Bryce G. Hoffman

A riveting, behind-the-scenes account of the near collapse of the Ford Motor Company, which in 2008 was close to bankruptcy, and CEO Alan Mulally's hard-fought effort and bold plan--including his decision not to take federal bailout money--to bring Ford back from the brink.

Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

American Icon

Describes the concepts behind "Red Teaming," a critical and contrarian thinking process that shows businesses how to overcome mental blind spots and better plan for uncertainties when addressing complex problems to lay the foundation for success.  -- Provided by the publisher.

how your business can conquer the competition by challenging everything

Red teaming

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE EPIC TURNAROUND OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CEO ALAN MULALLY. At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin, Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline, but Ford decided to save itself. Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally, Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations, transform its lackluster product lineup, and overcome a dys­functional culture of infighting, backstabbing, and excuses. It was an extraordinary risk, but it was the only way the Ford family—America's last great industrial dynasty—could hold on to their company. Mulally and his team pulled off one of the great­est comebacks in business history. As the rest of Detroit collapsed, Ford went from the brink of bankruptcy to being the most profitable automaker in the world. American Icon is the compelling, behind-the-scenes account of that epic turnaround. On the verge of collapse, Ford went outside the auto industry and recruited Mulally—the man who had already saved Boeing from the deathblow of 9/11—to lead a sweeping restructuring of a company that had been unable to overcome decades of mismanage­ment and denial. Mulally applied the principles he developed at Boeing to streamline Ford's inefficient operations, force its fractious executives to work together as a team, and spark a product renaissance in Dearborn. He also convinced the United Auto Workers to join his fight for the soul of American manufacturing. Bryce Hoffman reveals the untold story of the covert meetings with UAW leaders that led to a game-changing contract, Bill Ford's battle to hold the Ford family together when many were ready to cash in their stock and write off the company, and the secret alliance with Toyota and Honda that helped prop up the Amer­ican automotive supply base. In one of the great management narratives of our time, Hoffman puts the reader inside the boardroom as Mulally uses his celebrated Business Plan Review meet­ings to drive change and force Ford to deal with the painful realities of the American auto industry. Hoffman was granted unprecedented access to Ford's top executives and top-secret company documents. He spent countless hours with Alan Mulally, Bill Ford, the Ford family, former executives, labor leaders, and company directors. In the bestselling tradition of Too Big to Fail and The Big Short, American Icon is narrative nonfiction at its vivid and colorful best.

THE GAME-CHANGING APPROACH TO STRATEGY AND PLANNING THAT WILL KEEP YOUR BUSINESS AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION 'American Icon was one of the most significant business books ever written and Red Teaming is further proof that Bryce Hoffman is one of the great business writers and thinkers of our time. This is a book that every business and team needs to read NOW! - Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Energy Bus and You Win in the Locker Room First 'Another home run for Bryce Hoffman. Red teaming methods can correct overconfidence and impulsive decision making - just what we need today' - Gary Klein, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, MacroCognition LLC, and author of Sources of Power 'Red Teaming provides the specific tools and a reliable process to continuously improve your management system and business plan to adapt and thrive in our rapidly changing world' - Alan Mulally, Retired President and CEO of The Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airplanes Developed by the military and intelligence agencies, red teaming is a revolutionary way to stress-test strategies, flush out unseen threats and missed opportunities and execute more successfully in an increasingly uncertain world. Red teaming can help any company plan better, anticipate emerging threats and avoid potentially disastrous mistakes - from mistimed product launches to ill-conceived acquisitions. Drawing on the latest research in cognitive psychology, red teaming is specifically designed to overcome the mental blind spots and biases companies and individuals fall victim to when making big decisions or trying to solve complex problems. Red teaming makes critical and contrarian thinking part of the planning process, forcing companies to take a hard look their assumptions, examine the ways in which plans could fail, and carefully consider alternative explanations and perspectives. It enables organizations to make smarter choices and turn disruptive events into opportunities. Many of these same approaches have been organically incorporated into the decision-making processes of today's most sucecssful companies, from Amazon and Google to Ford and Toyota. As the first civilian to graduate from the US Army's elite red team leaders course, Bryce Hoffman is uniquely placed to reveal a clear set of tools and techniques that will enable every company, department, team and organization to adopt this game-changing method into their business too. By embracing red teaming, managers, leaders and aspiring leaders in companies of every size and in every industry will be able to plan better, compete more effectively, innovate more proactively, and make their businesses one of the disruptors in the marketplace, rather than one of the disrupted. Don't get left behind.

Bryce G. Hoffman

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