Josiah Wedgwood – The manager and businessman
Most of us have our favorites; be it sports heroes, politicians, movie stars, chefs, etc. It is as if our selection of a particular person reflects positively on us – our insight, insight and good taste. In the world of management, for example, we have had our flavors of the moment. At one point he was the “celebrity CEO” (until we realized they were fallible too). We even try to uncover leadership lessons from figures as diverse as Chief Sitting Bull, Attila the Hun, ‘Stormin’ Norman What’sHisName, and Winnie the Pooh.
In the midst of all this exploration it is inevitable that some people deserving of recognition and their moments in the sun go unnoticed. One such person is Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), master potter, founder of the Wedgwood Company, and grandfather of Charles Darwin.
Wedgwood employed work practices and introduced innovations a hundred years before they became accepted parts of everyday organizational life. And in the process, he increased his inheritance from £20 to £500,000.
Here are 10 of Wedgwood’s qualities that have contributed to management as it is practiced now. [1]
embraced the change
The Industrial Revolution brought with it enormous social, industrial, and economic changes. By the early 18th century, pottery had been functional, primarily crude vessels for storage and transport. The ceramics industry was dirty and seedy, and its people and work practices were crude and primitive: the industry was ripe for change. Wedgwood embraced many of the changes that influenced the way its products were made and sold: craftsmanship, design, process, and innovation flourished.
The size and sophistication of the market developed throughout the 18th century. Industrial wages were paid creating greater sources of wealth and disposable income. Stylish table accessories were in high demand in booming industrial cities and increasingly wealthy colonies. The drink of tea and coffee joined the traditional pastime of drinking beer as a national feature.
The Industrial Revolution brought the opportunity for the ceramics industry to replace traditional windmills and watermills with coal-fired steam engines. In 1782 Wedgwood bought one of James Watt’s steam engines. The rest of the industry was quick to follow his lead.
Wedgwood also moved in the liberal reform society. He applied the principles of the division of labor espoused by his contemporary Adam Smith. He was an avid reader of Paine and Rousseau. He supported the American War of Independence and was an ardent member of the Anti-Slavery Committee.
Built and maintained productive relationships.
Today Wedgwood would be described as a ‘Renaissance Man’. He was a master networker and collaborator. He valued and encouraged friendships and personal connections, many of whom had very diverse interests. For example, he collaborated with leaders in the artistic and scientific communities to come up with even better designs for his products. His friend and business partner, Thomas Bentley, was an expert reader of the social trends that enabled Wedgwood to produce great things that were in demand. The market was amazed at how Wedgwood was able to read and respond to social trends that ultimately resulted in increased sales.
Their collaboration with leaders in their fields at the time allowed Wedgwood to (confidently) replace the drab, clunky, and everyday with a wide range of beautiful, affordable products. He also worked with other Staffordshire potters to solve common technical problems. In 1775, for example, he initiated what was probably the world’s first collaborative industrial research project.
practiced MBWA
The term Management-By-Walking-Around (MBWA), borrowed from Hewlett-Packard and enshrined by Tom Peters and Bob Watermanin in the first business bestseller In Search of Excellence , was practiced by Josiah Wedgwood nearly two hundred years earlier. Wedgwood believed and practiced being visible to his workers, advising and training rather than ‘snooping’. His MBWA practice enabled him to produce highly detailed ‘Potters Instructions’, developed from over 30 years of experience on the job.
An initial drawback was a weakened knee, a remnant of childhood smallpox. When the knee began to hamper his ability to walk around the factory, Wedgwood decided to have the leg amputated. With that problem fixed, he strapped on a wooden leg and continued his MBWA practice.
Insisted on WH&S
Wedgwood was conscious of health and safety, especially the ever-present dangers of lead poisoning. He insisted on proper cleaning methods, work clothing, and washing facilities. He did not tolerate substance abuse. He instituted a total ban on drinking alcohol. Punctuality was requested. Consistent attendance was encouraged. Fixed hours and a primitive check-in system were introduced. Wedgwood was scrupulous about cleanliness and avoiding waste. The workers were heavily fined for leaving debris around.
He led by example
Wedgwood began working as a potter at age 11 (his father died when Josiah was 9, leaving him the youngest of 13 children). He knew all the ‘tricks of the trade’. His ‘Potters Instructions’ covered detailed explanations of every process to be undertaken and every trick used by the workforce to cut corners.
Wedgwood was hardworking, driven, demanding, intellectually curious, questioning established practices and always looking for better ways of doing things. He was very ambitious and meticulous about quality doing everything exceptionally well. And he expected the same from his workers.
Wedgwood’s persistence is legendary. His favorite motto was ‘everything surrenders to experiment’. Although Edison’s efforts to perfect the light bulb are familiar to most people (although the number of failed attempts is open to conjecture), Wedgwood’s persistence nearly a hundred years earlier in producing Jasper has gone largely unnoticed. After more than 5,000 recorded experiments, Wedgwood (1775) produced Jasper, a product described as one of the most significant innovations since the Chinese invention of porcelain nearly 1,000 years earlier.
He pioneered productive labor practices.
When Wedgwood founded his main factory (Etruria), he set out to industrialize what was a peasant industry. He applied Adam Smith’s principles of division of labor by involving specialists concentrating on a specific element of the production process, resulting in greater efficiency. Training and skills development were important features of this process. By 1790 nearly a quarter of his workforce were apprentices, many of them women.
The factory system at the time had no tradition of foremen, clerks, or managers to exercise discipline. A forerunner of what would become Scientific Management in the early 20th century, he produced highly detailed ‘Potters Instructions’ based on the regulations and rules he had developed during his 30 years of experience. They covered detailed explanations of each process to undertake, all the tricks used by the workforce to cut corners, and instructions on how to reward top performers and reprimand poor performers.
Thanks to their flexibility, Wedgwood’s factories were able to produce short runs of highly varied products, which changed rapidly in colour, fashion, style and price as the market dictated. His production system minimized ownership risk, reduced fixed costs, and maximized the input of skilled labor.
He was picky about quality.
Wedgwood was a visionary: he wanted to leave a better world as a result of his contributions. One of his boasts was that he “made artists out of male mothers.” To that end (and others, of course), he was famously intolerant of poor quality. He prowled the factory smashing shoddy pottery and chalking on offensive workbenches: “This won’t do Josiah Wedgwood.” The workers were fined for non-compliance with his quality requirements.
However, he promised to train his workers and provide them with the best quality raw materials. He supported an apprenticeship system, invested in education, health, food and housing for his employees. In what would today be called ‘global sourcing’, he bought clay from the United States in an agreement reached with the Cherokee Nation, from Canton in China and from Sydney Cove through his contact with Joseph Banks.
He used marketing to create demand and increase sales.
Wedgwood brought the pièce de résistance of marketing to a world where the operative was “take it or leave it.” He opened new showrooms in London and allowed customer feedback to inform design and production. He introduced self-service, catalog sales, pattern books, free freight, money-back guarantees, regular sales, all with the goal, in Wedgwood’s words, to “amuse, entertain, please, and amaze.” , and even captivate the ladies”. ‘.
He assiduously sought the patronage of aristocrats and politicians and exploited their orders as testimonials are used today. When Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, ordered a tea service in 1776, she trumpeted the royal endorsement on her letterhead, in her showroom and in her advertising. Calling her cream-colored line ‘Queen’s Ware’, she enthused the aspirations of her wearers. For her privilege, she charged premium prices, compared to her competitors, for those who wished to eat from plates fit for a Queen. On another occasion, she performed a 932-piece service for Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. People (including royalty) flocked to her London store to see the sensation.
What open innovation on intellectual property
Wedgwood drew inspiration from the work of others, and to that end he was flattered by others who copied his work. He was less concerned with maintaining intellectual capital than with helping to develop and improve relationships, as this example illustrates.
One of the perennial challenges in ceramic manufacturing was measuring high temperatures in the kilns to control the production process. Wedgwood invented a pyrometer or thermometer that recorded these temperatures. In true Wedgwood fashion, he did not try to keep the technology to himself. He also provided other scientists with specially designed experimental apparatus.
He was the master of logistics and infrastructure.
Wedgwood left no stone unturned in its pursuit of product and sales excellence. He devoted enormous amounts of time and money to improving communications and transportation, especially with the ports that brought him raw materials and provided his routes to market. He promoted the development of toll roads and was treasurer for the construction of the Grand Trunk Canal, an extraordinary 93-mile long engineering feat, linking Staffordshire with the ports of Liverpool in the West and Hull in the East. It is estimated that after the completion of the canal, freight rates were reduced by ninety percent.
1. ockham’s razorRadio National, Australia: ‘An innovator for the years’, 14 December 2008, presented by Professor Mark Dodgson, Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation Management, University of Queensland, Australia.
