All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the base of our splendid failure to do the impossible.
William FaulknerRead
In the time of the robber barons, my great grandfather insisted on reinvesting and sharing profits with workers... He was told he was a socialist, that he was not welcome on Wall Street.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of reinvesting profits and valuing workers over purely financial gain.
William Clay Ford, Jr. reflects on his great grandfather's commitment to sharing profits with workers during a time when such practices were unpopular among wealthy industrialists. This illustrates a progressive approach to business that prioritizes social responsibility over the prevailing profit-driven mentality of his time, highlighting the conflict between ethical business practices and the cutthroat nature of early capitalism.
Themes
Profit SharingWorkersBusiness EthicsSocial ResponsibilityCapitalism
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about corporate social responsibility, one could quote Ford to emphasize the importance of employee investment.
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