What I know about Ford finally made public

[Ohio XB]

Finally, a great article about how Ford works now and what is different. This really illustrates the "New Ford" I've been touting on the board. The title of the article is Four Reasons Ford May Be a Company of the Future.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-s..._b_180234.html

Just a couple clips from the article. Please read the whole thing.


But if you spend a day with CEO Alan Mulally and his top executives, as I did recently, what you discover is a group of people who are laser-focused, hopeful, proud and incredibly passionate about the mission they're on - even without retention bonuses or long term incentive plans.


2. Transparency rules. My colleague Annie Perrin and I began our day at Ford at 8:00 a.m. by attending Ford's weekly Business Plan Review, which includes all of its senior executives around the world. Outsiders are regularly invited to observe the meeting. Every executive reports in on any new information that might influence Ford's overall revenue projections, or any other part of its plan. Mulally operates on the assumption that the truth will set you free, even when it hurts.

3. Personal responsibility. The day we were there, one Ford executive described a significant shortfall on a particular projection. It was the sort of acknowledgement that might have prompted high drama in many boardrooms. In this case, the executive simply went on to list the ways he intended to address the shortfall over the coming days, and invited other suggestions. No energy was wasted in wringing hands or avoiding responsibility or assigning blame. The focus was entirely on solutions.


Consumer Reports last month recommended 70 per cent of Ford's vehicles, for example, vs. 17 per cent of GM's and none of Chrysler's.



Steve