Master of Precision
, subject: Henry Leland, Cadillac, Lincoln, and precision manufacturing in the early American automobile industry., 1966
Master of Precision shows Henry Leland rejecting parts that would otherwise pass, and how that uncompromising standard built customer trust and demand.
About the book
Master of Precision, written by Henry Leland's daughter-in-law Ottilie Leland with Minnie Dubbs Millbrook, traces Leland's exacting engineering standards from his early machining career through founding Cadillac and Lincoln.
Why read it
Best if you are deciding how high to set a quality bar and want a concrete case of standards that rejected acceptable work yet built trust and demand.
Key themes
- Rejecting parts that would pass
- Precision depends on the machinist
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #128, #130
This record is supported by 4 public evidence rows linked to original Founders episodes.
- Henry Leland (Cadillac) — David uses Henry Leland’s manufacturing standards to show how uncompromising quality builds customer trust and demand, even when it requires rejecting otherwise acceptable parts.
- Walter Chrysler — David explicitly identifies Master of Precision as a recently covered book and applies Henry Leland's machinist-training lesson.