Elevate with Robert Glazer Elevate Classics: Alan Mulally on Reviving The Ford Motor Company
Apr 30, 2026
Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford and Boeing executive who led the Boeing 777 program, shares leadership and turnaround stories. He discusses his 'working together' management system. He explains people-first leadership, weekly business reviews, breaking a culture of fear, and the One Ford strategy that simplified brands and restored profitability.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Plan For The Unexpected With Comprehensive Validation
- Expect the unexpected and plan validation steps across technical, supplier, customer, and testing domains.
- Define vision, strategy, supplier inclusion, technical validation, and post-flight validation as part of the roadmap.
Working Together Is A Culture By Design
- Working Together is built from clear principles, disciplined governance, a cohesive leadership team, stakeholder inclusion, and weekly business plan reviews.
- Mulally emphasized culture-by-design where behaviors, meetings, and decision rules create psychological safety and relentless implementation.
Hold Weekly Color Coded Business Plan Reviews
- Run weekly, cross-functional business plan reviews where each leader color-codes their status and presents facts and data.
- Make leaders present their own charts, share reds openly, and use the team to turn reds to yellows to greens.
