Strive for perfection in all you do, was Sir Henry Royce's unwavering advice. One of the most well-known sayings in the history of the automobile is, "Take the best that is there and make it better. This adage that has stood the test of time continues to serve as an inspiration and a guide for the business that bears his name.
160 years have passed since Sir Henry Royce, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce, was born.
Looking back on his extraordinary life and career reveals a focused, almost obsessive, disposition and a tireless work ethic developed in early poverty and repeated adversity.
Royce's pursuit of excellence permeated both his personal and professional lives.
His well-known advice was to "strive for excellence in whatever you undertake. Take the best that already exists and improve it" still guides and motivates the business's operations today.
"Sir Henry Royce left behind a remarkable legacy of engineering ingenuity and accomplishment. Along with that, he gave us, his successors at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a clear directive: "Aim for excellence in everything you do. Make the best of what is already there. This dictum was followed by Sir Henry in all facets of his personal and professional life. As we commemorate his birth 160 years ago, his challenge continues to guide and inspire everything we do. It acts as a constant reminder that perfection is an elusive goal that can never truly be achieved. In our pursuit of excellence, there is always something we can improve, alter, rework, recreate, or innovate; this is what makes our lives and work here so interesting.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Tvös
Strive for perfection in all you do, was Sir Henry Royce's unwavering advice. One of the most well-known sayings in the history of the automobile is, "Take the best that is there and make it better. The company that bears his name continues to be inspired by and guided by this adage that has stood the test of time.
As Rolls-Royce commemorates Sir Henry's 160th birthday, we examine his incredible life and professional trajectory to learn more about the inspiration behind his most famous and frequently cited admonition. Why did he want perfection throughout his life, and how did his constant—some could even say obsessive—desire to enhance and perfect itself show up in both his professional and personal lives?
Much remains to be improved.
Royce experienced adversity, deprivation, and disadvantage throughout his early years. He was the youngest of five children and came from a poor financial background when he was born in 1863. When his miller father was eventually declared bankrupt and imprisoned as a result, things significantly worsened.
Against this uninspiring background, Royce's personality developed. However, he was determined to change his situation and began working in London at the young age of 10, first as a newspaper delivery boy and then as a telegraph delivery boy.
Things seemed to be going his way when, in 1879, he was able to get a coveted apprenticeship at the Peterborough workshops of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) thanks to financial assistance from his aunt. His natural talent for design and innate proficiency with tools and materials quickly became apparent, as he was immediately and obviously in his element. A set of three miniature wheelbarrows he fashioned in brass that were an early indication of his aptitude show the extraordinary level of craftsmanship and commitment to quality that he would uphold throughout his life.
VICISSITUDES
After two years, Royce's desire to better himself was abruptly put on hold when his aunt was unable to cover the cost of his yearly apprenticeship. Unfazed, Royce went back to London and started working for the newly established Electric Lighting & Power Generating Company (EL&PG) in 1881.
His choice to forego conventional engineering in favor of the developing field of electricity was mostly pragmatic. Electricity was so new at the time that there was no regulating body, no professional organizations, no tests to pass, and no standards to meet. Therefore, unlike in engineering, Royce's lack of formal education did not impede his development.
His interest in the field, already strong work ethic, and dedication to learning (he took evening classes in English and mathematics after work) led the EL&PG, now known as the Maxim-Weston Electric Company, to send him to work for one of its subsidiaries in Lancashire as First (Chief) Electrician in 1882, where he was in charge of the street and theater lighting in Liverpool. But once more, events worked against him: the firm quickly entered receivership at the age of just 19, and this time it was due to egregious mismanagement in its acquisition of patents.
assuming control
Royce had had enough, even if the parent firm of his former business decided to save what it could rather than sell off the remaining resources. He began his own firm because of his natural drive, apparent appetite for calculated risk, and exuberant self-assurance, as remarked by his peers.
He established Manchester's F. H. Royce & Co. in late 1884 after being given the name Frederick Henry. The company evolved from making lightweight products like battery-operated doorbells to building heavy machinery like overhead cranes and railway shunting capstans.
While the company was prospering, Royce was not. His health, which had likely been fundamentally compromised by the hardships of his upbringing, was suffering greatly by 1901 as a result of years of excessive labor and a stressful home life.
In order to get away from the office and get some fresh air, his doctor convinced him to purchase a De Dion quadricycle, but soon after, Royce's health deteriorated. His rising anxiety that the business was in financial trouble—something that might have had particular meaning for him given his father's experiences—was a significant contributing element.
An inflow of inexpensive, or at least less expensive, electrical machinery from Germany and the USA that could undercut Royce's prices was to blame for the company's declining fortunes. Being a stickler for detail, Royce himself was unwilling to participate in a price war or lower the caliber of his goods.
He was eventually convinced to take a 10-week vacation to see his wife's family in South Africa because complete recuperation was essential. He read 'The Automobile: Its Construction and Management' on the lengthy drive home. His life, and ultimately the entire globe, would be changed by the book.
IMPROVING THE BEST
Royce, who had now fully recovered both physically and psychologically, bought a 10 HP Decauville as soon as he returned to England. This would have appeared to be a frivolous waste of money given the still-parlous state of his company's finances, but in reality, this purchase was a clever and calculated one that, in his opinion, held the key to the company's future profitability.
The conventional wisdom holds that Royce decided he could make a better car because the original one was so shoddily constructed and unreliable. He had really already started thinking about building his own automobile from scratch as a result of his holiday reading; he had already provided a small number of electric motors for the "Pritchett and Gold" electric car. In defiance of conventional wisdom, he chose the Decauville exactly because it was the greatest vehicle he could afford in order to disassemble it and, in the words of his most well-known quote, "take the best that exists and make it better."
He started out by constructing three 10-HP, two-cylinder automobiles based on the Decauville configuration. Another indication of his determination and self-belief is the fact that he was the only person who thought this new course could save the company. Importantly, his meticulous attention to design and manufacturing, along with a constant assessment of components following analysis, established the production model he would stick to up until his passing.
The three-cylinder 15 HP, four-cylinder 20 HP, and six-cylinder 30 HP were the next examples, each of which represented a substantial advancement in vehicle design. Two years after Rolls-Royce was established, in 1906, Managing Director Claude Johnson persuaded the company to adopt a "one model" policy. To combat this, Royce created the 40/50 H.P. "Silver Ghost," a vehicle that rightfully earned the title "the best car in the world."
Long before scientific research could produce trustworthy data, Royce's use of the correct materials for components was proven by the Silver Ghost. He also discovered that the characteristics of fluids change with speed, so he added three jets to the Silver Ghost's carburetor that engaged at various throttle openings to prevent "flat spots."
AWAY AND HOME
It was clear by 1906 that Rolls-Royce's Cooke Street facilities in Manchester could not support the business's quickly rising motor car production. Rolls-Royce purchased a plot of land on Derby's Nightingale Road, where it planned and oversaw the construction of a brand-new factory. In addition to his regular workload, he took on this vast and technically challenging endeavor and demanded the same high standards from everyone involved, not least of all himself.
The severity of Royce's second significant health crisis in 1911 was not unexpected given the unrelenting volume and pace of his work. Rest was once again advised, and Johnson took him on a road trip that went as far as Egypt in the summer and fall. On the way back, they made a stop in the south of France, where Royce developed a strong affection for the quaint hamlet of Le Canadel, which is close to Nice. Always one to take action, Johnson purchased a plot of land and hired a builder to build Royce a new home as well as a smaller villa for his visiting assistants and draftsmen. Naturally, Royce himself developed a deep interest in the construction efforts and established himself in a neighboring hotel.
But his condition remained precarious. He went back to the now-completed mansion for recuperation following a setback that necessitated emergency surgery in England. He spent the winters at Le Canadel and the summers in the south of England for the rest of his life, which was extremely prudent.
Elmstead, an 18th-century home in the Sussex coast community of West Wittering, served as his home in England starting in 1917. It is only eight miles from the current home of Rolls-Royce, Goodwood. On some adjacent acreage owned by Elmstead, Royce picked up his long-standing passion for fruit farming once more. He unavoidably applied his pursuit of excellence to this endeavor as well, and he soon rose to prominence in several fields of agriculture and gardening.
Further evidence of his perfectionist temperament, which focused his attention on even the tiniest actions of others, may be found in his home life at Elmstead. Any prospective cook, for instance, would only be hired if they correctly boiled potatoes, much as a misfortunate worker at the Cooke Street Works was once reprimanded and instructed on how to use a broom.
A MARVELOUS LEGACY
Royce never stopped looking for perfection, whether he was creating car parts or airplane engines, but even he realized that it was actually impossible to achieve. Rub out, adjust, improve, and refine was his office staff's catchphrase, and this relentless pursuit of improvement and advancement produced some of his greatest engineering feats. He oversaw the transformation of the Buzzard aero engine, which had been constructed in 1927 and had an initial output of 825 HP, into the Schneider Trophy-winning 'R' engine, which, in its final configuration, could produce 2,783 HP, in just four years. Additionally, three years after his passing, the Phantom III debuted in 1936 with a V12 engine that nearly matched his original outline design. He was an instinctual, intuitive engineer who firmly believed that if something appeared to be right, it most often was. Time and time again, his exceptional eye-only ability to evaluate components proved unfailing.
Royce's propensity for working too much, frequently at the expense of his health, was a sign of his pursuit of perfection and a drive to accomplish it fortified by struggle and adversity. He overcame numerous disappointments and disasters by applying his precise engineer's eye, inquiring mind, and unwavering work ethic to every facet of his life. Some may even say he was obsessed. Due to the strength of his ethos and legacy, the business that carries his name is still guided and inspired by them, 160 years after his birth.