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A review by sarahareinhard
American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman
5.0
Our CEO gets the credit for my discovery of American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company, by Bryce G. Hoffman. He mentioned that he was reading it and that he recommended it to all of us.
Hoffman spent 22 years as a newspaper reporter, covering, among other industries, the automobile industry in Detroit. He does more than just report the facts — though he does that, and quite extensively; he also dives into the people who made the story of Ford’s turnaround so impressive.
Alan Mulally, the CEO who’s something of a rock star to those in the business world, becomes more than someone with just the right touch. Hoffman takes readers behind the scenes, into the day-by-day that he faced.
The book, though, doesn’t start with Mulally. It starts with Henry Ford and the company he founded over 100 years ago. Readers get a sweeping view of the history of the company and the limitations placed on it by the people within.
There were all kinds of financial hurdles Ford faced, but what impressed me more than that was the way Mulally combatted the toxic culture Ford had embedded at every level. He didn’t throw up his hands and walk away (and, from the accounts in the book, he wasn’t even tempted!), but dealt with it head-on with optimism.
I couldn’t help but think of some of the toxic cultures I’ve come across in my life, whether in small groups, parishes, or even companies. Mulally reminds me of some of the people I’ve known who seem, at first, to be too good to be true.
Surely they can’t be for real, I’ll think to myself. No one is that nice. And yet, I find, these people are. It’s the light of Christ shining through them; the Holy Spirit at work; the inner glow of what’s possible.
The path to success is one that was worth reading. Hoffman made this book into a cautionary tale, a business case, and a stellar storyline. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t have to be fiction to be a page-turner.
Hoffman spent 22 years as a newspaper reporter, covering, among other industries, the automobile industry in Detroit. He does more than just report the facts — though he does that, and quite extensively; he also dives into the people who made the story of Ford’s turnaround so impressive.
Alan Mulally, the CEO who’s something of a rock star to those in the business world, becomes more than someone with just the right touch. Hoffman takes readers behind the scenes, into the day-by-day that he faced.
The book, though, doesn’t start with Mulally. It starts with Henry Ford and the company he founded over 100 years ago. Readers get a sweeping view of the history of the company and the limitations placed on it by the people within.
There were all kinds of financial hurdles Ford faced, but what impressed me more than that was the way Mulally combatted the toxic culture Ford had embedded at every level. He didn’t throw up his hands and walk away (and, from the accounts in the book, he wasn’t even tempted!), but dealt with it head-on with optimism.
I couldn’t help but think of some of the toxic cultures I’ve come across in my life, whether in small groups, parishes, or even companies. Mulally reminds me of some of the people I’ve known who seem, at first, to be too good to be true.
Surely they can’t be for real, I’ll think to myself. No one is that nice. And yet, I find, these people are. It’s the light of Christ shining through them; the Holy Spirit at work; the inner glow of what’s possible.
The path to success is one that was worth reading. Hoffman made this book into a cautionary tale, a business case, and a stellar storyline. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t have to be fiction to be a page-turner.