The 8 secrets that made the Model T No. 1

By Frank Hayes

Mike Elgan has a nice analysis of the secrets of Apple's success, and Mike says he wants PC makers and consumer electronics companies to "steal those secrets so they can start making better products."

But those other companies are likely to be leery of that -- and maybe with good reason. Some of what Apple does is tied to certain kinds of products, or being first to market, or preexisting brand associations. Just because it makes Apple successful doesn't mean anyone else can drink the same elixir and get the same results.

Which brings me to Henry Ford and his Model T. Here's a guy in a different era with a different kind of product who found his own success secrets. And they worked, maybe even better than Apple's -- in a few years, Ford went from being a little nobody in the automobile business to selling half the cars in the U.S.

What would Henry Ford have thought of Steve Jobs's secrets?

Secret 1: Engineering supports design -- no exceptions

They agree. Henry Ford wasn't selling Apple-style "experience" -- his design goal was to make a car his own workers could afford to buy. The ownership experience was ownership. But all Ford's engineering was still focused on that design goal. No useless geegaws, nothing that made it more complex or harder to operate or maintain.

Secret 2: Fewer is better

They agree. If anything, the Model T offered even fewer variations than Apple's products. Long before iPod white there was Model T black. Again, the marketing goal was different -- Apple reduces consumer stress, Ford reduced cost -- but either way, the rule holds up.

Secret 3: The experience is the product

They agree -- in principle. But in practice, Apple's and Ford's approaches were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Apple's even-before-it-comes-out-of-the-box approach extends the product experience to make it distinctive from its competitors. By its heyday, the Model T had no competitors in its price range -- once again, ownership was the experience.

Secret 4: The product is the product

They agree -- but hold on. For Apple, the iPod would be nothing without iTunes. That service is part of the user experience, and a big reason competitors haven't been able to knock it off the mountain. For Apple, the product is the experience, and the experience includes the services -- it' just that Apple focuses on the product that the customer takes out of a box. For Ford's Model T, the customer might never see a Ford dealer again. The product really was the product.

Secret 5: You can't please everyone, so please people with good taste

They disagree. "Targeting the low end cheapens the brand," Mike Elgan says. Maybe -- or maybe it makes it a market-dominating icon. Apple goes for the top end of the market. Ford went for everyone who couldn't afford the equivalent of $20,000 in today's money for a car, and made the Model T "the automobile for the rest of us."

Secret 6: Leave the past behind

They disagree -- sort of. The Model T wasn't a radical departure in physical design -- it had four wheels, a gasoline engine and all the parts in the expected places. Apple has the option of completely reinventing the wheel with new products. But Henry Ford did reinvent the manufacturing process in order to create that low-priced car -- he wasn't afraid to reorganize his factories, pick his workers differently and pay them more to get the results he wanted. (Side note: Interestingly, Steve Jobs tried to reinvent the computer manufacturing process when he built his automated factory in Fremont, Calif., for Next. That didn't work out.)

Secret 7: Product names are important. Really important

They agree. T is even simpler and more iconic than iSomething.

Secret 8: Group affiliation is the driver

They disagree. Not all products can be sold as "cool" -- and anyone who's ever seen a Model T sitting next to one of its more luxurious contemporaries wouldn't call a Tin Lizzie "cool" (I recommend the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., for that very experience).

Still, with different products, different markets and different eras, Ford and Jobs share a frighteningly large collection of success secrets.

Lucky for them, none of their competitors seem to be able to figure this stuff out...