Ford Motor Company

With the survivability of his company in serious doubt, William Clay Ford, Jr. dismissed himself as CEO of Ford Motor Company in September 2006 and appointed Boeing engineer Alan R. Mulally as President and CEO. However, Mr. Mulally's appointment was risky because he had no automotive experience, and past efforts to hire outsiders at Ford were not successful. The 34 chapters 230 plus page book reviews how Ford reinvented itself, and did not join GM and Chrysler into Chapter 11. Importantly, the book includes management lessons learned from the turnaround, which can be applied in any industry.When Mr. Mulally joined Ford, the company had reached a state it had not experienced since the late 1920s and 1945. A shake-up was urgently required; it was not an assignment for the faint of heart because of Ford's: declining profits, uncompetitive cost structure, poor product quality, unattractive cars, unhappy dealers, dissatisfied suppliers and Ford's factories lagged behind competition. Clearly, Mr. Mulally was confronted with "Mission Impossible." Ford was boxed in by: $17 billion in Automotive debt, a deep slump in introducing high-volume and exciting new cars, and facing lower-cost aggressive Asian rivals. In addition, Mr. Mulally had no automotive experience, and never held a CEO position. Mr. Mulally first established a clear vision for the new Ford corporate strategy and challenged the entire Ford way of doing business. Mr. Mulally methodically prepared an aggressive business plan to correct the deficiencies, and established tough goals to achieve the reinvention of Ford Motor Company. Since he had no automotive experience, he was able to think "outside the box."The most exciting headline from Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.A. is: America is witnessing one of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds in U.S. history. It is one of the few "feel good" American business stories in recent years. Under Mr. Mulally' leadership, Ford Motor Company has moved from the weakest of the "Big Three" to the top of the class. Ford is the new "Wunderkind" of the worldwide automotive industry. Ford's approach is a textbook case study how to reinvent a giant company. Under Mr. Mulally, all elements of the company were transformed such as: production capacity has been reduced by 40%, the break-even level has declined by about 45%, hourly manpower reduced by 40%, product quality improved dramatically, the balance sheet has been strengthened and employee morale is sky high. Lastly, he is omnipresent with a game plan Vince Lombardi would have been proud of.Nobody could have ever imagined in 2006 that Mr. Mulally would eventually be celebrated as a game-changer, and toasted as the "superstar" in two of America's marquee industries. Clearly, Mr. Mulally is the new American business icon. However, in my crystal ball of the 2015 auto industry, everybody will again be chasing Toyota, which will be running on all cylinders. Hyundai will be the unstoppable shark. In addition, GM will be a formidable competitor once more, and VW AG claims that it will be the new auto industry shining star by 2018. Therefore, Rick Newman of U.S. News & World Report advised Ford in an October 2010 article, "This is not the time to turn on the cruise control."