How Henry Ford Proves You Don’t Need to Know it All

Believe it or Not: You Don’t Need to Know it All To Succeed

Many people believe that they need to have all the answers to have success in life.  When asked a question they don’t know, they will come up with any answer, even if it is not correct, so as to avoid what they believe will leave them looking foolish.

The problem with this approach is that the majority of the worlds richest people know that they don’t need to have all the answers in order to gain success, and what’s more, they use it to their advantage.  They may have a certain specialised knowledge in their field, but as Henry Ford proved in his libel trial after the first word war, having a solid team of people who round out your knowledge is far more important than having all the answers.

An “Ignorant Pacifist”

A Chicago paper published a series of articles after World War I, claiming that Henry Ford was an “ignorant pacifist”.  Mr Ford objected to the statements and brought a libel suit against the paper, taking the extraordinary move of putting himself on the witness stand to prove that he was not, after all, ignorant.

The attorneys peppered Henry Ford with a range of questions, ranging from “Who was Benedict Arnold?”, through to “How many soldiers did the British send over to America to put down the Rebellion of 1776?”.  It was obvious that Mr Ford did not know the answers, and soon grew tired of this line of questioning.  His reply to the last question was, “I do not know the exact number of soldiers the British sent over, but I have heard that it was a considerably larger number than ever went back.”

As the questions became more and more outrageous, Henry Ford pointed his finger at the lawyer who had asked the question, and spoke a simple sentence that floored the court and ended the hearing in an instant:

“If I should really WANT to answer the foolish question you have just asked, or any of the other questions you have been asking me, let me remind you that I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk, and by pushing the right button, I can summon to my aid men who can answer ANY question I desire to ask concerning the business to which I am devoting most of my efforts. Now, will you kindly tell me, WHY I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purpose of being able to answer questions, when I have men around me who can supply any knowledge I require?”

No one could argue against this simple answer from the founder of the Ford Motor Company.  Although Henry Ford did not have *all* the answers, he could at any time summon an answer with the simple push of a button, and use this to his advantage to win the day.

You Too Can Be Like Henry Ford

Have you ever Googled something because you didn’t know the answer?  Henry Ford did not have this luxury in the early 1900s, instead he went about creating his own form of “Google” – a group of people who could answer any question he pleased.

We now live in the greatest time to be alive.  We have answers at our finger tips.  We have answers on the smart phones in our pockets.  We can gain any knowledge we please within seconds if we wish.

The only thing that separates us now, is the action we take with that knowledge.  So I will leave you with this parting thought:

“What action are you taking today to reach the achievement of your goals?”

And if you haven’t got any goals, well, when would now be a good time to make some?  If knowledge can be gained more easily, then it is up to you to make the action, the real magic, happen.

Yours in change,

David McLachlan