Henry Ford’s Big Mistake: An Entrepreneur Cautionary Tale

Learn how the celebrated innovator became a prisoner of his own vision, which ultimately resulted in an enormous downturn for his company.

Henry Ford is unquestionably one of the greatest entrepreneurs to ever live. Anyone looking to follow in his footsteps would be wise to emulate him in countless ways. But it’s also important to learn from his missteps, say Brant Cooper and Peter Vlaskovits, authors of The Lean Entrepreneur. Looking at what was eventually his undoing, they see an entrepreneur cautionary tale that mirrors many contemporary situations facing SaaS companies.

Ford’s initial vision was an unquestioned success. Where he faltered was when the market began to shift around his history-altering advances. As companies like GM started to expand upon what Ford had built, he stuck to his guns, only to find himself without any bullets left in the chamber.

Photo by Cory Doctorow

For more insights from Brant and Patrick, watch all the videos in the Lean Entrepreneur series:

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