Ford Fights Back: Full Text Of Mulally's Email To Employees

[Perian]

Link: www.wsj.com

After Alan Mulally took the helm of Ford on October 1, he sent a company-wide email on Oct. 13 titled "First Impressions." Below is the full text of the message.

* * *

I've been on the job -- officially anyway -- for two weeks. In that time I've had a lot of interaction with people, but I realized there will never be enough hours in the days to see and talk to everyone. So I thought I would write to all of you with some initial thoughts and impressions.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I've spent a lot of time with our leadership team reviewing our plans, asking questions, and evaluating our prospects. Bill Ford was completely candid about the challenges we face, so I came into this with my eyes wide open. We have some very big decisions to make about what kind of business we need to become. And, as you well know, this is an extraordinarily gut-wrenching time at Ford Motor Company, particularly as we become smaller in some of our core areas, such as North America. Some very good and loyal people are going to leave this company between now and next summer, and that's going to be tough on everyone.

And yet, people are the reason I'm so excited about being here. I've met so many Ford Motor Company employees who want to work together to help this company find its footing again and grow. They are bursting with ideas, and they share them with me when they send me emails, stop me in the hallway or run into me in the cafeteria. They want me to know how great this company has been in the past, and how it turned around its fortunes just when the future seemed bleakest. Ford people know the talent that we have in our product development area, and the great resource we have in our dealer networks. And they know we can restake our claim as history's best example of a company that enriches the lives of all its stakeholders: investors, customers, dealers, suppliers, employees, our union partners and the countries and communities in which we live.

It wouldn't take anyone very long to realize that Ford people are winners by nature. The sense of pride in the value Ford has always created in more than a century is obvious and justified. And it is encouraging that there are so many areas of excellence we can point to within our company right now. But pockets of success aren't enough. Not today. Not in this competitive environment. We need success across our entire enterprise. To get there, we need to have a universally agreed to and understood business plan. It needs to be a single plan, and it needs to work for the entire company. Competitors may try to "divide and conquer" us; I'm determined we are not going to do that to ourselves. So we need to set such a plan in place and ensure that everyone knows how we're doing against it. We need to agree on the urgent issues, and we need to work together as never before to achieve our objectives.

I've started weekly Business Plan Reviews with the senior leadership team. Together we look at one set of data on one screen. We talk to each other with candor and respect. We are all determined to get to one plan for our company. We will all participate, and we will all support each other's efforts to succeed. I don't yet know everything I need to know about Ford, but I do know that this is the only way I can work.

There are lots of details to come, but I can tell you with certainty that our plan will be built around three priorities:

• PEOPLE: A skilled and motivated work force.
• PRODUCTS: Detailed customer knowledge and focus.
• PRODUCTIVITY: A lean global enterprise.

With these as priorities we will build our business model with a clear view of our competitive environment and our own financial circumstances. And together we will answer the most fundamental questions. What are the critical elements needed for a compelling business plan? How accurate are our assumptions? How do we get losses behind us and once again create profitable growth for all?

I know that the people of Ford have been through some tough times in the past few years. I wasn't here to share that with you, but I am here now to help move us forward. For me it is at once the most humbling and exciting prospect of my professional life. But I can tell you from previous experience that as demoralizing as a slide down may be, the ride back up is infinitely more exhilarating. And there is no better feeling than knowing that your personal contribution is helping to move this great enterprise forward again.

Everyone loves a comeback story. Let's work together to write the best one ever.

Thank you!

[Perian]

Originally Posted by Perian

• PEOPLE: A skilled and motivated work force.
• PRODUCTS: Detailed customer knowledge and focus.
• PRODUCTIVITY: A lean global enterprise.

Looks good on paper at least.

[nascarnate326]

Well he knows how to send a great email, now create some must have cars.
Or better yet, bring some of those european cars over here. Ill buy one, im not shy.

[member12]

Good luck selling the new Edge. Hope it works out.

[Psionic Wibbly]

any one can write an e mail with the bravest possible words! these are mere words without any proof of action!

the question is ; does Ford have what it takes (other than pep talk and penning e mails) takes to carry the fight to a rampaging ToyoHonda on one flank and a newly resurgent aggressive GM on the other?

I honestly think not. I fear greatly for the welfare of this one mighty corporation

[monza164]

Originally Posted by Perian

There are lots of details to come, but I can tell you with certainty that our plan will be built around three priorities:

• PEOPLE: A skilled and motivated work force.
• PRODUCTS: Detailed customer knowledge and focus.
• PRODUCTIVITY: A lean global enterprise.

Oh good the Focus is a priority, but what about the rest of their lineup. And how are you going to sell customer knowledge?

[VibenPontiac]

Originally Posted by Psionic Wibbly

any one can write an e mail with the bravest possible words! these are mere words without any proof of action!

the question is ; does Ford have what it takes (other than pep talk and penning e mails) takes to carry the fight to a rampaging ToyoHonda on one flank and a newly resurgent aggressive GM on the other?

I honestly think not. I fear greatly for the welfare of this one mighty corporation

Based on what Alan Mulally did at Boeing and some of the future products I would say Ford's future look a lot brighter than it did say 6 months ago. They've got tons and tons of work to do but overall the company seems to have bottomed out.

[KingElvis]

These are fine and noble sentiments. Too bad they'll have little to do with the decline of manufacturing in the U.S.

I have a plan that would revive US industry:

Stop being a debtor nation: stop trading US debt for foreign manufactured goods (like cars).

Exchange rates: decrease value of the dollar relative to yen, Euro and wan.

Universal health care. The US spends more on this than any other nation. Having a single payer plan where everyone must contribute would erase the US's most glaring inefficiencies.

It's understandable that car guys want to talk about design and engines and neat stuff like that in reference to US industry's decline in the US macroeconomy - but they have little to do with the big picture on the decline and apparent end of US manufacturing.

[ByTheLake]

No surprises here. Mulally has to stabilize Ford's operations, and that begins with maintaining, and hopefully motivating, the employees.

He may have had a hand in the email, but when you're the CEO of a company the size of Ford, your communication group does most of the wordsmithing. Mr. Mulally likely reviewed and approved what was proposed, which is fine.

He has a significant challenge for sure. I wish him the best.

[Psionic Wibbly]

Originally Posted by VibenPontiac

Based on what Alan Mulally did at Boeing and some of the future products I would say Ford's future look a lot brighter than it did say 6 months ago. They've got tons and tons of work to do but overall the company seems to have bottomed out.

sure boeing had only one other company as a competitor (and this company airbus was essentially a docile cow; uncompetitive in nature as it depended on heavy govt subsidies from a dozen different eu govts from day one);

toyohondassan are like tigers; plus he has to fight against newly resurgent GM; and he does not know much about cars in the first place anyway.

he's gonna find it very tough going

[gardnet1]

Originally Posted by Psionic Wibbly

any one can write an e mail with the bravest possible words! these are mere words without any proof of action!

the question is ; does Ford have what it takes (other than pep talk and penning e mails) takes to carry the fight to a rampaging ToyoHonda on one flank and a newly resurgent aggressive GM on the other?

I honestly think not. I fear greatly for the welfare of this one mighty corporation

Of course they do, just look at Ford Europe, Ford Australia, Ford South America, Mazda and Volvo. They are all successful, profitable (maybe not this year for Volvo) and have a loyal following. All they have to do is raise the standards for the US models to the Euro/Aussie standards. Consumers won't mind paying the extra cost for the extra value. And they might save some money on development costs by combining Euro/Aussie/ and NA design into a global product unit. This would help to accelerate their product development and somewhat recoop the extra cost of higher value vehicles that they would sell.

[tgagneguam]

I've met so many Ford Motor Company employees who want to work together to help this company find its footing again and grow...

Well color me surprised! Here I was thinking that I was the only one on the planet that still believes that GM and Ford can simultaneously grow their sales and make money; the two are not mutually exclusive conditions. Admittedly, it would be a tough task, but certainly not impossible.

It's one e-mail, and it's hard to make too much of it, but it'd be nice if Detroit finally showed some signs of being an aggressive competitor.

[MaxLegroom]

Originally Posted by Psionic Wibbly

sure boeing had only one other company as a competitor (and this company airbus was essentially a docile cow; uncompetitive in nature as it depended on heavy govt subsidies from a dozen different eu govts from day one);

toyohondassan are like tigers; plus he has to fight against newly resurgent GM; and he does not know much about cars in the first place anyway.

he's gonna find it very tough going

Actually, he might have a clue. He's going from being in an industry where his main competitor is subsidized by government(s), to being in one where the main competition works hand in hand with its government, while dealing with a American government that could not possibly care less whether it continues to exist or not.

Ford will have to stop taking the American car buyer, rather than truck buyer, for a fool. They will have to leave no segment of the market neglected, at least those they are currently in. That means that things like the second rehashing of the old Focus will not do to compete with things like the new Civic, and any upcoming Corolla, as an example.

Ford could learn a bit from GM's renaissance, but someone needs to do better intellgence craft on Toyota and Honda. This would not be to see what products they are working on next, but to examine the processes used in development of their cars, and the parts that go into them. To compete with GM, never mind Toyota, will require strategy, not just tactics.

[steverino]

The only thing that is going to pull Ford from the declining depths is great product that compels the buyer to not even consider the competition, unfortunately these products do not happen overnight in the auto industry, the lead time is a killer and the competition is a moving target which just makes any turnaround all the more difficult

[Extreme4x4]

Actually, while I feel that great products are a start, the domestic industry has a much harder nut to crack. That is the nut of perception.

Ford and GM can build the absolute best, most amazing products on the planet, and it will still take 10+ years for the perception of their products to catch up.

Add to that, the American populaces hatred of all things American (world, we are so sorry for being a successful nation........... ), and the job is truly daunting.

A successful leader is a successful leader. It doesn't matter what business they come from............. or where they go. I truly feel that Mullaly is the best man at this time. I guess time will tell (not a year or two, as that is nothing in the automotive manufacturing scheme of things).