american-icon

<blockquote>"Running a business is a design job.  You need a point of view about the future, a really good plan to deliver that future, and then <i>relentless</i> implementation."</blockquote>While Steve Jobs is hailed as one of the best business leaders of the modern era, Alan Mulally might be one of the best kept secrets in American business.  <strong>[book:American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company|13132620]</strong> delivers a compelling, insightful read on par with <strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/227328933">Steve Jobs</a>.</strong>

Bryce Hoffman's inside look at Ford Motor Company explores the daring decision to shun bailout money at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.  The seeds of this decision were planted two years earlier when Bill Ford relinquished control of day-to-day operations to Alan Mulally who was passed over for the CEO position at Boeing.

Lessons in effective leadership are woven throughout this chronological tale starting with identifying the company's fundamental problem: Ford was not making cars that people wanted to buy.  Thus began Mulally's quest to match capacity with demand. 

The cornerstone of execution began with a weekly Business Plan Review that all business unit leaders were required to attend.  Far from a dreaded "staff meeting" each department head was required to distill his/her progress toward the goal of matching capacity with demand.

The status of every project would be displayed as a colored box: green, yellow or red. To insure that honesty would not be penalized, Mulally celebrated the first time one of his executives had the courage to present a project update that was not labeled "green."<blockquote>"This is the only way I know how to operate.  We need to have everybody involved.  We need to have a plan.  And we need to know where we are on the plan."</blockquote>Relentless implementation of The Plan resulted in a nearly 1,600 percent increase in Ford's stock price over a two-year period starting from the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.

If you liked <strong><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/227328933">Steve Jobs</a>,</strong> then consider <strong>American Icon</strong> to be a worthy, if less publicized, five-star bookend.

Access Gene Babon's reviews of books on <strong>Business Leadership</strong> and <strong>Business Strategy</strong> at <strong><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/webapprentices/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>.</strong>