In this article, we’ll look at some of the most famous decisions ever made by people in business. By the end of it, this list could include your name.

If you are responsible for purchasing the fuel that powers a commercial boiler, you may have heard about something called IHO – Industrial Heating Oil. If diesel has been your “go to” fuel to do that job for many years, the idea of deviating from it feels unsettling and potentially risky.

However, those that have made the switch have never looked back. In fact, one of our dedicated Account Managers reported that their client called it “one of the great business decisions I’ve made”.

This got us thinking about some of the other great business decisions over the years. Where would using Industrial Heating Oil to fuel a commercial boiler rank on that list?

We’ve flicked through the pages of the business history books and found these moments of amazing foresight, wisdom and bravery that have helped shaped the world in which we now live.

Henry Ford doubles his staff’s wages – 1914

The automotive giant took a decision that stunned the business world. He voluntarily doubled the wages of his workers.

It was increased to $5 a day, more than twice the average for the industry at the time. Not only that he also reduced the working day by an hour.

A hugely controversial move, even within his own company; however, his reasoning was twofold. Firstly, it meant he attracted the best working talent and he employed staff who felt invested in the business. His revolutionary production line technique had already seen a car’s construction time come down from 12 hours per car, to just 93 minutes. But it was intense and repetitive work – prior to the change, Ford’s annual staff turnover was a staggering 370%. He needed dedicated and talented workers, which he was now able to cherry-pick. His staff turnover plummeted to just 16% and his productivity rocketed.

His second reason for the wage increase was that he suddenly put a huge amount of cash into the local economy. His own workforce became his primary customer base; just four months wages was enough for a Ford employee to be able to afford the highly desirable Ford Model-T, and thanks to the pride that they felt as a result of the inflated pay-packet, they couldn’t wait to drive a car off the production line for themselves.

Did it work?

By the end of the year, Ford had sold more cars than all of the other car makers combined. By 1920, Ford was selling over a million cars a year.

George Lucas takes a pay-cut for Star Wars

The executives at 20th Century Fox eventually make him an offer, despite openly not understanding the concept.

Thanks to a brilliant agent, Lucas was personally offered a hugely generous $500,000 to make Star Wars.

But he declined, instead opting for just $150,000 with two important contract stipulations. They were that:

  • He would own all of the merchandising rights for the franchise and that
  • He would retain the rights to any sequels to the franchise

Movie sequels and successful merchandising campaigns were not common at that time, so to 20th Century Fox these seemed like minor caveats.

But to George Lucas these would be two of the most crucial contract terms and conditions he ever presided over. His net worth is now said to be roughly $5.1bn. The force is indeed strong in this one.

Netflix trust something called ‘the Internet’

In 2005 Blockbuster was valued at $8bn. By 2013 all of its worldwide stores had closed.

In 2005, Netflix was a mid-weight company shipping DVDs to people’s homes. It is currently valued at $3.7bn and growing.

So, what happened?

In 2007, Netflix delivered its billionth DVD and they celebrated this landmark by stopping the DVD rental arm of the business. They took the well-informed gamble to focus solely on streamed video that can be accessed and watched instantly via the internet. The move seemed risky to many, as DVDs were still the first choice format in the US. However, their forecasting and trend projection encouraged them to invest their resources in their online streaming.

By 2013 they had 29.4 million customers streaming their services when at roughly the same time Blockbuster was completing the closure of its stores having persisted with their DVD rental model.

Arguably the most galling part of this tale for Blockbuster is that back in 1999 the Founder of Netflix, Reed Hastings, had offered to sell his then fledgling company to Blockbuster for $50m. An offer they declined.

Let’s recap the names on this list of ‘greatest business decision of all time’; Henry Ford, George Lucas, Reed Hastings of Netflix, and you.

Businesses switch to our industrial heating oil to generate heat in commercial boilers

If you use a commercial boiler to generate heat, you may have spent years fuelling it with diesel.

We have a guide which outlines who can and cannot use red diesel from April 2022, but businesses that used red diesel for heating have a choice to make: switch to an alternative fuel, or foot the bill for an entirely redesigned heating system.

For businesses looking to save money and reduce financial pressures, we have the perfect alternative to using red diesel or DERV in your system: Speedy Flame IHO.

There are numerous stand-out benefits to our Speedy Flame IHO over diesel:

  • Compatible and totally miscible with commercially available heating oils, diesel and hydrogenated vegetable oils – no need to empty fuel tanks before receipt of IHO deliveries
  • Equal calorific value and physical properties to diesel – same heat output for less money
  • Miscible with diesel – No need to empty your fuel tanks or modify your burner
  • Available with same/next day delivery
  • Low CFPP/pour point, providing year-round performance
  • Contains multifunctional additive –improves combustion efficiency, reduces combustion chamber deposits and provides fuel system cleanliness and corrosion protection.
  • Light colour, low odour and sediment-free

Here at Speedy Fuels, our specialist in-house chemists are experts in their field. This means our IHO is of the highest possible quality and is being continuously developed and tested to maintain peak performance.

With emergency delivery options and nationwide delivery available, making the change to Speedy Flame IHO for use in a commercial boiler is easy and convenient, meaning you can start enjoying considerable savings almost instantly.

Want to make the switch to Speedy Flame IHO? Give our knowledgeable fuel experts a call on 0330 123 3773 to learn more and request a quote today.