Technology:
Moving assembly
line process,
interchangeable
parts
model t
User Need:
Americans want a
cheaper car
Automotive success in 1908
@JeffBumbles

23. Alfred Sloan, General Motors
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24. “a car for every purse
and purpose”
“Any color … so long as
it is black”
Alfred Sloan, General Motors Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company
@JeffBumbles

25. Business Goal:
First durable,
mass-market
automobile
New Technology:
Moving assembly
line process,
interchangeable
parts
model t
User Need:
Americans want a
cheaper car
Automotive success in 1908
@JeffBumbles

26. multiple
Gm models
Automotive success in 1920sUser Need:
Installment selling, used car
trade-ins, closed car models,
annual model changes
Business Goal:
Another durable,
mass-market
automobile
Old Technology:
Moving assembly
line process,
interchangeable
parts
@JeffBumbles

27. Henry ford’s strategy
1908 1926
“We have to scale!”
@JeffBumbles

28. 1908
Aflred Sloan’s strategy
1926
@JeffBumbles

29. Henry Ford
-Still Kinda Sounds Like Henry Ford

30. What’s the lesson here?
User
@JeffBumbles

31. Understanding of your user
can come from lots places:
• Empirical evidence
• Observational evidence
• Anecdotal evidence
• and even intuition!
@JeffBumbles

32. Henry Ford
Business Technology
vision reality
TechnologyBusiness
User
@JeffBumbles

33. The Story of Fordlandia
Henry Ford’s
Failed
capitalist
utopia
@JeffBumbles

34. Henry Ford
vision
@JeffBumbles

35. Model T Tire
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36. Fordlandia
@JeffBumbles

37. Model T Plant in Detroit
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38. Jungle Urbanism
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39. Sawmill and Fordlandia Water Tower
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40. Square Dancing Hall in Fordlandia
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41. Golf Course in Fordlandia
@JeffBumbles

42. Saw Mill in Fordlandia
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43. Church in Fordlandia
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44. Cemetery in Fordlandia
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45. Hospital in Fordlandia
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46. Store in Fordlandia
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47. Rubber Trees
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48. Traffic in Fordlandia
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49. Henry Ford
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50. Ruins of Fordlandia
@JeffBumbles

51. Henry Ford
vision reality
@JeffBumbles

52. Henry Ford
-Still Kinda Sounds Like Henry Ford

53. @JeffBumbles

54. @JeffBumbles

55. empathy
Understanding your end user’s
needs is the first step to
innovation
Innovation is an iterative cycle
of improvement based on the
end user’s needs
Experimentation

56. References