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Great Lakes Books Series
My Forty Years with Ford
In My Forty Years with Ford, Charles Sorensen-sometimes known as "Henry Ford's man," sometimes as "Cast-iron Charlie"-tells his own story, and it is as challenging as it is historic. He emerges as a man who was not only one of the great production geniuses of the world but also a man who called the plays as he saw them. He was the only man who was able to stay with Ford for almost the full history of his empire, yet he never hesitated to go against Ford when he felt the interests of the company demanded it. When labor difficulties mounted and Edsel's fatal illness was upon him, Sorensen sided with Edsel against Henry Ford and Harry Bennett, and he insisted that Henry Ford II be brought in to direct the company despite the aging founder's determination that no one but he hold the presidential reins.
First published in 1956, My Forty Years with Ford has now been reissued in paperback for the first time. The Ford story has often been discussed in print but has rarely been articulated by someone who was there. Here Sorensen provides an eyewitness account of the birth of the Model T, the early conflicts with the Dodge brothers, the revolutionary announcement of the five-dollar day, and Sorensen's development of the moving assembly line-a concept that changed our world. Although Sorensen conceived, designed, and built the giant Willow Run plant in nineteen months and then proceeded to turn out eight thousand giant bombers, his life's major work was to make possible the vision of Henry Ford and to postpone the personal misfortune with which it ended. My Forty Years with Ford is both a personal history of a business empire and a revelation that moves with excitement and the power of tragedy.
First published in 1956, My Forty Years with Ford has now been reissued in paperback for the first time. The Ford story has often been discussed in print but has rarely been articulated by someone who was there. Here Sorensen provides an eyewitness account of the birth of the Model T, the early conflicts with the Dodge brothers, the revolutionary announcement of the five-dollar day, and Sorensen's development of the moving assembly line-a concept that changed our world. Although Sorensen conceived, designed, and built the giant Willow Run plant in nineteen months and then proceeded to turn out eight thousand giant bombers, his life's major work was to make possible the vision of Henry Ford and to postpone the personal misfortune with which it ended. My Forty Years with Ford is both a personal history of a business empire and a revelation that moves with excitement and the power of tragedy.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 4, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 7, 2018
Cast Iron Charlie wrote this book in 1956, twelve years after he left the employ of Henry Ford. It his memoir of working for Henry for from 1905 until 1944. Sorensen was the only one of Henry Ford's early associates to stay at Ford Motor for the entire period of Henry Ford's control of the company. The book documents Mr. Sorensen's view of Henry Ford as a person and as a business leader, and the changes to his personality that occurred when he became a folk hero after initiating the $5 day. It details his abuse of Edsel, and its effect on Edsel's health. It describes his decent into mental infirmity after multiple strokes. It documents the early years of Ford Motor, including the contributions of Couzens, Wills, and Flanders to Ford Motor's early success, the success of the Model T, the depression years, and Ford Motor's accomplishments as a producer of B24 bombers at Willow Run. This book is a must for anyone who is interested in Ford Motor history, early automotive history, and weapons production during WWII. Highly recommended.
July 4, 2013
Fascinating autobiography by the production manager at Ford from the earliest days of the company until the 1950s. Sorensen was the production genius who could Henry Ford's ideas into practice. He lead the design of the first moving production line, worked out the economics of the $5-a-day wage, created a number of parts designs for the Model-T, lead the buildings the massive integrated Rouge production plant, and created the Willow Run Bomber production facility during World War II.
Not surprisingly, Sorensen doesn't discuss some of the more well known parts of his management style: he generally wiped out anything or anyone in his way, and was renowned for his short and violent temper.
This is a great book if you're interested in early automotive and manufacturing production, and if you're interested in how to organize people and resources to approach new ways of working.
Not surprisingly, Sorensen doesn't discuss some of the more well known parts of his management style: he generally wiped out anything or anyone in his way, and was renowned for his short and violent temper.
This is a great book if you're interested in early automotive and manufacturing production, and if you're interested in how to organize people and resources to approach new ways of working.
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August 3, 2023Sorensen claimed to have known Henry Ford "better than any man dead or alive,"
Sorensen gained Henry Ford's respect by translating Ford's design concepts into wooden parts that could be seen and studied. Advancing rapidly, he was second in command of Piquette production by 1907.
During World War I Sorensen was assigned to organize tractor production in Dearborn. Within three years his ability and force of personality had made him the untitled head of the Rouge Plant, destined to become the world's largest factory. By 1926 he presided over Ford's branch and assembly operations, and by the late 1920s he directed the company's worldwide manufacturing. In addition, he played an important role in sales affairs. He was completely loyal to Henry Ford, and, like Henry's son, Edsel, sometimes followed orders with which he disagreed.
"One-piece casting of the Ford V-8 engine block," was Sorensen's greatest achievement.
Beginning as a $3-a-day patternmaker, I made wooden models of parts which either were discarded or went into the early Ford cars. I shared in the secret preparation of Model T and in the production of 15,000,000 of the same model.
He had nothing but one single-purposed idea: a low-cost car in large quantities.
He was unorthodox in thought but puritanical in personal conduct.
He had a restless mind but was capable of prolonged, concentrated work.
He hated indolence but had to be confronted by a challenging problem before his interest was aroused.
He was contemptuous of money-making, of money-makers and profit seekers, yet he made more money and greater profits than those he despised.
He defied accepted economic principles, yet he is the foremost exemplar of American free enterprise. He abhorred ostentation and display, yet he reveled in the spotlight of publicity.
He was ruthless in getting his own way, yet he had a deep sense of public responsibility.
they expected him to do more for them. But Henry Ford's philosophy of "help others to help themselves"
Two brothers-in-law had Ford agencies but were not allowed to use his name in any way to build up their prestige in the sales department.
He did enjoy autographing books and souvenir cards and he would hand out a signed photograph to anyone who asked for it.
Holidays we knew nothing about.
If he went to any social affair it was because Mrs. Ford almost dragged him there. Afterwards he would tell me how So-and-so "made me sick" by playing up to him. He was certain that people who paid him these attentions did so because they wanted something.
He was always complaining about his stomach and was forever trying different diets—nuts, raw vegetables, and milk from soybeans. He did not drink or smoke, and his prejudice against those who did was so violent that it affected his judgment of their abilities.
he never had a close, intimate friend. His annual camping trip with Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs was a case in point.
In his later years he actually put more hard work into the Museum than he did into the Ford Motor Company. He loved this Greenfield Museum. While building Greenfield Village
Its head was a single-purposed man who dominated yet at the same time delegated sweeping authority and responsibility. Its operations were intricate, yet experts were distrusted and virtually all executives came up from the ranks. When the music was not written, we improvised. When it was written, we had no time to learn to read—we played by ear.
he didn't rely upon experts, whether they were scientists, engineers, railroad men, economists, educators, business executives, or bankers. He was an individualist who arrived at conclusions—both right and wrong—by independent thought.
Under Hawkins's cost-time study, a part such as a piston entered production bearing a ticket which covered every operation. If ten operations were involved, an entry was made on the ticket after each stage
One is rigid system, in which rules tend to be paramount; the other is flexible method, in which the objective comes first.
One of the hardest-to-down myths about the evolution of mass production at Ford is one which credits much of the accomplishment to "scientific management." No one at Ford— not Mr. Ford, Couzens, Flanders, Wills, Pete Martin, nor I—was acquainted with the theories of the "father of scientific management," Frederick W. Taylor. Years later I ran across a quotation from a two-volume book about Taylor by Frank Barkley Copley, who reports a visit Taylor made to Detroit late in 1914, nearly a year after the moving assembly line had been installed at our Highland Park plant.
There weren't enough men with experience in this particular line of business. And our training of others had much to do with the rapid growth of the company.
don't go out and hire more lathe operators; train the ones we've got.
When foremen or executive supervisors were needed, they were picked from men who showed ability in operating machines. This was a fundamental principle during the first three periods of Ford Motor Company.
Good managers at Ford had to have some of these qualities: (i) Refreshing simplicity. (2) Brains. (3) Education. (4) Special technical ability. (5) Tact. (6) Energy and Grit. (7) Honesty. (8) Judgment. (9) Common sense. (10) Good health. Men with four or five of these good qualities are rare; those with six or seven are almost nonexistent.
In today's industrial organizations a situation rather than the personality is the dominant factor. The situation controls, and the true leader is the one who responds immediately and effectively to the situation. And, since a situation is always primary, authority derives from function rather than position. The responsibility is for and not to.
Sorensen gained Henry Ford's respect by translating Ford's design concepts into wooden parts that could be seen and studied. Advancing rapidly, he was second in command of Piquette production by 1907.
During World War I Sorensen was assigned to organize tractor production in Dearborn. Within three years his ability and force of personality had made him the untitled head of the Rouge Plant, destined to become the world's largest factory. By 1926 he presided over Ford's branch and assembly operations, and by the late 1920s he directed the company's worldwide manufacturing. In addition, he played an important role in sales affairs. He was completely loyal to Henry Ford, and, like Henry's son, Edsel, sometimes followed orders with which he disagreed.
"One-piece casting of the Ford V-8 engine block," was Sorensen's greatest achievement.
Beginning as a $3-a-day patternmaker, I made wooden models of parts which either were discarded or went into the early Ford cars. I shared in the secret preparation of Model T and in the production of 15,000,000 of the same model.
He had nothing but one single-purposed idea: a low-cost car in large quantities.
He was unorthodox in thought but puritanical in personal conduct.
He had a restless mind but was capable of prolonged, concentrated work.
He hated indolence but had to be confronted by a challenging problem before his interest was aroused.
He was contemptuous of money-making, of money-makers and profit seekers, yet he made more money and greater profits than those he despised.
He defied accepted economic principles, yet he is the foremost exemplar of American free enterprise. He abhorred ostentation and display, yet he reveled in the spotlight of publicity.
He was ruthless in getting his own way, yet he had a deep sense of public responsibility.
they expected him to do more for them. But Henry Ford's philosophy of "help others to help themselves"
Two brothers-in-law had Ford agencies but were not allowed to use his name in any way to build up their prestige in the sales department.
He did enjoy autographing books and souvenir cards and he would hand out a signed photograph to anyone who asked for it.
Holidays we knew nothing about.
If he went to any social affair it was because Mrs. Ford almost dragged him there. Afterwards he would tell me how So-and-so "made me sick" by playing up to him. He was certain that people who paid him these attentions did so because they wanted something.
He was always complaining about his stomach and was forever trying different diets—nuts, raw vegetables, and milk from soybeans. He did not drink or smoke, and his prejudice against those who did was so violent that it affected his judgment of their abilities.
he never had a close, intimate friend. His annual camping trip with Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs was a case in point.
In his later years he actually put more hard work into the Museum than he did into the Ford Motor Company. He loved this Greenfield Museum. While building Greenfield Village
Its head was a single-purposed man who dominated yet at the same time delegated sweeping authority and responsibility. Its operations were intricate, yet experts were distrusted and virtually all executives came up from the ranks. When the music was not written, we improvised. When it was written, we had no time to learn to read—we played by ear.
he didn't rely upon experts, whether they were scientists, engineers, railroad men, economists, educators, business executives, or bankers. He was an individualist who arrived at conclusions—both right and wrong—by independent thought.
Under Hawkins's cost-time study, a part such as a piston entered production bearing a ticket which covered every operation. If ten operations were involved, an entry was made on the ticket after each stage
One is rigid system, in which rules tend to be paramount; the other is flexible method, in which the objective comes first.
One of the hardest-to-down myths about the evolution of mass production at Ford is one which credits much of the accomplishment to "scientific management." No one at Ford— not Mr. Ford, Couzens, Flanders, Wills, Pete Martin, nor I—was acquainted with the theories of the "father of scientific management," Frederick W. Taylor. Years later I ran across a quotation from a two-volume book about Taylor by Frank Barkley Copley, who reports a visit Taylor made to Detroit late in 1914, nearly a year after the moving assembly line had been installed at our Highland Park plant.
There weren't enough men with experience in this particular line of business. And our training of others had much to do with the rapid growth of the company.
don't go out and hire more lathe operators; train the ones we've got.
When foremen or executive supervisors were needed, they were picked from men who showed ability in operating machines. This was a fundamental principle during the first three periods of Ford Motor Company.
Good managers at Ford had to have some of these qualities: (i) Refreshing simplicity. (2) Brains. (3) Education. (4) Special technical ability. (5) Tact. (6) Energy and Grit. (7) Honesty. (8) Judgment. (9) Common sense. (10) Good health. Men with four or five of these good qualities are rare; those with six or seven are almost nonexistent.
In today's industrial organizations a situation rather than the personality is the dominant factor. The situation controls, and the true leader is the one who responds immediately and effectively to the situation. And, since a situation is always primary, authority derives from function rather than position. The responsibility is for and not to.
November 17, 2021
With the popularity of Henry Ford's to autobiography-esque books, plus several biographies, it would be easy to think that Ford was the mastermind of all things.
In Sorensen's, My Forty Years With Ford, we get a little more insight into the origins of how Ford's, "car for the masses", became a reality. By surrounding himself with good people such as Cousins, Sorensen, and Flanders, among others, Ford was able to implement and in some cases invent, strategies for production and inventory control that allowed him to reduce the total cost of a vehicle while paying higher than normal wages and remaining emensly profitable.
Sorensen's book is part autobiography and part homage to the people he worked with and learned from during his nearly four decades at the Ford Motor Company. In parts of this book, he has a romantic view of Henry Ford and his vision while in other parts he's very blunt about Ford's weaknesses. He is particularly blunt about the way he mistreated people that challenged him including his son Edsel and his grandson Henry II.
In Ford's two classics, Today and Tomorrow and My Life and Work, Ford mentions not needing the ability to know everything. He cites surrounding himself with good people. This is a sentiment that Sorensen, an obvious disciple of Ford, reiterates. Ford's problem becomes when the good people he's surrounding himself with, challenge his ego. Ford, described by Sorensen, was a small man in stature but had a big ego.
While Ford's books go into the theory of things such as moving assembly line and $5 per day wages, Sorenson's book, written many years after Ford's death, goes into great detail the process and thinking involved that made those theories a reality. Sorensen calls out Ford saying the moving conveyor line was not his idea and it is a myth to think that it was developed from what was seen in a meat-packing plant as he claims in my life and work. He admits that Ford encouraged continual experimentation within the plant but it was really Sorensen and others under the approval of cousins testing and evaluating ways to make product quicker and for less cost. Further, it chronicles how the mass production model was incorporated into other war products especially military bombers.
Another observation that Sorenson outlines is where a former teacher of Edsel's wanted to get involved in the manufacturing life. Rather than starting him in some middle management role as might be done today, Sorenson put him through a journeyman type apprenticeship where he had to learn by doing and spend 8 months on the floor in each department actually building cars.
Other things that Sorenson goes into that are very consistent with leading companies today are:
1. Man should not be a slave to machines; machines should be a slave to man
2. Profit should come from the formula of price set by the market minus cost equals profit.
Another classic piece of business literature, I'm very glad that they made this available on audio.
In Sorensen's, My Forty Years With Ford, we get a little more insight into the origins of how Ford's, "car for the masses", became a reality. By surrounding himself with good people such as Cousins, Sorensen, and Flanders, among others, Ford was able to implement and in some cases invent, strategies for production and inventory control that allowed him to reduce the total cost of a vehicle while paying higher than normal wages and remaining emensly profitable.
Sorensen's book is part autobiography and part homage to the people he worked with and learned from during his nearly four decades at the Ford Motor Company. In parts of this book, he has a romantic view of Henry Ford and his vision while in other parts he's very blunt about Ford's weaknesses. He is particularly blunt about the way he mistreated people that challenged him including his son Edsel and his grandson Henry II.
In Ford's two classics, Today and Tomorrow and My Life and Work, Ford mentions not needing the ability to know everything. He cites surrounding himself with good people. This is a sentiment that Sorensen, an obvious disciple of Ford, reiterates. Ford's problem becomes when the good people he's surrounding himself with, challenge his ego. Ford, described by Sorensen, was a small man in stature but had a big ego.
While Ford's books go into the theory of things such as moving assembly line and $5 per day wages, Sorenson's book, written many years after Ford's death, goes into great detail the process and thinking involved that made those theories a reality. Sorensen calls out Ford saying the moving conveyor line was not his idea and it is a myth to think that it was developed from what was seen in a meat-packing plant as he claims in my life and work. He admits that Ford encouraged continual experimentation within the plant but it was really Sorensen and others under the approval of cousins testing and evaluating ways to make product quicker and for less cost. Further, it chronicles how the mass production model was incorporated into other war products especially military bombers.
Another observation that Sorenson outlines is where a former teacher of Edsel's wanted to get involved in the manufacturing life. Rather than starting him in some middle management role as might be done today, Sorenson put him through a journeyman type apprenticeship where he had to learn by doing and spend 8 months on the floor in each department actually building cars.
Other things that Sorenson goes into that are very consistent with leading companies today are:
1. Man should not be a slave to machines; machines should be a slave to man
2. Profit should come from the formula of price set by the market minus cost equals profit.
Another classic piece of business literature, I'm very glad that they made this available on audio.
September 17, 2020
This is the best of all the biographies of Henry Ford's lieutenants. Sorensen was present for all of the big events and he had the deepest understanding of any of them. Sorensen never had a falling out with Henry Ford. He also created the plans for how the big assembly-line factories were built. Sorensen was a superstar who was responsible for everything that made Ford successful.
As expected, Sorenson clarified that James Couzens was not the originator of the $5 day.
Just a great book. Well written and extremely interesting!
As expected, Sorenson clarified that James Couzens was not the originator of the $5 day.
Just a great book. Well written and extremely interesting!
March 13, 2025
Just finished this. What a great ending, wow. About halfway through I was thinking more of a three star review, kind of a basic memoir of an interesting figure, but the birth of willow run captured the beauty of high value work as well as anything ayn Rand ever wrote, and the Edsel chapter showed the fall of a great man. The introduction definitely hits different after finishing as well.
overall, great book, and id definitely recommend it over any of henry fords for understanding their work or the man.
overall, great book, and id definitely recommend it over any of henry fords for understanding their work or the man.
July 15, 2023
A great book about Sorensen's 40 years at Ford and how the company worked at that time.
November 21, 2023
Pioneers
January 25, 2012
Definitely a worthwhile read if you have an interest in the early days of the auto industry. Sorensen's tale is easy to read and full of interesting memories of Henry Ford and the birth of mass-production.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews