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I nt heAmer i c anaut omobi l ei ndus t r y ,For dwasnot or i ousf ori t scaus t i ccor por at ec ul t ur e. Ex e c u t i v e spu tt h ei ro wna dv a n c eme nta ndt h es u c c es soft h ei ro wnd ep ar t me nt sah ea d oft hebo t t om l i ne.Thec ompan ywasdi v i dedi nt owar r i n gfi ef doms .Di ff er ents et sofd at a wer eus edt omak edi ff er entpo i nt st odi ff er entc ons t i t uenc i es .Andt heaut omak er c ons i s t ent l ybetbi gonhomer unpr oduc t sonl yt ol ett hem l angui s haf t ert hei ri ni t i al s u c c e s s . Appl y i ngt hes ameme t hodshehadus edt os av eBoei ngaf t ert het er r or i s tat t ac k sof Sept ember11,2001anni hi l at edi t sor derbook ,Mul al l yt r ans f or medt hi ss hor t s i ght ed, c ut t hr oat ,c ar eer i s tc ul t ur ei nt oamodel ofc ol l abor at i onandeffic i enc y .Heac hi ev edt hat r es ul tbydoi ngt hef ol l owi ng:
FORCI NG EVERYONETO " JOI NTHETEAM" M" Bef or eMul al l yar r i v edi nDear bor n,For dmee t i ngswer ear enasofmor t al c ombat . Ex e cut i v esent er edt hem e yi ngea chot herf oradv ant age,l ook i ngf orweaks po t si neac h ot her ’ sar mor ,r eadyt odr i v ehomeas hi vatt hefi r s ts i gnofv ul ner abi l i t y .Asar es ul t ,l i t t l e wasac c ompl i s hedbe y onds el f pr es er v at i on.Mul al l yma madehi sweek l yex e cut i v e me et i n gsas af een v i r on me me ntwher edat ac oul dbes har edwi t h ou tb l a me me ." So a nd s o h asap r ob l em.He ’ sno tt h epr o bl e m, m, "t heup be atCEO t o l dt h eas s emb l ede x ec ut i v e s . " Wh oc a nh el ph i m wi t ht h at ? " T omak es ur et he ygo tt hemes s age,Mu l al l yt i edeac he x ec ut i v e ’ sper f or manc et ot he s u c c e s so ft h ec o mp mp an ya sawh ol e .
I NSI STI NG ONARI GOROUSRELI ANCEON THEFACTS Atpr eMul al l yFor d,t het r ut hc amei nman ydi ff er entfl av or s .Di ff er entnumber swer e u sedf ord i ff er en ta ud i e nc es .For dwa sal s ob i gone x c us es .Th er ewa sa l wa y sar e as on whyt hi ngsdi dnotwor koutac cor di ngt opl an,buti tr ar el yhadany t hi ngt odowi t ht he r ootc aus esofFor d’ sdy s f unc t i on. I nMu l al l y ’ sweek l y" Bus i nes sPl anRe vi e w"mee t i ngs ,eac he x ec ut i v ewasr equ i r edt o pr o vi deac ompr ehens i v eupdat eont hepr ogr es st hei rdi v i s i onordepar t mentwas mak i ngagai ns tt hebac k dr opofhi st ur nar oundpl an.Bec aus eal l ofFor d’ ss eni or e x ec ut i v eswer er equi r edt oat t ende v er yweek ,an ydi s c r epanc i esi nt hedat awer e q ui c k l yex p os ed.An db ec au sen oe x pl an at i o nswer ea l l o wedi nt he s es es s i on s, e v er y onehadanoppor t uni t yt oc onc ent r at eont hef ac t soft hec ompan y’ sper f or manc e. " Ther e’ snowher et ohi de, "Mul al l yt ol dme.
CREATI NG ONEFORD I tdi dnott ak eMul al l yl ongt or eal i z et hatt her ewasnotj us toneFor d,butmany .I n addi t i ont oj us tpl ai nFor d,t her ewasFor dofEur ope,For dofAs i aandahos tofot her di v i s i onsands ubs i di ar i es .Andt her ewasl i t t l ec oor di nat i on,orev enc ooper at i on b et we eni t sman ypa r t s . Mul al l y ’ sfi r s tpr i or i t ywast owel dt hes edi s par at er egi onal di v i s i onst oget heri nt oa s i ngl e,gl obal ent er pr i s e.Bydoi ngt hat ,hewasabl et oc r eat epr ev i ous l yuni magi nabl e e con omi e sofs c al ean dc r e at eamu l t i n at i o na lau t o mo t i v epo we r h ou se. I nanear l ymeet i ngwi t hr epor t er s ,Mul al l ywasas k edi fhewasi nt er es t edi namer ger . " Yes ! "heex c l ai medwi t habi ggr i nasweal l whi ppedopenourno t ebook s ." We ’ r egoi ng t omer gewi t hour s el v es . "
BUI LDI NG CARSANDTRUCKSTHATPEOPLEACTUALL Y WANTED Thi smi ghts eem l i k eanobr ai ner ,buti nDet r oi ti n2006i tbor der edonr adi c al t hi nk i ng. Li k eGener al Mot or sandChr y s l er ,For dwasl oc k edi nt ouni onc ont r ac t snegot i at edi n bet t ert i mest hatpr ev ent edi tf r om l ay i ngoffwor k er sorc l os i ngpl ant s .Soi tfi l l edt hos e f ac t or i eswi t hc heapv ehi c l esands ol dt hem atal os s . Bef or eheagr eedt or epl ac eBi l l For dJ r .asCEO,Mul al l yt ol dt hegr eat gr ands onof Henr yFor dt hathei nt endedno t hi ngl es st hanac omp l et e,t opt obot t om r eboot oft he pr oduc tl i neup.Fr om no w on,e v er yne w For dwoul dbet hebes tv ehi c l ei ni t scl as s .Thi s p r o duc tr en ai s s anc ewou l dn otb ec hea pa ndFor dwasr u nn i n go uto fc a sh,b utMu l al l y i ns i s t edoni t ." You’ v ebeengoi ngoutofbus i nes sf or30y ear s , "Mul al l yt ol dBi l l For d. " Thi si showt ogetbac ki ni t . "
COMI NG UPWI THONEPLAN ANDSTI CKI NG TO I T For dhadpl ent yofpl ansbef or eMul al l y .I nf ac t ,i tus ual l ycameupwi t hadi ffer entone e v er yy earo rs o.An dwh ent h aton ed i dn otwor k ,i tc ameu pwi t ha no t h er . ButMul al l y ’ spl anwasdi ffer ent .I twass i mpl e,c ons i s t i ngofj us tf ourpoi nt s .You’ v ej us t r eadaboutt hr eeoft hem:Comi ngt oget herasat eam,l e v er agi ngFor d’ sgl obal as s et s , andbui l di ngc ar sandt r uc k st hatpeopl ewant edandval ued.Thef our t hpoi ntwasput t i ng t oget hert hefi nanc i ngnec es sar yt opayf ori tal l . Mul al l yk ep thammer i nghomet hes ef ourpo i nt si ne v er ymee t i ng,e v er yt o wnhal l s es s i on,ev er yanal y s tmeet i ngandpr es sconf er enc e.Af t erMul al l ydel i v er edt hes ame s t u mps pe ec hatt h eNe wYo r ka ut os ho wi nAp r i l 2 00 7,Ia s k e dh i m wh enhewa sgo i n g t oc omeupwi t hs omet hi ngnew." But ,Br y c e,we’ r es t i l l wor k i ngont hi spl an, "her epl i ed. " Un t i l wea c hi e v et h es eg oa l s ,wh ywo ul dwen ee da no t h ero ne ?" Hewasr i ght .AndFor dk eptwor k i ngont hatpl anunt i l i tb ec amet hemos tpr ofi t abl e aut omak eri nt hewor l d.
How Outsider Alan Mulally Rescued Ford Some people underestimate Alan Mulally when they first meet him. Ford Motor Co.'s 66-year-old chief executive, who rew up in !ansas and once aspired to "e an astronaut, loo#s and sometimes acts li#e an overrown $oy Scout. %e laces his speech with words such as &neat,& &cool& and &a"solutely.& $ut the farm-"oy exterior conceals one of "usiness' touhest, most ruthless manaers. hen a desperate $ill Ford recruited Mulally from $oein in ())6, Ford was headin for a *+(.-"illion loss and on the vere of losin its o. ( sales spot in the .S. to /oyota "ecause of poor manaement and an uninspirin vehicle lineup. Four years later, Ford reported a *6.6-"illion profit 0 the "iest in the sector that year 0 and /oyota was comparin its cars with Fords, not %ondas, in its ads. 1n his new "oo# &American 1con2 Alan Mulally and the Fiht to Save Ford Motor Company,& author $ryce 3. %offman, a veteran reporter with the 4etroit ews, details &one of the reatest turnarounds in "usiness history& and, to a lesser extent, the man "ehind it. 5u"lished "y Crown $usiness, the "oo# ma#es for a fascinatin read for anyone who follows the car industry others may find the story enain too, if hard wor# in places. Ford was in deep trou"le in ())6, with a poisonous culture in which executives fouht turf wars and sat throuh endless meetins "ut made the real decisions elsewhere. hen Mulally arrived, many of its senior manaers in 4ear"orn, Mich., did not dein to drive Fords or even cars made "y its rivals, preferrin the 7auars and 8and 9overs made "y its loss-ma#in $ritish luxury "rands. /he new "oss made them drive :ol#swaens and %ondas. 1mportin a practice from $oein, he introduced wee#ly meetins that were mandatory for all senior manaers. ;xecutives were "arred from usin $lac#$errys or "elittlin one another they were re
1nitially, Mulally faced resistance in a company 0 indeed, an industry 0 that has always viewed outsiders with suspicion. $ut he made a series of canny decisions and astute appointments that protected Ford as the .S. car industry headed into a crisis in ())= that nearly san# the century-old company and its two 4etroit competitors, 3eneral Motors and Chrysler. Mulally protected product spendin even as Ford cut thousands of staff and economi>ed on everythin else, down to paper clips and plant waterin. %e made touh decisions only a cold-eyed non-car enthusiast would, such as sellin Ford's ;uropean premium "rands and its sta#e in Ma>da so it could focus on its core &"lue oval& mass-mar#et cars. Some of the masterstro#es attri"uted to Mulally were already underway when he ?oined. %is predecessors had "eun steps to "orrow *(@.6 "illion in ())6, ?ust "efore credit mar#ets closed. $ut Mulally sealed that deal 0 "rilliant in hindsiht "ecause it ena"led Ford to refuse a federal "ailout and a trip throuh "an#ruptcy that would have seen its shareholdin family's mem"ers diluted out of their "irthriht. Avoidin Chapter ++ "an#ruptcy also ave Ford's cars an ede over 3M and Chrysler with .S. consumers, while "etter vehicles developed on Mulally's watch "ean rollin into dealerships. Some of the stories in the "oo# have "een told "efore, "ut the author delivers much new, excellent reportin collected in interviews with all the main people concerned. Mulally is a constantly chipper, "oosterish presence, whether "uc#in up dispirited colleaues, preparin for a presentation in Conress or huin a dum"founded customer at a dealership in Shanhai. &Mulally ripped off the "andae, cauteri>ed the wound and cured the disease,& the author concludes, with his typical usto. &nly an outsider could do that.&
