Leadership lessons from the CEO of Ford
01-Oct-2009
Alan Mullaly the CEO of Ford was interviewed in the New York Times in September 2009. Here’s a summary.
Connect with the outside world
The more senior your management position is, the more important it is to connect what you are doing with the outside world. Where is the world going? Where is technology going? Where are your customers going? Where is the competition going? What business are you really in? What are you going to focus on?
Core purpose
One of my favorite stories is the three bricklayers. The first bricklayer says, “I’m making a living laying bricks.” The second bricklayer says, “I’m going to be the best bricklayer ever.” The third bricklayer says, “I’m building a cathedral.” There is technical excellence and professionalism, but we all want to contribute to making a cathedral. The more we feel that and know what our part in it is - the more you can take team performance to a whole new level of excellence.
The leader’s role
The most important thing is to create a shared view about what you’re trying to accomplish. What is the real goal, the real mission? How do you get everybody included - where everybody’s contributing? How do you create a comprehensive plan where you get everyone to pull together?
Core Values
What are the expected behaviors? How do we want to treat each other? How do we want to act? How can we create a safe environment where we learn what’s really going on?
Balance the near term with the longer term
You absolutely want to keep investing for the future, even though you could invest less and make your business performance look better in the near term. Do you have a plan that works in the near term and also creates value for the long term?
Career advice
Don’t manage your career. Follow your dream and contribute. Think about exceeding expectations in every job you’re asked to do. Continually ask for feedback. Ask everybody what you can do to do an even better job, and the world will beat down your door.
Time management
I try to have one integrated life. I don’t have separate buckets of my life, like my family life or my personal life or my work life. I just have one integrated schedule, and my kids and my wife have access to my calendar. They all just build into the calendar whenever they need me.
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Stephen Lynch
Chief Operating Officer - Global Operations
RESULTS.com
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