The lens from which we view the world matters. Perception distorts reality. And, at times, the story evolves, changes even. Take the following quote:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Henry Ford
Oft-quoted, almost Jobs-Ian in a way. Personally, I love the wording and meaning. So many meanings.
Do your jam.
Follow your heart.
Commitment to an idea.
Be wary of the crowd.
Despite my love for the content, I came across this article and Ford may not have uttered the words. In the footnotes from HBR, the Ford museum was asked about the attribution:
“In the past research on this topic has not yielded satisfactory results either for the researcher or the research staff. Mr. Ford wrote numerous articles for a variety of periodicals and newspapers and the quotes attributed to him were varied and often unsubstantiated.”
In the end, I suppose the truth, at least in this case, matters little. It’s one great story.
