Tracing Quotations
A Leading Banker? President of the Michigan Savings Bank? Sarah T. Bushnell? Horace Rackham? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: An investor was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase stock in Henry Ford’s nascent automobile company. The cautious capitalist asked a prominent banker what he thought, and he received an erroneous prediction: The horse is here to …
Continue reading “The Horse Is Here To Stay, But the Automobile Is Only a Novelty — a Fad”
Winston Churchill? Henry Ford? John Neal? Henry W. Davis? Chinese Proverb? Lewis Mumford? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An individual who faces opposition can grow in strength and resilience. This notion has been brilliantly expressed via a metaphorical kite in the wind. Here are three versions: Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it. Opposition is …
Continue reading “Kites Rise Against and Not With the Wind. Even a Head Wind Is Better than None”
Henry Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The business titan Henry Ford apparently said something like: The industrialist should endeavor to make the best quality goods and pay the highest wages possible. Would you please help me to find the precise phrasing and an accurate citation? Quote Investigator: In 1933 Henry Ford was asked about the …
A Fired Machinist? Charles R. Wiers? Hubert N. Alyea? Charles Proteus Steinmetz? Henry Ford? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote highlights the extraordinary value of properly applying specialized knowledge. A top-expert is hired to fix a gigantic complicated machine suffering from an intractable problem. The adroit practitioner repairs the contraption with a simple action …
Henry Ford? Jessie Potter? Dayle K. Maloney? Cathy Bolger? Susan Jeffers? Jackie “Moms” Mabley? Tony Robbins? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Why do people repeat foolish, ineffective, or self-destructive behaviors? Self-help books contain an adage about the consequences of thoughtless repetition. Here are three versions: 1) If you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what …
Henry Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The automotive titan Henry Ford reportedly crafted a humorous and insightful remark about thinking. Here are three versions: 1) Thinking is hard work. That may be the reason so few engage in it. 2) Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few …
Henry Ford? Samuel Crowther? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The failure of a project is often disheartening, but some self-help and inspirational texts highlight a quotation that presents a positive interpretation to the setback: Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently. This statement has been attributed to the assembly-line innovator and industrial titan Henry …
Continue reading “Failure Is Only the Opportunity More Intelligently To Begin Again”
Thomas Edison? James D. Newton? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A fascinatingly prescient remark about energy has been attributed to the famous inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison: I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before …
Continue reading “I’d Put My Money on the Sun and Solar Energy”
William Wrigley Jr.? Ezra Pound? Henry Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Constructive debate about future plans is essential in a responsive and vibrant company. Here are three versions of a popular business adage: When two men in a business always agree, one of them is unnecessary. When two men in business always agree, one of …
Continue reading “When Two Men in Business Always Agree, One of Them Is Unnecessary”
Henry Ford? Virgil? John Dryden? John Herbert Phillips? Del Howard? Harlowe B. Andrews? Norman Vincent Peale? Mary Kay Ash? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: An aphorism highlighting the power of positive thinking and warning about the danger of negative thinking has often been attributed to automotive titan Henry Ford. Here are four versions: Whether you think …
Continue reading “Whether You Believe You Can Do a Thing or Not, You Are Right”