This case study is available in a 90-minute or 180-minute online (Zoom) format
Alan Mulally was the CEO at Boeing during 9/11 – he joined Ford when the company was on the brink of declaring bankruptcy… and was on track to lose $17B that year. This was at the time when the ‘Big 3’ American motor manufacturers were facing the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008.
They all knew what needed to be done, but only one of them implemented a turnaround strategy. It was Ford, under Mulally’s leadership, who made the bold moves and ensured the ultimate comeback story.
Your strategy is set, your teams know what the objectives and priorities are, but how visible is their progress? Do you know what obstacles and struggles they’re facing? How are they solving their problems? Does your leadership team know the whole truth?
Mulally set about crafting Ford’s turnaround strategy by creating clear priorities and a definition of what success looks like, and then backing that up with three key habits:
1. Model openness and vulnerability
Don’t act like you have all the answers. Openly discuss challenges and tough decisions. Invite discussions around issues and risks – and provide the help needed to overcome these and make progress.
2. Implement weekly meetings
One weekly meeting (Mulally called them “Business Plan Reviews”) for the leadership team to review priorities, discuss status and focus on what is standing in the way of success in a transparent manner.
3. Treating ‘Ambers’ and ‘Reds’ as gifts
Use the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) colour coding system to direct focus and attention to where support is needed (Mulally’s advice here is that people will only report amber and red status when they believe they will get help).
How might I lead to align teams, cascade strategy, and achieve epic transformation despite incredible odds within my team?
Team contribution:
Success mindset:
Competitive forces:
Strategy execution:
Engage your teams in highly participative, inspiring, soulful and practical lessons. Delivered as a media-rich virtual experience – a facilitator-led conversation on Zoom, supported with moderated conversations in breakout rooms (hosted by our team of Pod Coaches), to ignite teams to think differently about performance.
This case study is available in a 90-minute or 180-minute online (Zoom) format
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