Alan Mulally
Topics
One of the most fascinating aspects of Alan Mulally, as a business professional, concerns the individuals’ commitment to an exploration of a variety of corporate topics. Mulally has the professional skill of an engineer while possessing an astounding mind for marketing and other functions of business. As the former President and Chief and Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company, Mulally holds many years of experience applying the conceptual and practical knowledge he possesses regarding engineering and business. After examining Mulally’s efforts as an academic, engineer and executive, particular leadership skills become apparent for study and application by emerging business professionals.
Ford
Turning Ford Motor Company into a profitable business after a challenging economic recession exemplifies Mulally’s outstanding leadership qualities. The paradigm for the company’s success remains a frequent point of observation especially since Mulally recently retired on July 1, 2014. Many American citizens, particularly those with a special interest in policies and practices affecting the private sector, celebrate the fact that Ford Motor Company did not take “bail out” funding from the Federal government during the recession. Under Mulally’s leadership, the company did not cause any undue economic or financial burden to the American people, and completely turned around in the marketplace by setting new company goals and implementing sound business practices and procedures.
Literature
A literary work evolved from the business mind of the professional in order to provide, social, political and economic context for his business leadership skills. An American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company, authored by Bryce G. Hoffman and published in 2012, provides an in-depth analysis of the specific procedures Mulally put in place in order to make the company profitable once again. The expertise present in the book will be applied in a new position for the professional as he was appointed to the Google Board of Directors on July 15th, 2014.
An assortment of professional experiences have prepared Mulally for the new challenges ahead at Google. Previously, he served as the executive vice president of Boeing and the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). He even worked as an engineer for Boeing in 1969, and played a major role in helping the BCA compete again Airbus in the 2000s.
Business success can not be the only barometer by which emerging business professional should observe current successful individuals. In Mulally’s case, leadership qualities were in development prior to the accumulation of professional experience. Even though his birthplace was Oakland, California, he grew up in the church in his mother’s hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. He became a member of the Plymouth Congregational Church and received mentorship from Rev. Dale Turner. Mentorships may lead to the development of multiple essential leadership attributes including establishing a personal vision, philosophies of inclusion, decision-making skills, and empathy for humanity. Mulally studied theology and communication with Rev. Turner in order to develop personal leadership skills. He soon developed an appreciation for how people can use rhetoric and oratory abilities to convey important messages to populations. In addition to skills he learned in the church, Mulally held a fascination with the oratory abilities of President John F. Kennedy and his leadership in helping American astronauts implement strategies for reaching the moon for the first time.
Leadership
Even though Mulally had a plethora of personal experiences contributing to his leadership abilities early in life, he did not choose an academic major that emphasized those particular skills. Perhaps a bachelor of arts degree in business, communication or public policy may have been the chosen major if he did not have a natural attraction and skill in the field of science. However, after graduating from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in aeronautical and astronautically engineering, he decided to supplement his education with a degree that would help build leadership qualities. Mulally became a Sloan Fellow from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and earned a Master’s degree in Management. The combination of appropriate transmissive and transformative educational opportunities, along with an assortment of personal leadership training, created the perfect structure in which Mulally could continue intellectual and professional growth.
Since Boeing made him a job offer immediately after college, Mulally had to use the leadership qualities instantly in a corporate environment. After holding several positions in engineering and management, he began to making conceptual design contributions for several of the largest aircraft projects at the company. Mulally was also tasked with managing teams of engineers in order to provide oversight on the completion of the particular projects. Due to his managerial success, Mulally had been named Vice President of Engineering and held responsibility for the overall manufacturing of commercial airplanes. In the 90s he had been promoted to Senior Vice President of Airplane Development and later President of Information, Space & Defense Systems. By the end of the decade he earned the title President of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and became Chief Executive Officer in 2001.
After becoming President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, Mulally took leadership risks in order to make the company more successful. He conducted an examination of all recent policies and procedures and made a determination that the company should continue to manufacture the recently cancelled Taurus line of automobiles. In of allowing the company to scrap on of its top selling models over the last couple decades Mulally decided to transform the manufacturing process to make it more competitive with other popular models in the marketplace (Preslar 49). He also introduced a plan called “The Way Forward” which aimed to re-structure production models on a wide-scale basis and impose cost-cutting strategies. Mulally’s decision for Ford not to engage in potential discussions regarding the acceptance of Federal funding through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, gave the company the ability to avoid investments in time and financial resources which could potentially have a negative impact on the organization. While automakers Chrysler and General Motors choose to testify in court in order to make a request for “bailout” funds, Mulally did not want Ford to engage in such talks as he predicted the receipt could have a detrimental impact on the American economy.
Conclusion
During the most recent American recession, many citizens grew an unfavorable opinion regarding the private sector and its business executives. Many perceived professionals on Wall Street and in corporate offices as out of touch with the working class. Mulally’s leadership qualities contradict such an inaccurate perception. By holding an unwavering commitment to implementing strategies to grow business while providing the most benefits possible to the workers, Mulally successfully improved the company in ways companies receiving bail out funding could not. The existence of the recession and poor public perception were the two most challenging aspects to him imposing professional leadership. Choosing not to receive Federal funding was an extraordinarily unpopular decision to union automanufactors at Ford, and with more liberal thinking Americans at large. Using leadership to implement the appropriate business solution garnered success despite economic, politic and social challenges.
