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 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.

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.

Our Top Reviews

Reviewer: Dave Kinnear
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Compelling vision, comprehensive strategy & relentless implementation
Review: I am not a car enthusiast. I enjoy having a reliable, clean and efficient vehicle, but the primary purpose, for me, is to get me where I’m going on time and without surprises. So when I ordered this book, my expectations were that I’d ignore the “car stuff” for the most part, and concentrate on the leadership stuff. Well, I wound up doing both, and enthusiastically at that. Hoffman has written an excellent book mixing family business intrigue with a history of the car business and its missteps as well as a book replete with leadership lessons. Here are just a few of the most notable for me.Look outside the industry: Many leaders today realize that to avoid “group think” or “boxed in thinking,” it is useful to have cross industry experience. To his credit, Bill Ford, Jr., recognized that not only was he not the best person to turn Ford around, but that he had to go outside the Detroit mentality to get the job done right. After several failed prospects, they finally “landed” Alan Mulally of Boeing fame. History shows that no finer pick could have been made.Have a clear compelling strategy and/or vision: One Ford became Mulally’s battle cry, and it was, essentially, the business plan. While he had that simple, clear plan, he also had four simple points on which he kept his team, the board and the company focused;1. Aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix.2. Accelerate development of new products our customers want and value.3. Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet.4. Work together effectively as one team.Accountability: Almost immediately upon assuming his responsibilities as Ford’s new CEO, Mulally instituted weekly Business Plan Review (BPR) meetings. He further insisted that his direct report team (all senior “c-suite” executives of major divisions) make their presentations themselves. It became crystal clear very quickly that they were to be in command of the numbers and be accountable for knowing what was going on in their divisions. Any “issues” that came up in this BPR would be noted and any working solution was ironed out in the follow up “special attention review” or SAR immediately following the BPR. “Rules” of engagement: Every executive meeting had the following list of rules to be followed;* People first* Everyone is included* Compelling vision* Clear performance goals* One plan* Facts and data* Propose a plan, “find-a-way” attitude* Respect, listen, help, and appreciate each other* Emotional resilience. . . trust the process* Have fun. . . enjoy the journey and each otherThe data will set you free: Mulally insisted that decisions and continuous improvement be based on data. Up until then, decisions were often based solely on instinct. Conventional wisdom (Detroit think) was used to decide what did and did not get designed, delivered or developed. Mulally would only accept vetted numbers and his team was expected to know them and were held accountable by the numbers.Study the competition: Early in his first months at Ford, Mulally showed up at GM and Chrysler. He was content to let the “senior Detroit executive” treat him as the naïve aerospace engineer who would undoubtedly fail since he wasn’t a “car man.” What he learned was that those executives didn’t have a clue about how bad things were for their companies. He went back to Ford with a renewed sense of urgency to get his team to see the reality of their situation.There are many more lessons in this well written and compelling story. Hoffman has given us a must read leadership book.

Reviewer: Maounde
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A page turner!!
Review: This is a business book but reads like a novel with plot, character development and great suspense . It is extremely well written and makes for a very enjoyable read. I certainly look fwd to the next book. The author puts to use the access he has to the key people of the story.As the book ends, the Ford turnround per se is achieved but it begs for an epilogue in the near future or maybe a follow up about the search for Mr. Right, a replacement for Mullaly, and how a new leader will have Ford pursue and adjust Mullaly’s Legacy.A few interesting points for me. – The adequacy of the duo Mullaly / Bill Ford: Mr. Hoffman mostly focuses on Mullaly, the main character. But he also emphasizes Bill Ford’s self awareness. By acting the way he did, B. Ford enabled the Mullaly’s success and deserves much credit for that. This is a useful teaching for any business successes to look for the enablers. – Related to the former point: the end of the book where the author reflects on the various elements of the turnaround context is also useful. It is tempting to regard Mullaly as the white knight who shows up and figures it out. And Mullaly does that anyways. But it is happening in a context that matters a great deal to give full force to Mullaly’s leadership qualities. – The book is about the Ford turnaround but I would have liked more writing about Mullaly’s life within Ford: how did he relate to his family during his tenure so far. Was he struck by any personal tragedy after he became a CEO? Anything that brought any self doubt? What are his favored books / authors? What does he do when he does not work? Does he speak any language other then English, etc. it is not about digging dirt, of course, but merely humanize him and allow the reader perhaps to better relate to him in a way. Or is he just THAT perfect? – Each chapter is preceded by a quote from Henry Ford, putting the content under his intellectual patronage. Each chapter connects well with the chosen quote, somehow Bringing H Ford’s wisdom across decades into the present. Nothing wrong on face value. But given the rather complex and larger-than-life Henry Ford (including unsavory sides), it would have deserved a few lines in the intro to better define the boundaries of this intellectual patronage (or did I just miss it?). – The book is a perfect illustration of the Chinese idea of crisis: at once a danger and an opportunity. Or as Rahm Emanuel puts it: “Never waste a crisis”. – Little is said about the consequence of the downsizing of Ford on former employees and communities where they lived. A change in the company and the industry did not go without affecting many lives… It is not the subject of the book but could have put in perspective the positive tone of the turnaround and highlighted some costs. – Ford and then Mullaly efforts are narrated over a period of time when Wall Street went crazy. I read “The Big Short” by Michael Lewis and the 2 books offer an interesting contrast. Mullaly (re)built a company that actually makes something whereas the WS financiers did not “make” anything and ran the economy to the ground. He is quoted at some point of the book saying something like “all value comes from engineers”. This is an interesting proposition to reflect on. – There might be a similar story to write about a high tech / software giant at some point soon. Microsoft post-Gates is looking for someone to replace Balmer. Maybe Apple in a post-Cook leadership. Perhaps later Google and Facebook… The high tech industry is currently going through a major change and those who will know how to lead a large company reinvention should be an interesting subjects for the talented Mr. Hoffman.

Reviewer: Sean Bright
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Good Read by a Good Writer
Review: Hoffman is a man who has obviously spent years following Detroit’s Big Three up close and personally. He bats around the names of major automotive executives as though he’s naming the neighbors on his row. He unabashedly loves the American automobile, a view he states from Page One.This book’s strongest trait is its being able to explain complicated business terms in such a way that most anyone can understand it. The turnaround of one of the world’s largest manufacturers is no simple thing, yet Hoffman explained in a step-by-step format that even this high school senior could understand.The largest drawback of this book is that it occasionally devolves into nothing but cheerleading for Ford, and especially Alan Mulally (this reviewer learned to drive on a Ford and has several family members who work for that company, in case there is any question of bias). Granted, the very cover suggests that the author would have a favorable view towards Ford, but Hoffman portrays the inner workings of Ford as full of characters with charisma and compassion, while all competitors, both foreign and domestic, are largely portrayed as faceless monoliths.By and large, those interested in business during the Great Recession, the workings of a modern carmaker, and especially Ford itself will enjoy this book.

Reviewer: Dylan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Easily one of the best reads.

Reviewer: Andy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good read,worth it,nice to read the back story to the effort to save the company from bail out and bankruptcy

Reviewer: Juan Carlos Duran
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: amazing read !!I am surprised about this book, it took me to another dimension where I could think deeply inside business.highly recommended

Reviewer: Luis Fontes
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Una manera muy ilustrativa, agradable y detallada de entender como un líder inspirador guió a un equipo talentoso de personas a unir sus propósitos en un proyecto compartido, enfrentaron todo lo que se puede enfrentar y lograron lo que todos consideraban imposible, inclusive los mismos participantes, Ford Motor Company le dio la vuelta a su propio peso de errores corporativos Gracias a una simple pero poderosa fórmula de disciplina de trabajo y una incomparable claridad de visión. Excelente lectura, ampliamente recomendada a cualquiera que desee una visión sobre lo que es estrategia aplicada.

Reviewer: Vamsi Gollapinni
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The author takes us right into the middle of things at Ford and keeps the reader engaged throughout the book. The writing is so rich with minutiae details that as a reader I felt I was in the middle of organised chaos that was Ford under Alan Mulally. You can feel the pulse of a BPR meeting, at the tense union negotiations and many other situations. Above everything else, the leadership lessons that can be learnt from Alan Mulally in the successful turnaround of Ford are invaluable for anyone dealing with complex environments, and these lessons have been well presented in the book in a structured and easy to follow manner.

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