American Icon
Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
(Sprache: Englisch)
American Icon is a gripping, fly-on-the-wall narrative of the Ford Motor Company's seemingly imminent collapse and astounding turnaround. It is also an in-depth case study of how Mulally, a Detroit outsider, transformed Ford's management, its cars, its...
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American Icon is a gripping, fly-on-the-wall narrative of the Ford Motor Company's seemingly imminent collapse and astounding turnaround. It is also an in-depth case study of how Mulally, a Detroit outsider, transformed Ford's management, its cars, its public image, and an entrenched corporate culture filled with backbiting, politics, and personal vendettas.
Klappentext zu „American Icon “
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE EPIC TURNAROUND OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CEO ALAN MULALLY. At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline, but Ford decided to save itself. Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally, Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations, transform its lackluster product lineup, and overcome a dys-functional culture of infighting, backstabbing, and excuses. It was an extraordinary risk, but it was the only way the Ford family--America's last great industrial dynasty--could hold on to their company. Mulally and his team pulled off one of the great-est comebacks in business history. As the rest of Detroit collapsed, Ford went from the brink of bankruptcy to being the most profitable automaker in the world. "American Icon" is the compelling, behind-the-scenes account of that epic turnaround. On the verge of collapse, Ford went outside the auto industry and recruited Mulally--the man who had already saved Boeing from the deathblow of 9/11--to lead a sweeping restructuring of a company that had been unable to overcome decades of mismanage-ment and denial. Mulally applied the principles he developed at Boeing to streamline Ford's inefficient operations, force its fractious executives to work together as a team, and spark a product renaissance in Dearborn. He also convinced the United Auto Workers to join his fight for the soul of American manufacturing. Bryce Hoffman reveals the untold story of the covert meetings with UAW leaders that led to a game-changing contract, Bill Ford's battle to hold the Ford family together when many were ready to cash in their stock and write off the company, and the secret alliance with Toyota and Honda that helped prop up the Amer-ican automotive supply base. In
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one of the great management narratives of our time, Hoffman puts the reader inside the boardroom as Mulally uses his celebrated Business Plan Review meet-ings to drive change and force Ford to deal with the painful realities of the American auto industry. Hoffman was granted unprecedented access to Ford's top executives and top-secret company documents. He spent countless hours with Alan Mulally, Bill Ford, the Ford family, former executives, labor leaders, and company directors. In the bestselling tradition of Too Big to Fail and The Big Short, American Icon is narrative nonfiction at its vivid and colorful best.
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Lese-Probe zu „American Icon “
CHAPTER 1The House That Henry Built
Business men go down with their businesses because they like the old way so well they cannot bring themselves to change. One sees them all about-men who do not know that yesterday is past, and who woke up this morning with their last year's ideas.
-HENRY FORD
While many of Ford Motor Company's problems were shared by the rest of Detroit, the Dearborn automaker also faced some challenges all its own. Ford's woes had not begun with the arrival of the Japanese in the 1960s or the oil crises of the 1970s. The company had been struggling with itself since Henry Ford started it on June 16, 1903. It invested massively in game-changing products, and then did nothing to keep them competitive. It allowed cults of personality to form around large-than-life leaders, but drove away the talent needed to support them. And it allowed a caustic corporate culture to eat away at the company from the inside. These were birth defects that could be traced back to the automaker's earliest days. Henry Ford liked to boast that he had created the modern world. In many ways, he had. But he also created a company that was its own worst enemy.
Henry Ford began that company with a simple vision: "I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one-and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."
Ford made good on that promise with his Model T, a simple, reliable, no-nonsense car that transformed the automobile from a rich man's toy into a means of transportation for the masses. When the Model T went on sale on October 1, 1908, most cars cost a small fortune. It started at $850-less than
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$20,000 in today's money. "Even You Can Afford a Ford," the company's billboards proclaimed. But Ford did not stop there.
As demand for these Tin Lizzies grew, the pioneering manufacturer began building them on the world's first moving assembly lines. This cut the average time it took to produce a Ford from thirteen hours to just ninety minutes. But workers got bored on Ford's assembly lines, and turnover was high. So, in January 1914, the company stunned the world by announcing that it would pay workers $5 a day. It was America's first minimum wage, and it was more than twice what most other laborers made at the time. As news spread, tens of thousands of men-particularly in the underdeveloped South-threw down their picks and hoes and headed for Detroit. Ford's $5-a-day wage sparked one of the largest economic migrations since the California Gold Rush and created the industrial middle class. As Henry Ford would later boast, it also made his workers as reliable as his machines. Mass production allowed Ford to cut costs and boost efficiency. He passed the savings on to consumers and made his money on the added volume. Henry Ford claimed that every dollar he shaved off the price of his car bought him a thousand new customers. By 1925, the price of a Model T had dropped to $260-just over $3,000 today-and Ford was making more than 1.6 million of them a year.
It was an impressive figure for the time, but it was nearly 200,000 less than the company was making just two years before. Despite the massive price cuts, sales of the Model T were slumping. So was Ford's share of the market, which peaked in 1921 at 61.5 percent. Other automakers, like General Motors, were regularly introducing new models-each one an improvement over its predecessor. The Model T had seen few updates. It was old technology, yet Henry Ford stubbornly refused to begin work on a replacement. He thought it was all the automobile the average person needed. When his engine
As demand for these Tin Lizzies grew, the pioneering manufacturer began building them on the world's first moving assembly lines. This cut the average time it took to produce a Ford from thirteen hours to just ninety minutes. But workers got bored on Ford's assembly lines, and turnover was high. So, in January 1914, the company stunned the world by announcing that it would pay workers $5 a day. It was America's first minimum wage, and it was more than twice what most other laborers made at the time. As news spread, tens of thousands of men-particularly in the underdeveloped South-threw down their picks and hoes and headed for Detroit. Ford's $5-a-day wage sparked one of the largest economic migrations since the California Gold Rush and created the industrial middle class. As Henry Ford would later boast, it also made his workers as reliable as his machines. Mass production allowed Ford to cut costs and boost efficiency. He passed the savings on to consumers and made his money on the added volume. Henry Ford claimed that every dollar he shaved off the price of his car bought him a thousand new customers. By 1925, the price of a Model T had dropped to $260-just over $3,000 today-and Ford was making more than 1.6 million of them a year.
It was an impressive figure for the time, but it was nearly 200,000 less than the company was making just two years before. Despite the massive price cuts, sales of the Model T were slumping. So was Ford's share of the market, which peaked in 1921 at 61.5 percent. Other automakers, like General Motors, were regularly introducing new models-each one an improvement over its predecessor. The Model T had seen few updates. It was old technology, yet Henry Ford stubbornly refused to begin work on a replacement. He thought it was all the automobile the average person needed. When his engine
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Autoren-Porträt von Bryce G. Hoffman
Bryce G. Hoffman
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Bryce G. Hoffman
- 2013, 432 Seiten, Masse: 13,3 x 20,3 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: Penguin Random House
- ISBN-10: 0307886069
- ISBN-13: 9780307886064
- Erscheinungsdatum: 25.01.2013
Sprache:
Englisch
Rezension zu „American Icon “
"A standout...brimming with smart observations and fresh insights into Ford's success." -Alex Taylor, "Fortune" " " "Fly-on-the-wall accounts of Mulally negotiating deals and Ford overcoming challenges from the inside and outside...A paean to the ingenuity, grit and optimism that once defined American industry and to capitalism played with government on the sidelines." -"Reuters" " " "A compelling narrative that reads more like a thriller than a business book." -"New York Times" " " "A must-read." -"Huffington Post" " " "A fascinating read for anyone who follows the car industry." "-Financial Times" "A "Detroit News" journalist's in-the-room account of the resurrection of America's most storied car company...With colorful anecdotes, sharp character sketches, telling details and a firm understanding of the industry, Hoffman fleshes out every aspect of this tale, reminding us of the hard work, tension, and high-stakes drama that preceded the successful result." --"Kirkus" "Bryce Hoffman has done a stellar job of capturing the Ford story--and more to the point showing us how Mulally did it. "American Icon" is a story of leadership that offers valuable lessons for organizations of all sizes." --Lee Iacocca "Bryce G. Hoffman's "American Icon "brilliantly recounts the Lazarus-like resurgence of the Ford Motor Company under the bold and inspiring leadership of CEO Alan Mulally. Hoffman, one of America's best auto industry reporters, has written a timely book about the relevance of Ford that serves as a larger metaphor for America at large. Highly recommend!" --Douglas Brinkley, professor of history, Rice University, and author of "Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress" "Bryce Hoffman has written a riveting tome based on deep insider information about the resurrection of the Ford Motor Company from a near death experience and the establishment of a business model that promises to beA
Pressezitat
A standout brimming with smart observations and fresh insights into Ford s success. Alex Taylor, FortuneFly-on-the-wall accounts of Mulally negotiating deals and Ford overcoming challenges from the inside and outside A paean to the ingenuity, grit and optimism that once defined American industry and to capitalism played with government on the sidelines. Reuters
A compelling narrative that reads more like a thriller than a business book. New York Times
A must-read. Huffington Post
A fascinating read for anyone who follows the car industry. Financial Times
A Detroit News journalist s in-the-room account of the resurrection of America s most storied car company With colorful anecdotes, sharp character sketches, telling details and a firm understanding of the industry, Hoffman fleshes out every aspect of this tale, reminding us of the hard work, tension, and high-stakes drama that preceded the successful result. Kirkus
Bryce Hoffman has done a stellar job of capturing the Ford story and more to the point showing us how Mulally did it. American Icon is a story of leadership that offers valuable lessons for organizations of all sizes. Lee Iacocca
Bryce G. Hoffman s American Icon brilliantly recounts the Lazarus-like resurgence of the Ford Motor Company under the bold and inspiring leadership of CEO Alan Mulally. Hoffman, one of America s best auto industry reporters, has written a timely book about the relevance of Ford that serves as a larger metaphor for America at large. Highly recommend! Douglas Brinkley, professor of history, Rice University, and author of Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress
Bryce Hoffman has written a riveting tome based on deep insider information about the resurrection of the Ford Motor Company from a near death experience and the establishment of
... mehr
a business model that promises to be a prototype for large organizations of all types. It features the transformation from a top-down style of leadership to that of a coach led by CEO Alan Mulally whose focus is the team, the team, the team. David E. Cole, chairman emeritus, Center for Automotive Research
From the precipitous demise of an American icon through decades of infighting and self-destructive management to a turnaround not only financial but also in terms of forging the foundation of a new, healthy culture, this book reads like an un-put-downable novel. Bryce Hoffman s amazing inside access tells the story of how Alan Mullally built on Henry Ford s own management principles which quickly got lost in the company and created one company, with one purpose and a passion for product and customers. A great story. Jeffrey Liker, professor, University of Michigan, and author of The Toyota Way
Amazing. I would give Alan Mulally twelve D s for his work at Ford, for Discipline, Data, Daring, Determination, Design, Direction, Decisiveness, Delivery, Doubt-Free, Debt Free, Downsizing, and of course, Dearborn. I thought I was disciplined until I read how Mulally worked. Bryce is a gifted writer, and American Icon is both educational and entertaining. Most telling of all I learned from reading this book. Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President, Walt Disney World Resort, and author of Creating Magic
After decades of stories about the failure of America s traditional industries to meet world competition, it is heartening to encounter a signal success. But Bryce Hoffman s rendering of how Alan Mulally reversed the fortunes of Ford Motor is more than heartening; it is riveting. Almost certainly one of the best business books of the year. H. W. Brands, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, and author of Traitor to His Class and The First American
This superbly reported book is not just about cars. It is an authoritative and inspiring account of leadership, management, corporate culture, and the prospects for American manufacturing. John Taylor, author of Storming the Magic Kingdom
From the precipitous demise of an American icon through decades of infighting and self-destructive management to a turnaround not only financial but also in terms of forging the foundation of a new, healthy culture, this book reads like an un-put-downable novel. Bryce Hoffman s amazing inside access tells the story of how Alan Mullally built on Henry Ford s own management principles which quickly got lost in the company and created one company, with one purpose and a passion for product and customers. A great story. Jeffrey Liker, professor, University of Michigan, and author of The Toyota Way
Amazing. I would give Alan Mulally twelve D s for his work at Ford, for Discipline, Data, Daring, Determination, Design, Direction, Decisiveness, Delivery, Doubt-Free, Debt Free, Downsizing, and of course, Dearborn. I thought I was disciplined until I read how Mulally worked. Bryce is a gifted writer, and American Icon is both educational and entertaining. Most telling of all I learned from reading this book. Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President, Walt Disney World Resort, and author of Creating Magic
After decades of stories about the failure of America s traditional industries to meet world competition, it is heartening to encounter a signal success. But Bryce Hoffman s rendering of how Alan Mulally reversed the fortunes of Ford Motor is more than heartening; it is riveting. Almost certainly one of the best business books of the year. H. W. Brands, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, and author of Traitor to His Class and The First American
This superbly reported book is not just about cars. It is an authoritative and inspiring account of leadership, management, corporate culture, and the prospects for American manufacturing. John Taylor, author of Storming the Magic Kingdom
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