Archive for September, 2009
Good Stuff from the Leadership Carnival September 7 2009 no responses
My blogging friend, Dan McCarthy, is one of those people who gives, gives, gives.
His Great Leadership blog where he shares tons of wisdom and experience from his years as a top rank leadership development professional is a great example of how he operates. Another is his regular hosting of the monthly Leadership Development Carnival of some of the top leadership bloggers. I'm honored that the Next Level blog is one of the featured blogs in the Carnival this month. But, since you're a regular reader of this blog, you already know what I'm writing. So, I encourage you to broaden your leadership horizons and click on over to Dan's site to get some great perspective and advice from other good folks who are writing for you on a regular basis.
Thanks, Dan, for all you do.
Reflections and Suggestions on Labor Day Weekend September 4 2009 no responses
What are you doing to celebrate Labor Day? Like so many three day weekends in the U.S., the original point of Labor Day has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle. (President’s Day mattress sale anyone?) I spent a little time this morning looking up the history of Labor Day and found this on History.com.
A couple of things strike me about that story. One is how much history we overlook in our focus on the now. We forget where we’ve come from. The other is that people shouting at health care town halls, however rude their behavior is, is a long way from sending the Army in to break up a strike. A little historical perspective can be helpful in evaluating what’s going on today. The cable news culture can make history seem like whatever was caught on video tape a few hours ago. That doesn’t exactly encourage thoughtful reflection or dialogue.
But, I digress. Back to the opening question – what are you doing to celebrate Labor Day? Here are some suggestions:
- Thank Your Co-Workers: Before you leave work today, thank some co-workers for what they do. Tell them what you appreciate about their contribution and why it matters. They’ll appreciate it and you’ll feel better having done so.
- Go to a Parade: If there’s a Labor Day parade in your community, go watch it. It will reconnect you with our country’s history and your own.
- Unplug: Spend some time with friends and family having fun. Go for a walk. Watch some baseball or football. Declare Monday an e-mail free zone. The day after Labor Day represents the start of the sprint to the end of the year. Take the time to recharge your batteries for the next leg.
Five Things Alan Mulally is Doing to Help Ford Win September 2 2009 2 responses
Now that the Cash for Clunkers program is over, the results are coming in and it looks like the big winners from the program are Hyundai and Ford with year over year monthly sales increases of 47% and 17% respectively. The number three selling new car during the Clunkers program was the Ford Focus with the Ford Escape showing up in the top 10 as well. The other two American car companies actually showed declines in sales during August with GM down almost 20% from last year and Chrysler sales down 15%.
What’s the difference between the three U.S. auto makers? Obviously, there are a lot of factors, but I’d argue the most important is leadership. As I wrote in this blog back in August of 2007, my money was on Ford CEO Alan Mulally to lead a turnaround at Ford and it looks like that’s what he’s doing. I spent some time earlier today reading some recent articles about Mulally and watching some video interviews with him to try to determine what he’s done right since arriving at Ford from the Boeing Corporation in 2006. (My sources include articles in Fortune magazine, Business Week, and the U.K. Guardian along with video interviews from Time magazine and the New Yorker
Based on that research, here are five Mulally success factors I’ve come up with that I think apply to any leader charged with leading a turnaround in their organization.
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
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