ABSTRACT
When I first arrived at Henry Ford, the head of human resources carried a small notebook. He brought it with him to meetings and kept it out on his desk. On the cover in black lettering it read: “Head Count.” I was the only one who was appalled by this convention. Everyone else was accustomed to the notebook and phrase. It was common management parlance but it stuck in my craw like nothing else. I remember saying to him in a serious tone, “I don’t ever want to hear that term again when we’re talking about people.” To me, the term head count refers to cattle or sheep. Maybe to chickens. But not ever to people. People are not interchangeable, and they are so much more than a number.
