|
|||||
|
DGG’s Favorite Links Business Women’s ForumCentral Penn Business JournalCoTweetFacebookHarrisburg Regional ChamberHarvard Business ReviewInternational Association of Business CommunicatorsLinkedInMerriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Tenth EditionNews for EntrepreneursSmall Business ResourcesStrunk & White’s The Elements of StyleThe EconomistThe Wall Street JournalTrendSight GroupTrendwatchingTwitterU.S. DOL Bureau of Labor StatisticsUnited States Copyright Office |
Scott Monty Shares Insight and Advice on Social Media – Part 1Anne Deeter Gallaher and Marisa Corser of the Deeter Gallaher Group met with Ford’s Global Digital Communications Director Scott Monty at Ford Motor Company world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Scott Monty Shares Insight and Advice on Social Media – Part 2Anne Deeter Gallaher and Marisa Corser of the Deeter Gallaher Group met with Ford’s Global Digital Communications Director Scott Monty at Ford Motor Company world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Ford CEO Shares Executive Leadership Lesson in 140 Charactersby Anne Deeter Gallaher
Photo courtesy of Flickr Ford APA One of the most valuable shifts in business communication is taking place on Twitter: a global audience can now learn from industry leaders and apply high-level advice in real time. At Amazon.com, there are 28,242 books written specifically on business strategy. Since it’s impossible to read and filter all that advice, there are competitive advantages to connecting with executives and learning from a primary source. And even more valuable to have access to a Fortune 10 executive’s insight. On March 31, Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally joined members of his management team at the New York International Auto Show for 30 minutes on Twitter. Pictured with Digital Communications Director Scott Montyand fresh from co-chairing the prestigious China Development Forum (CDF) in Beijing, Mulally was available for conversation and questions. Named one of Barron’s World’s Greatest CEOs in March, Alan Mulally’s accessibility defines Ford’s corporate culture.
In a few minutes, his reply to me appeared on Twitter: Focus on the customer, have a compelling vision, relentless implementation, great team. ^AM TY!
An executive with 198,000 employees worldwide, the 7th largest company in the United States and the 17th largest in the world, invited questions from interested people on Twitter. Wow! It’s a new communication model that levels the learning field. I would hope that Scott Monty was flooded with inquisitive tweets for his CEO. Every business student, small business owner, car dealer, and American taxpayer should be interested in the real-time replies from one of the brightest CEOs in the world.
Alan Mulally’s response is a business strategy lesson in 140 characters and is every bit as applicable to small business as it is to the Fortune 10.
Focus on the customer. Common sense? It doesn’t take an algorithm to understand what clients and customers need. But it does require a conversation with the customer. The American automotive industry knows that men and women from every culture want safe, SYNCed, energy-smart, fun-to-drive transportation. The result of Ford’s new obsessive focus on the customer is a litany of consumer and industry recognition for the Fusion, Focus, Transit Connect, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and the social media barnstormer—the Fiesta—with 50,000 hand raisers interested in the vehicle before it touched American soil. It’s a reminder to even the smallest business: Never lose track of why you exist, and who you really serve. Alan Mulally understands there is no such principle as Too big to fail or Too small to matter—and that applies to people as well as corporations.
Have a compelling vision. A quick search on YouTube uncovers the Boeing-turned-Ford exec’s passion and vision. His One Ford mantra is unmistakable, and his executive presence and congeniality nearly compel you to say: Where do I sign up? Mulally is laser-focused on restoring Ford to its global leader status. And yet, to reach that finish line, he realizes they can never take their eyes off the true enablers of this success—the consumers from Pittsburgh to Beijing. “It’s about bringing people together around the world and providing safe and efficient transportation for all. I believe that once people are together, they can share ideas and see that they have much more in common than they are different,” he beams in a video clip for The Second Mile on February 5, 2010.
This vision is redefining transportation and positioning Ford as a world leader in technology and innovation.
Relentless implementation. Execution is critical. Arriving in 2006, Mulally stopped the music at Ford, leaving entire badges and brands without a chair. He leveraged the Blue Oval for the biggest home improvement loan in American history at $26 billion and committed to fair negotiation with the United Auto Workers. Despite near-crippling debt, the company unleashed its best innovators, engineers, and collaborators to bring it through the downturn, and without a cent of government funding. Unlike Columbus who chronicled his journey in two distinct diaries—one for his actual coordinates and time at sea and an altered version for the passengers to believe—Mulally operates with one transparent journal for the entire international corps. His strength of purpose is contagious and built on a deep faith in the endurance and success of American manufacturing.
Great team. Although the CEO is often acclaimed as singlehandedly turning around the Dearborn behemoth, the reality is that he needs passion equal to his purpose from every team player—the manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, engineers, technologists, marketers, and most importantly, the consumers. Acknowledging the responsibilities and risks ahead, he embraces the role of Coach, not Superhero. “It is an honor to serve,” Mulally says with all the trustworthiness of a Boy Scout. If the best CEOs combine “extreme personal humility with intense professional will,” then Ford’s captain is a Best Practices for every business man and woman.
There is a powerful business message in Alan Mulally’s 140 character tweet; and he shared it with the classroom of the future—the public timeline. “Nearly all men can stand the test of adversity, but if you really want to test a man’s character, give him power,” said Abraham Lincoln.
2008 and 2009 delivered unprecedented adversity to Ford and every corner of global manufacturing and enterprise, but the company’s profitable results in 2009 and the first months of 2010 showcase the tenacity, wisdom, and character of its chief executive and his team. The Ford strategy? You can find it in his tweet.
We Need More Leaders Like MulallyThe following is a Wall Street Journal Letter to the Editor by Anne Deeter Gallaher, which appeared in the March 5, 2010 issue. "The Weekend Interview With Alan Mulally" by Paul Ingrassia (Feb. 27) shows a rare glimpse of what we desperately need: an injection of realism. "It’s all about producing products people want," says Mr. Mulally on Ford’s long-shot restructuring and revival. It’s a message entrepreneurs know firsthand—create a product to fill consumer demand. Mr. Mulally has been described by the media as a Boy Scout, with his clean-cut appearance and keen ability to make everyone in his presence feel important, and I’m sure that contributes to the company’s international "One Ford" focus. But you don’t prune a "Fortune seven" organization and negotiate with the United Auto Workers armed with kindness and good intentions. In a time of global uncertainty, we need a business leader with orienteering skills who acts like a leader—no blame, no excuses, no retreat. His strength of purpose appears to come from a deep resolve to prove "There is no reason that America can’t compete in a global economy." The consumer response is clear as shown in Tuesday’s WSJ.com headline: "Ford Outsells GM in the U.S." One positive outcome from our economic vertigo is that strong leaders are refined and weak leaders are exposed. In an industry that was comfortable with glutting the market with too many nameplates and too little innovation, Mr. Mulally is the maverick. "I love hanging out with skilled and motivated people," he says. An executive who commands respect, leads with resolve and delivers results. How refreshing is that? Anne Deeter Gallaher
Survival of the Informed: At Deeter Gallaher Group LLC, We Put our Passion into Practice"Many marketing firms offer cutting-edge copy, award-winning design, and deep media placement—and we are successful in all those areas—but I believe our compelling advantage is our passion and genuine belief in all our clients. We love what we do, because we believe in what our clients do. That’s a service you can’t buy." Influentials in Action Our advocacy on your behalf creates a powerful and pervasive marketing force in diverse circles of influence. Although our names never appear on our clients’ marketing materials, we invest the same brio and creativity into them as if they were our own. In addition to award-winning messaging, we bring a multiplier effect to your brand by whispering your firm into the ears of decision makers and target audiences. Fully immersed in mastering the latest Web 2.0 technologies, we also believe that word of mouth is still the most successful marketing engagement on the planet. Although mass communications and the Internet whisk us around the world before a thought is complete, the global economy begins in our community. We do not strive to be central Pennsylvania’s largest marketing firm, but we do strive to be the best marketing firm. The Deeter Gallaher Group has built strong alliances with graphic designers, photographers, Web site architects, and printers—individuals at the pinnacle of their fields who like us, insist upon excellence in all they do. Our accountability, accessibility, and short chain of command promise our clients proactive marketing strategies and measurable value. A Creative Outlier Our best-in-class clients include Centric Bank, Smith Land & Improvement Corporation, McClure Company, Gannett Fleming, Pierson Computing Connection Inc. (PCCi), LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury Inc., Counsel Trust Company, Annville Family Medicine, The Turnbridge Group at RBC Wealth Management, and Graystone Bank. "The Deeter Gallaher Group brings a fresh perspective and a focused, critical eye to all our marketing messages. Their impressive creativity and boundless capacity to advance our core strengths have opened marketing opportunities in areas we never would have pursued. We appreciate the energy invested in every piece they produce. They continue to surpass our expectations." These clients and a host of others are strategically well-positioned leading media outlets at the local, state, and national level, including The Wall Street Journal, The Patriot-News, Central Penn Business Journal, Harrisburg Magazine, Business2Business, Susquehanna Style, paBanker Magazine, and Time Magazine. "As business storytellers, our ultimate mission in marketing our clients is to create and deliver the best message to their marketplace," said Anne Deeter Gallaher. "The power of language defines our business because it defines your business." Click here for information about our Services. |
Search
|
|||
|
|||||
.jpg)
.jpg)
