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Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (Hardcover)
by Lee Iacocca
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Leadership |
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| MSL Pointer Review:
Didn't close the book until it was finished. Timeless principles and a great book for leaders who want to be great - Leadership all is simply influence nothing more nothing less. |
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Author: Lee Iacocca
Publisher: Scribner
Pub. in: April, 2007
ISBN: 1416532471
Pages: 192
Measurements: 7.6 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00851
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-1416532477
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- Awards & Credential -
One of the most recent Amazon.com bestsellers on business, or more specifically, on leadership. |
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- MSL Picks -
Iacocca comes out with both guns blazing from page one, and never stops till the last page. Iacocca provides readers with a clear, concise summary of our major problems - escalating healthcare costs and deficits, a border that is a sieve, an energy crisis, losing manufacturing to Asia, leadership that doesn't face these key issues, and a President given a free pass to ignore the Constitution and tap our phones after leading us to war on a pack of lies.
Iacocca then goes on to provide clear and credible recommendations for each of these problems, and along the way offers his own framework (eg. curiosity, creative, courage, competent, common sense) for describing/evaluating leadership and then uses that framework to succinctly assess Bush II and the major candidates vying to take his place.
Another major "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" suggestion is that Congress take a year off and pass no new legislation - instead evaluate programs that already exist. Iacocca points out that the "War on Drugs" has consumed about $1 trillion, while little, if anything has been accomplished. And what has been accomplished, he asks, of maintaining an on-going decades-long feud with Castro?
Among the top issues he personally focuses on in the book are Energy, Fair Trade vice Free Trade, restoration of moral capitalism and an end to the CEO looting of companies at the expense of workers; the protection of the middle class, the reduction of medical bureaucracies, and the US brain gap - South Korea, Japan, and Singapore are getting a reverse brain drain from the US, as well as training their own better than we are.
The book closes with a discussion of four traits he learned from others: Optimism; Common Sense; Discipline; and - from his mother - Love. At the end, he calls America to action, asking each of us to give something up, put something back in, and elect a leader.
(From quoting an American reader)
Target readers:
Executives, managers, government leaders, entrepreneurs and MBAs.
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Iacocca (born October 15, 1924) is an American industrialist most commonly known for his revival of the Chrysler brand in the 1980s when he was the CEO. Among the most widely recognized businessmen in the world, he was a passionate advocate of U.S. business exports during the 1980s. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Iacocca: An Autobiography (with William Novak), and Where have all the Leaders Gone?
Iacocca joined Ford in the early 1950's and after a brief stint on engineering, he quickly asked to be moved to sales and marketing where his career flourished. While working in a local district for sales, Iacocca gained national notoriety in 1956 with his "56 for 56" campaign, offering $56 monthly payment loans for 1956 model year cars. His campaign went national and Iacocca was called to Dearborn where he quickly moved through the ranks to become President of the Ford Division on his 40th birthday, October 15, 1964. Iacocca was involved with the design of several successful Ford automobiles, most notably the Ford Mustang. Also, he was responsible for the Lincoln Continental Mark III, the Ford Fiesta and the revival of the Mercury brand in the late 1960's, including the introduction of the Mercury Cougar and Mercury Marquis. He was also the "moving force," as one court put it, behind the notorious Ford Pinto. He promoted other ideas which did not reach the marketplace as Ford products. These included cars ultimately introduced by Chrysler- the K car and the minivan. Eventually, he became the president of the Ford Motor Company, but he clashed with Henry Ford II and ultimately, in 1978, he was notoriously fired by Henry II, despite Ford posting a $2 billion profit for the year.
After being fired at Ford, Lee was aggressively courted by the Chrysler Corporation, which was on the verge of going out of business (at the time, the company was losing millions due to recalls of the Chrysler F platform vehicles, the Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare). Iacocca joined Chrysler and began rebuilding the entire company from the ground up, laying off many workers, selling Chrysler's loss-making European division to Peugeot, and bringing in many former associates from Ford. Also from Ford, Iacocca brought to Chrysler the MiniMax project which turned into the wildly successful minivan. Interestingly, Henry Ford II wanted nothing to do with the MiniMax, making it a doomed project at Ford. Hal Sperlich, the driving force behind the MiniMax at Ford had been fired a few months before Iacocca and was waiting for him at Chrysler to make automotive history.
Iacocca started as Chrysler's chairman, and began a heavy restructuring of Chrysler. At the time Iacocca took over, Chrysler was on the verge of bankruptcy, as it was focusing most of its money on large, fuel thirsty cars that the public didn't want due to a fuel crisis at the time. First, Iacocca announced plant closures, job layoffs, and his plans for the company. His next move was cutting several large models, which were heavily unprofitable, and put the subcompact Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon into production. The Omni and Horizon became instant hits, selling over 300,000 units each their debut year, showing what was to come for Chrysler - yet somewhat ironically the Omni and Horizon had been designed by the European division of the company which Iacocca had axed in 1978. Realizing that the company would go out of business if it did not receive a significant amount of money to turn the company around, Iacocca approached the United States Congress in 1979 and asked for a loan guarantee. While it is sometimes said that Congress lent Chrysler the money, it, in fact, only guaranteed the loans. Most thought this was an unprecedented move, but Iacocca pointed to the government bail-outs of the airline and railroad industries, arguing that more jobs were at stake in Chrysler's possible demise. In the end, though the decision was controversial, Iacocca received the loan guarantee from the government.
After receiving this reprieve, Chrysler released the first of the K-Car line, the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant in 1981, compact automobiles based on design proposals that Ford had rejected during Iacocca's tenure there. Coming right after the oil crisis of the 1970s, these small, efficient and inexpensive, front-wheel drive cars sold rapidly. In addition, two years later Chrysler released the minivan, based on a proposal of a key engineering executive Hal Sperlich who joined Chrysler after being dismissed by Ford; to this day, Chrysler leads the automobile industry in minivan sales. Because of these three cars, and the reforms Iacocca implemented, the company turned around quickly and was actually able to repay the government-backed loans seven years earlier than expected; most of it came from cars built on the K platform.
Iacocca was also responsible for Chrysler's acquisition of AMC in 1987, which brought the profitable Jeep division under Chrysler's corporate umbrella. It also created the short-lived Eagle division, formed from the remnants of AMC. By this time, AMC had already finished most of the work with the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which Iacocca desperately wanted. The Grand Cherokee would not be released until 1992 for the 1993 model year, at which time Iacocca left Chrysler.
In July 2005, Iacocca returned to the airwaves as Chrysler's pitchman, along with stars such as Jason Alexander and Snoop Dogg, to promote Chrysler's "Employee Pricing Plus" program; the ads reprise the "If you can find a better car, buy it" line that was Iacocca's trademark in the 1980s. In return for his services, Iacocca and DaimlerChrysler agreed that his fees, plus a $1 donation per vehicle sold from July 1 through December 31, 2005, would be donated to the Iacocca Foundation for diabetes research.
- From http://en.wikipedia.org
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From the publisher
Legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?
The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America's leaders must address:
- What is each of us giving back to our country?
- Do we truly love democracy?
- Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?
- Why is America addicted to oil?
- Do we really care about our children's futures?
- Who will save the middle class?
A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Since then he has created the Iacocca Institute for leadership at Lehigh University and the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes. Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis - such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anyone else - among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations - and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.
Author of the gigantic number one bestsellers Iacocca: An Autobiography and Talking Straight, Lee Iacocca famously doesn't mince words and offers his no-nonsense, straight-up assessments of the American politicians most likely to run for president in 2008, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, and John Edwards.
Confessing that he has "flunked retirement," Iacocca calls on citizens of all ages to vote, get involved, and choose our leaders carefully. Along the way, he shares stories about the prominent people he's met and known, including the time he smoked cigars with Fidel Castro, what Bob Hope told him about how to live a long life, what Lady Sarah Ferguson said to him as they danced, why Bill Clinton woke him up in Italy, what Robert McNamara taught him about success, how Frank Sinatra sang for him personally, and whom Pope John Paul II asked him to pray for. We learn what he discussed with Warren Buffett, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche, Ronald Reagan, Senator John Kerry, Congressman John Murtha, Prince Charles and Camilla, former Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, rapper Snoop Dogg, financier Kirk Kerkorian, Ted Turner, Bob Dole, and many more.
Knowing that the times are urgent, the iconic leader shares his lessons learned and issues a call to action to summon Americans back to their roots of hard work, common sense, integrity, generosity, and optimism.
Where have all the leaders gone?
Lee Iacocca has the answer.
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I Had enough?
Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to - as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS, ANYWAY?
Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them - or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.
And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
THE TEST OF A LEADER
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points -- not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
So, here's my C list:
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President -- the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, "Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.
Leadership is all about managing change -- whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths -- for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION - a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President - four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.
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| View all 10 comments |
Kevin (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-18 00:00>
Every American should read this book. Lee Iacocca is a hero to those who worked for Chrysler during the 1970-1990 period - and to those who held its stock during those years. He persuaded Congress to lend $10 billion to the company, and then paid back every dime.
Now he criticizes the Bush administration, the Democrats, the young, and the rest of us - and he is absolutely right in every respect. Bush is a disaster; the Democrats have no courage; the young are over-entertained; and the rest of us fail to demand that our political leaders lead us in sensible directions. |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-18 00:00>
For those who don't know, Lee Iacocca is the former CEO of Chrysler, and played a large role in rescuing that company from the brink of financial disaster. This book, his first in a decade, is an enjoyable collection of his thoughts on politics, the auto industry, and a wide variety of other subjects.
Iacocca is 82 now, and is very blunt and colorful in his opinions. He has a very poor opinion of President Bush, who he describes as a "clueless bozo" who lacks the leadership qualities to be a good President. Fans of the Bush administration will probably not like this book, but keep in mind that Iacocca is a political independent who has supported both Democrats and Republicans in the past. In fact, Iacocca endorsed Bush in 2000 and recently supported the Republican candidate for governor in Michigan in the last election. So he is hardly a knee-jerk partisan. Either way, I found his political observations both entertaining and illuminating.
I also found Iacocca's opinions of the auto industry to be interesting. He strongly believes that Detroit should now be building smaller cars. He applauds GM for dumping the Oldsmobile brand and wonders why they haven't done the same thing with the Saturn brand yet. Iacocca also has a very poor opinion of the Daimer-Benz/Chrysler merger, and has sharp words for his CEO successor, Bob Eaton. It's all very fascinating stuff.
All in all, this is a fun, no-nonsense book by a man unafraid to speak his mind. It's a nice antidote to the slick talking heads on cable tv. |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-18 00:00>
Enjoyed this book a lot. Well written presentation of Iacocca's views and experiences. This guy is a straight shooter. Refreshing. Very hard on Bush. (With the book's title, one might expect that.) This book is a lot biography, which I enjoyed. Difficult to put down! My wife's reaction was the same. |
Bill (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-18 00:00>
This is an outstanding book and far better than Giuliani's book on leadership. It should be compulsory reading for anyone in America. It is typical Iacoca, plain, direct and blunt spoken, a little rough around the edges from a writing perspective, but full of the best thoughts on what leadership really is all about and clear ideas on what we should do to extricate America from its present dilemmas. I wish Mr. Iacoca were 20 years younger and could run for president himself. We need him. I also wish he and I were personal friends as he is the kind of person I would like to have in my life. |
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