American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

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American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

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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...more 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 dysfunctional 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 greatest 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 mismanagement 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 American automotive supply base.

In one of the great management narratives of our time, Hoffman puts the reader inside the boardroom as Mulally uses his celebrated Business Plan Review meetings 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.(less)

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by Crown Business

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Apr 17, 2013 Sheila rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book!
I read it for background understanding for a class project, but I would recommend it to anyone just for the story. it's a great story! it's so bad at Ford when Mulally joins that it's hardly worth saving. But then again, it's so bad that massive changes can have massive impact. This is the opportunity Mulally goes for with a calm tenacity and perseverance that ripples through the organization (very slowly!) until the turnaround is realized. He knows from experience that the fli...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Andrea J rated it 4 of 5 stars

I admit to a great curiosity about business and why some work and some don't. Ford, along with Xerox, Kodak, and others were really into the Quality movement of the 1990s yet so many of the Baldridge award winners died or never recovered. Ford did recover, however, and it's interesting to read one account of how it happened.

This really does focus a lot on one person (Alan Mulally) - and we all know how important CEOs are for American companies (less so for European, for example). I was worried t...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had read articles talking about Alan Mulally and how he had saved Boeing and then went to Ford and fixed them. Given that they were two very different companies in my opinion (I see more similarities after the fact), I wondered how he did it. Whenever you see a leader come in and turnaround two companies in seemingly low growth industries, it makes you wonder "How the hell did they do that?"

I think this book gives a pretty good insight into that. I would give it 3.5 stars but that doesn't see...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Breakingviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review by Antony Currie

Just how did affable, aw-shucks mid-westerner Alan Mulally manage to turn around Ford Motor? There’s no doubt that he has been the driving force behind the transformation of an old wreck into one of the world’s most profitable auto companies. Witness the Motown manufacturer’s first-quarter results: $1.4 billion of net income globally while its North America auto business cranked out its best showing in over a decade, a pre-tax profit margin of 11.3 percent. Five years ago,...more Review by Antony Currie

Just how did affable, aw-shucks mid-westerner Alan Mulally manage to turn around Ford Motor? There’s no doubt that he has been the driving force behind the transformation of an old wreck into one of the world’s most profitable auto companies. Witness the Motown manufacturer’s first-quarter results: $1.4 billion of net income globally while its North America auto business cranked out its best showing in over a decade, a pre-tax profit margin of 11.3 percent. Five years ago, such numbers would have been considered a pipe dream for any U.S. carmaker.

On first meeting, Mulally just doesn’t seem the type. He’s smart, no doubt about that. His good humor is infectious and he clearly wants everyone to be able to have their say. He’s an expert glad-hander and knows how to get his point across to virtually any audience in simple terms. Those are all talents cultivated by politicians, a similarity that isn’t lost on Bryce Hoffman. In his new book “American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company,” the journalist for the Detroit News describes how the carmaker’s newly appointed chief executive descended on his paper’s newsroom in late 2006 “like a veteran campaigner looking for an endorsement.”

But behind that politician’s exterior hides a managerial expert. Hoffman captures Mulally’s strength of purpose as well as his adaptability - willing to tweak his plans as he learns more or as the situation changes. He’s a great long-term planner - of numbers, car marques and people. He early on looked several managerial layers below the top to identify potential replacements for key posts.

Still, Mulally’s genial nature is also one of his greatest strengths, for it lulls potential opponents into a false sense of security, if not superiority. Hoffman tells of Mulally’s first meeting with Ford’s senior executives, a group which exemplified the firm’s dysfunctional culture - internecine warfare and intolerance for change. Chief technical officer Richard Parry-Jones condescendingly pointed out the complexity of the carmaker. With his customary smile, Mulally the former aircraft engineer and Boeing executive replied: “The typical passenger jet has four million parts, and if just one of them fails the whole thing can fall out of the sky. So I feel pretty comfortable with this.”

Of course, clever quips don’t restructure struggling industrial franchises. Hoffman’s enviable list of contacts allows him to tell how Mulally got the company back on track - and won over his new team - by demolishing the silos walling off Ford’s various units and regions.

The transition can be color-coded. Mulally introduced mandatory weekly meetings at which senior executives were supposed to mark good news in green and problems in red. Since bad news had often previously led to internal ostracism, if not dismissal, at first there was no red to be seen. Then North America head Mark Fields, assuming he was for the chop anyway, gave it a go. It took two weeks before the rest believed that Fields wouldn’t be punished, but then the presentations all came with liberal splatters of red. That, for Mulally, was the “defining moment”.

Of course, that merely marked the start of three years of pain before the company was back on the road. And it wasn’t all Mulally’s doing.

Bill Ford had the sense, and the courage, to park any ego at being the boss of the family company and recognize he needed to cede control to someone like Mulally. And both Bill Ford and then-finance chief Don Leclair had already started work on borrowing the $23 billion that kept the company out of bankruptcy in 2009 - all of which Hoffman covers well. But it was Mulally’s gift for refashioning Ford’s dysfunctional management structure that released the brakes.

Mulally deserves a little more criticism than Hoffman gives. Ford’s savior was guilty of more than “a bit” of hypocrisy when he ordered Fields to stop commuting from Florida to Detroit by corporate jet after the press got wind of it - Mulally was doing the same to Seattle. And Hoffman’s glowing moral portrait jars with Mulally’s mercurial use of some executives, until he felt he could get rid of them.

These, though, are minor quibbles. As a study in how to manage a rusting company back to success, “American Icon” hits the spot.(less)

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Aug 08, 2012 Bill Krieger rated it 4 of 5 stars

American Icon is a shill... and it's still great!

Yup, Ford recruited the author to write this book, and it's a very positive treatment of Ford CEO Alan Mulally. So be it. It's still a great read. First off, the author got some really inside access at Ford, so the story has depth and rings true. Second, the writing is really good. There's a wonderful balance in the telling of the story. There's some old Ford history, and of course, the new stuff. There's some personal gossipy stories, and that's...more

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May 26, 2012 Chad rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you think that "engineers are the source of all wealth creation" then you'll find this story incredible. In the early 2000's, Ford motor company was in trouble. Ford was a house of brands with over 97 different automobiles and almost no part standardization, executives who were constantly plotting each others' demises, and an entire company with a culture of dishonesty.

Thanks to the humility and prescience of Ford chairman and CEO Bill Ford and his decision to cede his control of the company...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Gale Jake rated it 5 of 5 stars

I bought the book for Kindle when it was released on 3/13/2012. Very well written. Excellent in-depth behind the scenes information on the personalities and cultural dynamics of Ford and the auto industry in addition to the business side. Reads like a novel, certainly not a dry business book or history book. It's the story of Ford as a loser before the beginning of the recession, its difficult journey through near bankruptcy, hard-earned success and the excellent management of CEO Alan Mulally w...more I bought the book for Kindle when it was released on 3/13/2012. Very well written. Excellent in-depth behind the scenes information on the personalities and cultural dynamics of Ford and the auto industry in addition to the business side. Reads like a novel, certainly not a dry business book or history book. It's the story of Ford as a loser before the beginning of the recession, its difficult journey through near bankruptcy, hard-earned success and the excellent management of CEO Alan Mulally who Bill Ford brought in from Ford to save the company. Mulally exceeded expectations and Ford is again a top leader in the automobile industry. Certainly exciting times!

I was aware of Alan Mulally when he was at Boeing and we at Flight Dynamics were trying to sell our Heads-Up-Guidance system to Boeing as a standard option on the 777. I remember watching the video of the 777 project and we were impressed.

Although my first car was a 1932 Ford, and I owned a '52 and a new '67, I guess I was a Chevy and Toyota and Volvo (have a 1954 P1800) owner. But I began following Ford when Leo Laporte the "This Week in Tech" TechGuy podcaster TWIT became interested in their Sync technology, started driving a T- Bird and advertising for Ford. He has interviewed Mulally on several of his shows which can be found at the TWIT link.

Ford stock had dropped to as low as $1 in 2009. Today it is trading at more than $12 and it should be stable and growing with the recovery, probably outpacing the market. I bought some, but unfortunately long after it had reached its low and was nearing its high.

Back to the book. It is one of the best business books, maybe one of the best books, I've recently read. It's on a par with Walter Isaacson's recent biography on Steve Job.

Ford had become a dinosaur with competing internal factions, poor vision and was regarded as a loser compared to quality imports such as Toyota. With a superb management philosophy, Mulally created a vision, developed an implementation plan and brought together an executive group in which he instilled teamwork, and a commitment to save the company and win in the face of great odds. They got started before the recession hit and had many plans in place before the economy tubed and put auto manufacturers on their backs. And, it was done without a government bailout as GM and Chrysler were forced to do. To see Mulally interviewed by Leo LaPorte you have to like him with his upbeat and open personality and disarming easy smile. I can see where his human relationship skills created an enthusiastic environment that employees would love.

American Icon kept my interest focused and I hated for it to end. Such a great story, and not at all superficial. Extensive interviews, industry knowledge and one-on-ones with Mulally and Bill Ford and the Ford executives brought the book to life.

Author Bryce Hoffman really put this one together with quality expertise and a good writing style. Fresh, great insights, covering all the bases, business and personal. The book appeals to all business disciplines, marketing, engineering, sales, management, planning and especially finance. The complicated management of funds and survival's dependence on cash flow and multiple CFO excellent financial maneuvering is covered in detail.

This book was not written from a distance. It was up front and close up and kept me cheering for the Ford team all the way though. Was the book a good PR move for Ford? Well in my case, I might even consider buying a Ford this year, at least now very curious to take a look at some of the models and their technology. I'm impressed with Leo Laporte's coverage of the Sync technology used in Ford vehicles, their models look like a bold step into the future. Alan Mulally designed the Boeing 777 cockpit, these skills can be seen in his automobiles' dash boards.

Yea, the book was a winner for me. I liked the personalities involved, the challenges, winning in the face of significant obstacles, Mulally's management, personality and positive attitude and I loved the book. Mr. Hoffman, bring on a sequel! Meanwhile, I think I'll read this book again, maybe as an audio book during long car drives....(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mba

I know Mulally is the protagonist and hero of the story, but he’s not the compelling factor for me. Clearly, he’s the lynchpin of the turnaround and a major force in the history of Ford. But near the end of the book Hoffman devotes a telling paragraph to the other critical players. To Bill Ford and both his humility in stepping aside for “the right man” as well as his unending commitment to back him – regardless of the pressure that inevitably came from family and colleagues. To Fields and his c...more I know Mulally is the protagonist and hero of the story, but he’s not the compelling factor for me. Clearly, he’s the lynchpin of the turnaround and a major force in the history of Ford. But near the end of the book Hoffman devotes a telling paragraph to the other critical players. To Bill Ford and both his humility in stepping aside for “the right man” as well as his unending commitment to back him – regardless of the pressure that inevitably came from family and colleagues. To Fields and his courage to make the first color changes on his BPR slides, showing vulnerability in the face of a defensive and closed culture. These are the compelling anecdotes that point out the broader population that allowed Ford’s success.

These overarching themes of trust, transparency and teamwork that were necessary to pull off what arguably could have been the most critical turnaround in the history of the USA, are critical examples of leadership found in American Icon. Alan Mulally’s true genius was his understanding of how to attack the institutionalized infighting and individualism that were pervasive. But words without actions are worthless. Without the determination and willpower to stick to his guns in the face of pressures from stakeholders on all sides, Mulally’s charge would have faltered and the old rule would have reemerged stronger than ever.

The tools he used to enforce his ideas allowed action to be taken. The focus of the BPR meeting on driving early recognition of problems in the organization, in a safe and collaborative fashion, is found in the tech industry as well. The Agile Software Development Manifesto is steeped in this ideology and has shown proven results – but few companies have the understanding of the entire process and true belief in the system to really adopt it. They pay lip service to the ideals of transparency but work behind closed doors to ensure their defect-free facades are preserved. Even those who buy into the process don’t often have the conviction to see it through to the next hurdle, be it quarterly results or temptations to react to competitive pressures.

I worry about conviction. I worry when I see the one-sided force of the financial analysts evoke a noncommittal reaction from leadership. The claims of long-term strategy and vision fall flat when the only focus (and incentive) is quarterly revenues. I worry when I see entrenched political maneuvering ensure that leadership positions are reserved for those who best positioned themselves, not those who are the most qualified. My experience with organizations, both recent and in the past, lead me to believe that these situations pervade the business world far beyond the Detroit city limits or even the US rust belt.

Ford gives me hope. Obviously there are untold stories in the Ford turnaround and I wouldn’t want to discount that. However, here’s a situation where various stakeholders with amazingly disparate goals (the UAW, the Ford Family, shareholders, dealers) were brought together by a few key people to correct a historically entrenched and detrimental company culture by focusing on inclusiveness and openness. Alan Mulally and Bill Ford avoided the trap of confusing quietness or struggles with weakness, allowing the team to self-select into those willing to work toward a greater goal than simply their next promotion, and in doing so forced The Ford Company to get out of its own way and achieve what many thought impossible.
(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Bill Keithler rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent and inspiring read chronicling the story of the turnaround accomplished by Ford Motor company over the past six years. It is also a brilliant study of effective leadership focusing on the strategies and methods utilized by CEO Alan Mulally who was brought in by Bill Ford from Boeing where Mulally had overseen a similar turnaround when he had headed up that company's Commercial Aircraft division. Mulally accomplished what most people both within and without the industry had...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: business-automobile

Alan Mulally is an iconic figure in recent business history turning around not only Boeing corporation following 9/11 but rescuing Ford from decades of degradation and mismanagement. American Icon is really a book focused on Mulally’s time at Ford from a veteran automotive reporter who knows the in and outs of the industry. It is a story well worth telling and one that is applicable for those interested in business related to manufacturing. It takes on a wide range of issues from unions to manag...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Mark Leonard rated it 4 of 5 stars

The transformation at Ford from a company spiraling down towards bankruptcy to the strong car company it is today is a great tale. Hoffman does a good job of telling this story. The first part of the book leans toward a hagiography of Mulally. While Mulally was the leader of the transformation at Ford, the introduction of him makes him out to be more of a saint. This is corrected in the second half of the book, which focuses more on the team involved in the turnaround with Mulally as the leader....more

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Apr 05, 2012 James Korsmo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Simply put, this book is a page-turner. And that's not what you'd normally expect from a business book. But there's a great story here, well told, that excites the mind.

There hasn't really been a bigger story in the last half-decade than the economy, and along with the banking and housing sectors, America's "big three" automotive manufacturers have been key players in that story. But amid an economy in decline and two cross-town rivals falling toward default, Ford managed to plot a different cou...more Simply put, this book is a page-turner. And that's not what you'd normally expect from a business book. But there's a great story here, well told, that excites the mind.

There hasn't really been a bigger story in the last half-decade than the economy, and along with the banking and housing sectors, America's "big three" automotive manufacturers have been key players in that story. But amid an economy in decline and two cross-town rivals falling toward default, Ford managed to plot a different course. This book is the story of that startling rebirth. It briefly chronicles the history of Ford, appraising its ups and downs and the resulting corporate culture its history had created. And it looks at the trouble it was facing (along with the rest of the auto industry) in the mid 2000s. But things took a decisive change for Ford when Bill Ford Jr. volunteered to step down and CEO and bring in outside help. And the person he tapped for that responsibility was Alan Mullaly, a top executive who had just led a resurgence at Boeing.

American Icon is really three books in one: It is an interesting piece of modern American history, chronicling the inside workings of a key economic player in the midst of historic economic troubles throughout the country and the world. It is also a business book, with thoughtful and inspiring ideas for rethinking corporate culture, business workflows, and entrenched mindsets with cross-functional teams, openness, responsibility, and a carefully focused but always updating plan. And third, it is an interesting biography of both Bill Ford Jr. and Alan Mullaly, giving insight into their personalities and approaches to business.

Mulally's ideas of emphasizing simplicity, comporting vision with reality, and demanding open collaboration and communication among team members worked wonders at Ford. He paints a compelling picture of how a corporate structure (at whatever level) could work constructively and agilely to effect productive change and breed success. I often had to put the book down so I could jot down ideas for making some of his principles work in my own workplace. This business book almost pulls new ideas out of you by stimulating your thinking; at least, it did for me.

I loved this book, and am happy to enthusiastically recommend it. It's a fascinating case study in successful business coupled with compelling modern history told as a fast-moving story. You will not be bored; in fact, you'll be pulled in to Mulally's vision as you see it unfold before you.(less)

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Sep 06, 2012 Gene Babon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: leadership

"Running a business is a design job. You need a point of view about the future, a really good plan to deliver that future, and then relentless implementation."

While Steve Jobs is hailed as one of the best business leaders of the modern era, Alan Mulally might be one of the best kept secrets in American business. American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company delivers a compelling, insightful read on par with Steve Jobs.

Bryce Hoffman's inside look at Ford Motor Company explores the daring decision to shun bailout money at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The seeds of this decision were planted two years earlier when Bill Ford relinquished control of day-to-day operations to Alan Mulally who was passed over for the CEO position at Boeing.

Lessons in effective leadership are woven throughout this chronological tale starting with identifying the company's fundamental problem: Ford was not making cars that people wanted to buy. Thus began Mulally's quest to match capacity with demand.

The cornerstone of execution began with a weekly Business Plan Review that all business unit leaders were required to attend. Far from a dreaded "staff meeting" each department head was required to distill his/her progress toward the goal of matching capacity with demand.

The status of every project would be displayed as a colored box: green, yellow or red. To insure that honesty would not be penalized, Mulally celebrated the first time one of his executives had the courage to present a project update that was not labeled "green."

"This is the only way I know how to operate. We need to have everybody involved. We need to have a plan. And we need to know where we are on the plan."

Relentless implementation of The Plan resulted in a nearly 1,600 percent increase in Ford's stock price over a two-year period starting from the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.

If you liked Steve Jobs, then consider American Icon to be a worthy, if less publicized, five-star bookend.(less)

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Apr 09, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

It is rare when a book that profiles a business or leader is also a good read. Bryce Hoffman successfully accomplishes this tough task in American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company. The strength of the book is the history behind Ford's decision to hire Mulally, and the key strategic decision points that kept Ford above water during these tough economic times. I do wish the book provided more specific details and examples of the leadership and management style of Mulally...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Julian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having worked for Ford in the UK many years ago and working in the supply base in the US during the crisis made this book very relevant and interesting.
The book gives a good insight into the culture of the Ford Motor Company and how Mulaly has apparently been able to transform it. While maybe not as "technical" as some other books written about the crisis such as "Overhaul" it is still a very interesting read.

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Mar 31, 2012 Brandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was very well written in a smooth quickly moving style. Hoffman was able to make a subject, that could put me to sleep faster than a sleeping pill, interesting and alive enough to want to read the whole thing. I learned a great deal about economy, car making and politics.

This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the importance of free enterprise, team work, economy and making a business successful. All students of politics and economics should be required to read it.

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May 05, 2012 Jim marked it as to-read

I hope someone makes an audio book of this.

The funny thing about this book is when I search on "American Icon" it doesn't come up in the first page of results on Gpodreads. What's up with that.

Also mentioned in this blog...

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Nov 21, 2012 Minh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book for whoever wants to be a manager and to be successful in business. It is quite similar to the autobiography of Steve Jobs, but it is about Ford Company and how Allan Mullaly masterfully saved the company from bankruptcy. Good read

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Apr 17, 2012 Shawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

A fantastic and well researched peek into the depths of the recession and how Ford not only positioned themselves to weather it, but emerge stronger than ever. Overcoming a toxic corporate culture, impossible contracts, and government sponsored competition, Ford grew into a smart and ambitious global team ready to be the world automotive leader.

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Apr 12, 2013 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked the first half of this book a lot (because it focused on finding Mulally) and would have given it 4 stars. The second half caused me to give it a 3. It got too bogged down in the details and wasn't quite as interesting to me.

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Mar 17, 2013 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Most well written business story I've read so far. Couldn't put it down. Blow by blow account of how Allen Mulally restructured Ford. Stark contrast with another family held American icon in trouble - HP (Carly Fiorina's book).

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Jun 30, 2012 Jared rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very good business read. The meat is the descriptions of what types of meetings were held, what data was utilized, and how having a consistent plan and message kept everyone moving to the goal.

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Mar 23, 2012 Robert K rated it 4 of 5 stars

A terrific American corporate comeback story. Alan Mullally is perhaps the greatest businessman in America. Having met him & Bill Ford both makes this especially satisfying!

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Jul 11, 2012 Conner Wingard rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was truly inspirational to me. An unbelievable corporate turn around that is full of fascinating people. Even if you are not a car nut you will enjoy it.

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Sep 12, 2012 Marcio rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent walk-through of Ford's failings (as a matter of corporate culture), and how a properly cultivated vision can turn that culture, and the company, around. It's also a good insight on what happened during the government bailout period and how Ford got itself fixed through hard-work and determination, without the government's help.

This book is a must-read for anybody in business, small or large. Anybody that has had to wade through difficult corporate culture (department warfare, poor a...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Carroll County Public Library Staff Recommendation rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: celebrating-america, adult-nonfiction

American Icon by Bruce Hoffman explored the incredible turn-around of the Ford Motor Company and the dynamic Alan Mulally. Bryce Hoffman visited the Westminster branch this past fall and revealed the inner workings and covert meeting held at Ford. – Lynn B

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Nov 17, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book. I had the opportunity to attend a book talk by the author at our local library. I was impressed by the access that was given to the author by Ford company executives. Very insightful book and would make any Ford owner a proud American. Solid book. Excellent writing - very journalistic style. A true American success story!

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Sep 10, 2012 Bruce Baker rated it 5 of 5 stars

A great story of a great man with a great company. An interesting set of events leads Mulally to Ford from Boeing and it proves to be Boeing's loss.

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Apr 24, 2012 Doug Collier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very well told story of Alan Mulally and his team's remarkable turnaround of Ford during one of the toughest economic periods in American history.

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Jun 06, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting look at how Ford navigated the financial crisis and how management direction can make or break a company.

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“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 last year's ideas. - Henry Ford” — 1 person liked it

“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. - Henry Ford” — 1 person liked it

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