Widely regarded as one of the top business leaders of his generation, Alan Mulally joins the show to discuss the formation of his leadership strategy and how you can apply his lessons to your life and business.
We discuss the principles of how a team can work together toward a larger goal, creating a culture of love by design, the role of the leader, what happens when people opt out of working together, how to use the ideas of working together in your family life, and so much more.
Now available on: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript
Mulally is perhaps best known as the former President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company, which was struggling during the late-2000s recession before Mulally used his teamwork-oriented philosophy to save the company.
Under Mulally’s leadership from 2006-14, Ford was the only major car manufacturer to avoid a government bailout, and Mulally was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time. Before joining Ford, Mulally spent more than three decades at Boeing, where he eventually served as an Executive Vice President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He also sits on the Board of Directors at Google.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
One of my parents would say these lessons to me just to make sure that I was remembering them and understand them. One day my mom would say, “Now, remember honey, the purpose of life is to love and be loved.” I’d say, “Oh mom, that’s great. I remember, I think that’s good.”
The idea of an integrated life is that you decide what’s really important to you, and be honest with yourself, and also you’re looking at your calendar near and longer term, and are you paying attention to the things that you really believe are important in your life to serve?
Who you are as a person is going to have more to do with your success in whatever you’re choosing to do than anything else.
That’s the most important thing about the leadership team is the be and the do. Who you are and what you do.
Extra Resources
- Working Together Management System
- Working Together Principles and Practices
- The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility: Thriving Organizations
- American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:56 – How Alan started on his service journey
06:12 – What is an integrated life?
09:24 – Why Alan joined Ford
13:38 – Alan’s principles and practices for doing great work
21:54 – How do you actually trust the process?
33:39 – How to deal with people who aren’t team players
52:20 – On the Working Together Management System
01:01:12 – How everyone can be a leader
01:02:25 – Alan’s family “operating system”
01:10:22 – How to coach your kids to give feedback
01:15:51 – How Alan defines success
