Exploring ideas in the real world.
How do we know what works for our clients? By being curious & making the world our own living laboratory.
The Dareful Project
A podcast series
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Season 3 focuses on learning from leadership. Episode 1 features business leader Alan Mulally in a riveting masterclass on work, family and creating change. Here's more:
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At Ford, I got to work with one of the best CEO's I've ever met: Alan Mulally. Alan arrived at Ford during a tough time--Ford was on the ropes and Alan was brought in by Bill Ford to turn the company around. There were a million decisions, big and small, that Alan was faced with every day. But most critical: leading us back into being one team working together at every corner of the company. Here are a few things I learned from Alan about building a strong team:
Everyone plays by the same rules: Alan was keenly aware of the subtle ways senior leaders could signal power and status. Alan would have none of it. During meetings, when he reached for his pen to take notes, it was a humble Ford-logoed ballpoint—a pen you could find in the cafeteria for 99 cents. Never forgot how that one gesture set the tone for how everyone was to behave.
Be curious: Alan was famous for walking the halls to find in progress meetings. He'd slip in and observe quietly. When asked for an opinion, he'd smile and wave us off. But he remembered everything. I asked him about this later and he said he helped him understand what was going on with fewer filters.
See people beyond the work: Alan had a unique habit. When someone produced an outstanding report, positive news article or impressive presentation, he'd draw a heart on it and return it to the person responsible. At first I was puzzled--a CEO sending heart drawings? But then I saw the goodness and power of this gesture. It became the gold standard of a job well done. Even years after Alan's tenure from Ford, my colleagues still proudly displayed their "Alan hearts" on their bulletin boards.
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