eidolem's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book! The bailouts, corporate culture, and team building are mesmerizing.
miscbrah's review against another edition
4.0
Audible version
This was a pretty book particularly beginning from chapters 15 - 21. This is when the author begins the discussion of TARP and how Ford got a private bailout rather than being taken over by the U.S. government like GM did. I was most interested in this part and obtaining an insight into the auto industry restructuring.
The first third of the book is a chronology of Ford's history up until Alan Mulally comes in. It does go over some of the reasons why he joined Ford and their recruitment efforts. Ford was a really innovative company back when it was first created up until 1960s. The author says they got complacent and they had some safety issues with their vehicles (Ford Pinto for example). They couldn't keep up with the Asian car companies. Another thing that really hurt them was that they were hyper focused on trucks and SUVs when sedans and EVs started becoming popular. They also killed of the Taurus which was their leading car back in the day. Alan found this puzzling. You get an insight too into how powerful the UAW was/still is.
Alan was really different than other CEOs and management in the car industry. He's this charismatic aeronautical engineer from Boeing. He did a great turnaround job there when they were affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You can see why Alan was successful at Boeing and Ford. This was a good book and probably would of been better for me to read rather than listen to audible as I walk my dog or bike.
This was a pretty book particularly beginning from chapters 15 - 21. This is when the author begins the discussion of TARP and how Ford got a private bailout rather than being taken over by the U.S. government like GM did. I was most interested in this part and obtaining an insight into the auto industry restructuring.
The first third of the book is a chronology of Ford's history up until Alan Mulally comes in. It does go over some of the reasons why he joined Ford and their recruitment efforts. Ford was a really innovative company back when it was first created up until 1960s. The author says they got complacent and they had some safety issues with their vehicles (Ford Pinto for example). They couldn't keep up with the Asian car companies. Another thing that really hurt them was that they were hyper focused on trucks and SUVs when sedans and EVs started becoming popular. They also killed of the Taurus which was their leading car back in the day. Alan found this puzzling. You get an insight too into how powerful the UAW was/still is.
Alan was really different than other CEOs and management in the car industry. He's this charismatic aeronautical engineer from Boeing. He did a great turnaround job there when they were affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You can see why Alan was successful at Boeing and Ford. This was a good book and probably would of been better for me to read rather than listen to audible as I walk my dog or bike.
jstuartmill's review against another edition
4.0
While this book makes Alan Mulally look like he can walk on water I still ended up liking it a lot. It was a clear case study in how what it takes to heal a dying company. It takes massive job cuts, rededication to a singular vision and overall compassion and love for your product. I learned a lot of important lessons reading this I hope to take into any leadership job I have in the future.
brady2387's review against another edition
5.0
It's an incredible real life story told masterfully. I listened to the book and it was hard to turn off when I got out of the car! The author did a great job with his research and making it come alive.
lucrumverus's review
5.0
"Running a business is a design job. You need a point of view about the future, A really good plan to deliver that future, and then relentless implementation." - Alan Mulally
brycee8f83's review
3.0
Pretty impressive the level of detail and insight Hoffman has into what happened at Ford while Alan Mulally was CEO. Definitely some good management nuggets from Mulally, such as his weekly review meetings with managers, emphasis on transparency, positive attitude, and intense focus on only the most vital elements and brands of the business.
No question Mulally had a big impact in Ford's survival of the recession, but I wasn't convinced Ford's direction wasn't inevitable. Ford had already initiated their bond issuance and credit line expansion before Mulally, which was the main factor in keeping Ford out of bankruptcy. His major model contributions were the Fusion, Edge, and Focus. Although the Edge still sells modestly, the Fusion has seen significant downturn in sales over the last several years and the Focus has been discontinued. Ford was and is still primarily driven by its sales of F-series trucks, which were hardly mentioned in the book.
All this to say that while I'm impressed by Mulally's contribution, what Ford is today and how Ford dealt with the recession are each primarily a result of the environment and the inevitable rolling forward of a giant company.
The book itself has great content but you can only make the story of giant automaker so interesting.
No question Mulally had a big impact in Ford's survival of the recession, but I wasn't convinced Ford's direction wasn't inevitable. Ford had already initiated their bond issuance and credit line expansion before Mulally, which was the main factor in keeping Ford out of bankruptcy. His major model contributions were the Fusion, Edge, and Focus. Although the Edge still sells modestly, the Fusion has seen significant downturn in sales over the last several years and the Focus has been discontinued. Ford was and is still primarily driven by its sales of F-series trucks, which were hardly mentioned in the book.
All this to say that while I'm impressed by Mulally's contribution, what Ford is today and how Ford dealt with the recession are each primarily a result of the environment and the inevitable rolling forward of a giant company.
The book itself has great content but you can only make the story of giant automaker so interesting.
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