I was surprised to receive a personal phone call from Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, in 2009. He simply wanted to compliment me on an article that I had written about the power of optimism. I thanked him and asked how things were going at Ford. Mulally impressed me with his passion and optimism. “Carmine, to serve is to live and I am so honored to serve our Ford customers, employees, dealers, investors, suppliers and communities,” he said. “We have the very best cars and trucks in the world: quality, fuel-efficient, safe, smart, fun and a great value!” I thought it was fun, but a bit out of context, to get a personal call from the Ford CEO since I don’t even cover the auto industry. I know why he called me after speaking to Bryce Hoffman, a reporter for The Detroit News and the author of a new book titled, American Icon, Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company.
The cheerleader in chief. “Alan is all about evangelizing Ford through personal relationships, so it doesn’t surprise me that he called you,” Hoffman said. “He sees his role as cheerleader in chief.” This role sets Mulally apart from other CEO’s because so few leaders today appreciate the fact that a large part of their job is to inspire their teams and to evangelize their brand. Hoffman told me an insightful story about Mulally’s power of persuasion and his ability to evangelize the Ford brand at every opportunity. In the spring of 2010 Hoffman’s newspaper was giving Mulally an award. There were many heavy-hitters of the Michigan business community in the room including CEOs of very well-known brands. But Mulally spent the entire evening speaking to the other award-winners who included a nun who ran a soup kitchen and a woman building bridges between religious faiths. He gave a perfunctory handshake to the other business leaders, but went right back to his conversation with the two women. By the end of the dinner, the nun said she wanted to buy Ford vans for her feeding program and the interfaith leader said she would tell her friends, family and colleagues about the new Ford cars. According to Hoffman, “Alan doesn’t feel the need to bump bellies with other movers and shakers, but he does feel the need to touch people who are influential in their own communities.”
The power of optimism. Mulally is also relentlessly optimistic. Optimism is one of seven traits that all inspiring leaders share (see this previous article for the others). Even in the depths of the auto crisis in 2008, Mulally was the one who always had a smile on his face and a spring in his step. He had a plan and no matter what happened he knew that sticking to the plan would lead to positive results. But Mulally had to keep everyone fired up. “Shortly after he came on board, he would respond to some emails by walking into the person’s office or calling them, even lower level employees,” Hoffman said. “For two weeks those people would tell everyone about their experience and how Mulally had inspired them. He singlehandedly boosted morale through individual acts of touching and connecting with people. His cheerleader in chief role meant that he would pick people up, dust them off, pat them on the back, and get them focused on the plan ahead.
The power of vision. Mulally also believes in the power of a compelling vision. A vision encourages the best in others. Mulally himself was inspired to turn his attention to the study of aeronautical engineering when he watched President John F. Kennedy challenge his generation to reach the moon. Vision inspired Mulally whose studies ultimately served him well as he became a corporate superstar at Boeing” type=”organization” subtype=”company” active=”true” key=”boeing” ticker=”BA” exchange=”NYSE”>Boeing.
When Bill Ford was recruiting Mulally, Ford said, “We have good people. They just need a leader who can guide them and inspire them.” On a plane flight home to Seattle” type=”place” active=”true” key=”wa/seattle”>Seattle Mulally crafted the framework to save Ford. At the top of the list he wrote, “Clear, compelling vision going forward.” Hoffman told me that a clear vision was critical to Ford’s turnaround. When Mulally started at Ford, the car company didn’t have focus. It didn’t know what it stood for as a brand. Consumers and employees were confused. Inspiring leaders are passionate and have an abundance of optimism. But vision is equally as important—the ability to navigate a clear path through the communication of a clear, concise, and compelling plan.
Mulally’s vision took Ford back to its roots. He came across an ad Henry Ford had taken out in the Saturday Evening Post in 1925. Ford’s vision: opening the highways for all mankind. Although Ford did not invent the automobile, he transformed it from a rich man’s toy to a utility for the everyman. Mulally believed that Ford had to return to its vision, democratizing technology and quality so everyone could afford a best-in-class car. According to Hoffman, “Mulally wanted to get back to Fords’ heritage which was to build a product that made people’s lives better.”
Mulally teaches us that inspiring leaders are exceptional communicators who are passionate about their products, evangelize their brand at every opportunity, articulate a compelling vision, and do it all with a healthy dose of optimism.