Blue Oval Guide Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Several weeks ago, Mark Fields stood before more than a dozen senior Ford Motor Co. executives in the Thunderbird Room on the 11th floor of the company's headquarters and pushed a button to display his weekly report on future product programs. As the video screen lit up, one vehicle program was highlighted in red, signifying it was off-track. Click here to read the entire article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanatWork Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 It's About Damned Time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 This article was posted what, an hour ago? Now we have the web broadcast at Cobo on Sunday. I wonder how the market will react on Monday? That is a great article and I am so surprised why this should be the norm not something new. I could never get over the intrigue and parlor games in business. I think it said it all there: Work together to get the job done or go work someplace else. About time indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 It'sAbout Damned Time. agree 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Mulally - For - President !!! :D But yeah - great stuff .. I can't wait to see what hew does with Marketing and Manufacturing - his restructuring of PD seems to be well thought out, thorough, and very effective .. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonvalue Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Mulally - For - President !!! :D But yeah - great stuff .. I can't wait to see what hew does with Marketing and Manufacturing - his restructuring of PD seems to be well thought out, thorough, and very effective .. Igor Make that Manufacturing and Marketing in that order....Please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philsshon2 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 I'm glad Mulally is shaking things up. Hopefully the product will be much better. They needed him five years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JETSOLVER Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) I think I like this guy. Yup, and its not because of his people skills. Contrary to popular belief, a nut and bolts guy is about solutions, not compromise. And Mulally IS an aircraft engineer :happy feet: , where a fundemental mistake is not a simple tragedy, its a farking catastophe! Tends to keep one pretty sharp, that sort of pressure. Of course, I am biased on that.... I don't give him a long time until he butts heads with some of the old guard, just because he presents such a unique situation to the establishment. Otherwise, he would sit at the top of Boeing, which has become a fundemantally political organization. And notice who is not sitting at the table with the big kids, former wunderkind H.T.T. who, with a title like Director, Advanced Product Creation, one would think ought to be there. Good work Alan, your already spotting problems. That excellant choice and the fireing of the PR clatch are signs of very good potentials down the road at Ford. If we see some progress on the hi-po side soon(like fireing H.T.T.), I might not need to plan on keeping my new Brand X toy long until I can feel good about our next Ford purchase. EDIT: I came across this last fall when trying to get a better understanding of our new leader. Just a little more insight on how he thinks and what he is known for. supplyexcellence.com/on Mulally at Boeing "Under Mulally’s stewardship, Boeing transformed its commercial division from the outmoded player of aerospace industry to the renewed market champ. Much of Mulally’s success is tied to product and manufacturing innovation. He was the project lead for the Boeing-777, which launched in the 1980s to great success. Mulally is also credited with slashing the time it takes to build the company’s best-selling 737 in half by switching to the lean manufacturing techniques developed by Toyota. But Mulally’s opus may be the new Boeing-787 Dreamliner." Edited January 6, 2007 by JETSOLVER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) I thought H.T.T. is under Fields, or under Kuzack .. PS: what is the problem with H.T.T., anyways? I barely know that guy, but I thought he was OK at this job. Igor Edited January 6, 2007 by igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 with a title like Director, Advanced Product Creation, one would think ought to be there. No. This meeting is for the "C" level staff (Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer, Chief blah blah blah), and the global business unit heads (Lewis Booth, Mark Fields, Parker, the Ford Credit guy, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not_an_insider Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 This article was posted what, an hour ago? Now we have the web broadcast at Cobo on Sunday. I wonder how the market will react on Monday? This was posted in the Wall Street Journal back in December. "Data can set you free," Mr. Mulally tells associates. He prodded executives embarrassed of their results to bring them to the table -- and post them on the war-room wall. "You can't manage a secret," Mr. Mulally says he tells them. When one manager offered up the poor performance of his unit, some Ford executives were stunned by Mr. Mulally's reaction. He applauded, saying: "Great visibility." Mr. Mulally coached his team on using the colored graphs and lists. "We got to the yellows and the reds pretty quickly...within a month," the CEO says. I don't think the Detroit News article will have any bearing on the stock come Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Now you can admit to a problem. That is an astounding change from the weasel environment of days past. Success is about changing what's wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one2gamble Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 I think I like this guy. I think I love this guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I think I love this guy Who? Pioneer or Mulally? Either way, it's kind of ................ yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingBender Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 What is notable about Mulally is some of the things that are absent from his management style. He will never use punishment and retribution to solve a problem. And woe to those he witnesses trying to do that to others. He will implore you, "What are you going to do to help your colleague fix the problem he finds himself with?" The best thing you can do when dealing with Mulally is to throw open the door to your closet, show him all the skeletons, and tell him that you are open to ideas. If you try to tell him the sun is shining when it is pissing down rain, he will figure you out very quickly. It sounds like a lot of those "sunny day" guys have been shown the door already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzTiU4xIs7g For both of you. Wingbender: is that an upside down Tony Randall? Edited January 7, 2007 by RichardJensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingBender Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Wingbender: is that an upside down Tony Randall? It's an upide-down John Leahy, the sales chief for Airbus. An American, he is known for publically trash talking Boeing, although with the success of the 787 and the delays on the A380, he has been amazingly quiet lately. He is a very tenacious salesman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Maybe he can start a second career doing an Odd Couple revival off-off-off Broadway, I'm thinking street corner outside Yankee Stadium off-broadway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoman594 Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) Wow........ I think when Alan was first installed as the new boss most of us were very skeptical.... I think he is going to have a very positive influence on this company. Edited January 7, 2007 by Shoman594 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Make that Manufacturing and Marketing in that order....Please Without marketing, you wouldn't have sales, and without sales, you wouldn't manufacturing. So, it should be Marketing and Manufacturing in that order...IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLemon Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 (edited) I like this part.... Bill Ford Jr. once observed that Ford had for too long been a cult of personality, run by larger-than-life figures with egos to match. Think Henry Ford, Hank the Deuce and Jacques Nasser....... It's too bad he forgot to put his name on the list. Edited January 8, 2007 by TheLemon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Do I have to follow "lemon!!!" I am very impressed with this guy. I love the fact that he is asking tough, sensible questions and demanding accountability from all. He was quoted in automotive news saying that he had never seen a company like ford where they are so inconsistent. That type of comment can only come from an outsider...same as the one regarding the taurus and the zephyr. He has a huge challenge in front of him but I am glad to see him there. I also like mark fields...I know he has been tagged with the wunderkid label but you have to give him credit. You just don't want these guys to quit and jump ship for some serious money. If any of you guys bitch about paying these guys look what Home Depot did....that pisses me off....I don't even want to shop at their stores and I live in Atlanta! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 There have been many members of this forum like me called "trolls" "Ford Haters" "Toyota Lovers" "domestic Hater" "Biased Ford Basher" "Told to leave because we hate Ford" etc...................... All because we demanded change at Ford, said Bill Ford needed to go. Said he can't handle running Ford. He had no Merit to. Because we criticized their products when they clearly were half hearted efforts. Only gave props to the very few products coming out of Ford that deserved them. Criticized uncompetitive products............or even competitive products that still weren't the best they could be. Criticized dull styling, poor quality materials, poor manufacturing, poor gas mileage, uncompetitive power trains. Only accepted the best, when that happened gave Ford a compliment. Did not forgive Ford for Half Hearted efforts because Toyota or GM or Honda or DCX or whoever gave one of their products only a half hearted effort. But one thing is certain; we didn't change our feelings about what we want from Ford. Unlike so many here who praised Bill until he stepped down, people just jumping on the next bandwagon with only one thing in mind....................whatever Ford is doing is perfect for the company. Bashed people who demanded change and criticize poor products only to go ahead and praise Ford for doing what "the haters" requested. I don't understand how someone can wish the best for Ford by always a-okay with what Ford is doing. Always being a-okay with whatever product they come out with, whether Ford was even trying to be competitive in the market place. Being a-okay with everything bad. Using the excuses of other auto-manufacturers not giving full effort as an excuse to be a-okay with Fords lazy half hearted effort. It just doesn't make sense to me. It’s is never going to make Ford competitive/better/profitable by simply being okay and never demanding the absolute best, praising them for products that don’t deserve to be praised……………being happy about products weren’t given Fords best effort. Now finally..................after the lows and more lows and the lowest of the lows, change is happening, change that the people who were considered "Ford haters" demanded. Now everyone who was always a-okay with whatever Ford did is now jumping on this bandwagon......................it is now laughable. ---------Bash me, criticize......be my guest, I felt it was necessary to post this------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 There have been many members of this forum like me called "trolls" "Ford Haters" "Toyota Lovers" "domestic Hater" "Biased Ford Basher" "Told to leave because we hate Ford" etc......................All because we demanded change at Ford, said Bill Ford needed to go. Said he can't handle running Ford. He had no Merit to. Because we criticized their products when they clearly were half hearted efforts. Only gave props to the very few products coming out of Ford that deserved them. Criticized uncompetitive products............or even competitive products that still weren't the best they could be. Criticized dull styling, poor quality materials, poor manufacturing, poor gas mileage, uncompetitive power trains. Only accepted the best, when that happened gave Ford a compliment. Did not forgive Ford for Half Hearted efforts because Toyota or GM or Honda or DCX or whoever gave one of their products only a half hearted effort. But one thing is certain; we didn't change our feelings about what we want from Ford. Unlike so many here who praised Bill until he stepped down, people just jumping on the next bandwagon with only one thing in mind....................whatever Ford is doing is perfect for the company. Bashed people who demanded change and criticize poor products only to go ahead and praise Ford for doing what "the haters" requested. I don't understand how someone can wish the best for Ford by always a-okay with what Ford is doing. Always being a-okay with whatever product they come out with, whether Ford was even trying to be competitive in the market place. Being a-okay with everything bad. Using the excuses of other auto-manufacturers not giving full effort as an excuse to be a-okay with Fords lazy half hearted effort. It just doesn't make sense to me. It’s is never going to make Ford competitive/better/profitable by simply being okay and never demanding the absolute best, praising them for products that don’t deserve to be praised……………being happy about products weren’t given Fords best effort. Now finally..................after the lows and more lows and the lowest of the lows, change is happening, change that the people who were considered "Ford haters" demanded. Now everyone who was always a-okay with whatever Ford did is now jumping on this bandwagon......................it is now laughable. ---------Bash me, criticize......be my guest, I felt it was necessary to post this------------ I don't think we can bash you with the new rules (sounds like a kid!) in place. I don't disagree with you on many of your comments. I relate it to politics and religion as well. Whatever the position of the president is.....no matter how weak his argument is you tune into "rush or sean hannity" ((and mind you...I stay far away from political talk on both ends..don't need any more stress in my life)) and they will follow up about how his position is right...anyone who disagrees is a "traitor, communist, liberal, frenchie, etc." Same with religion-baptist minister preaches something and many fall in like little soldiers with feabile minds. I am not certain where ford went wrong. Sometime in the 90's though it seemed they lost their way. I think much blame has to be on Trotman's reorganization. Truck sales during that time covered up a lot of mistakes with huge profits. And Nasser obviously created another set of problems all together by buying up everything and everyone and leaving the oval alone. Not certain how much Bill Ford is to blame but he obviously deserves alot of what has been said about him. I think he means well but just did not have the experience to do what is needed to be done. There must be a common thread with detroit because all three companies are struggling and are at a crossroads in what direction they will go in. GM is farther along then either ford or chrsyler (imo). They are doing really well in china, a presence ford lacks. Chrysler also seems to be turning things around with some exciting (never said I liked them...but you can't call them boring!) products. Ford just seems to be in a bigger hole...when chrysler leverages everything then we can talk but not until then....but I have been pleased with what I hear from the new management team so hopefully they will get things turned around pretty quick. And that is a big "if" because for ford to regain/stabilize market share you have to hope that several of your competitors screws up. We will see......but DCX you suck anyways!! just kidding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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