Product Description

From FORD TOUGH

The accident is serious. There are injuries, maybe deaths. The site is unstable. We are in contact with authorities.

Bill Ford Jr. drove to World Headquarters and was met in his 12th floor office by Vella and by Neil Golightly, who was in his first weeks as director of the chairman’s office, with duties that were part public affairs and part executive assistant for Ford. Golightly remembers Ford being visibly concerned and distraught when he walked into the office and sat down for updated information on the accident. Details were still sketchy.

"Do you think I should go?" Ford asked.

Golightly was barely three weeks into his job and still getting to know and understand the man he worked for. The company’s CEO was out of the country. Its head of public affairs was out of town. The chairman bore the company name and the Rouge was an unstable accident scene at a volatile, 78-year-old powerhouse with boilers fed by natural gas. Golightly followed his first gut reaction and advised Ford not to go.

"That’s ridiculous," Ford said. "I’ve got to go."

"Generals don’t go to the front lines," another company adviser told the chairman.

"Bust me down to private then," Ford responded, "because I’m out of here."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #954872 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Automotive authority Magee (Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan) describes this book as the "story of an American struggle," but readers not of a business bent may have difficulties relating to the struggles of energetic CEO Bill Ford and the company that bears his family name. A "golden-boy heir grown into a family-man executive," Bill Ford is the great-grandson of automobile pioneer Henry Ford and the first family member to run the company since 1979. Drawing upon interviews with Bill and his friends, Magee paints a flattering portrait of the CEO, who got straight A’s in school, captained the football team, mixed with kids in blue collar neighborhoods, attended Princeton, worked his way up in the company on the executive track and got a seat on the board of directors when he was barely 30. In 2001, when the company started to flounder under then CEO Jac Nasser (who’s unflatteringly described as hard-driving, impulsive and "diminutive" at five-foot-six), Ford got in the driver’s seat and steered the company back on course. Magee notes that "assuming the full-time duties of CEO had not been high on Bill’s priority list," but the man himself later admits, "I’d be kidding if I said every day is a bed of roses, but this ‘reluctant CEO’ stuff is for the birds…. There is nothing I would rather be doing." The ills Bill helps the company overcome are no worse than what many businesses suffered after the dot-com crash, and other books (like Louis Gerstner’s Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance: Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround) have tackled the topic more critically and comprehensively; however, business owners and managers may glean some helpful tips from the book’s final chapter: "Great Products, Strong Business, Better World."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap
Throughout its 100-plus-year history, Ford Motor Company has proven itself to be one of the world’s most tenacious, resilient, and forward-looking business organizations. As the company approached the century mark, however, a series of disastrous years made it clear that Ford’s problems went deeper than those caused by a cyclical downturn and a weak overall economy. The company that virtually invented the auto industry was close to losing its footing. Clearly, it would take more than the average CEO to put the legendary automaker back on track.

Ford Tough tells the inspiring story of Bill Ford, scion of one of America’s most celebrated business dynasties, and his heroic battle to revive and reshape the company. His objectives: to compete successfully in a rapidly changing environment and to reinvigorate Ford Motor Company’s role as an industry innovator and standard-bearer, facing and overcoming the daunting challenges faced by every twenty-first-century automaker.

This crisply written narrative is the product of author David Magee’s unequaled behind-the-scenes access, both to the dynamic young CEO and to the inner workings of the company. Magee examines Ford Motors’ past successes and failures, explains the lessons Bill Ford has drawn from them, and reveals how he is using these lessons to drive the company toward a new era of innovation and growth. He also offers a richly detailed portrait of the first Ford to take charge of the company since 1979, a self-professed environmentalist who cares deeply about his employees and possesses a deep sense of personal and corporate responsibility--characteristics that have played a crucial role in the company’s turnaround.

Ford Tough is more than a powerful business biography, more than a fascinating company history, and more than an insightful portrait of a unique management style. It is a stirring, modern-day epic, the compelling tale of one man’s battle for the things we value most in life, including family, tradition, and a promising future.

From the Back Cover
From FORD TOUGH

The accident is serious. There are injuries, maybe deaths. The site is unstable. We are in contact with authorities.

Bill Ford Jr. drove to World Headquarters and was met in his 12th floor office by Vella and by Neil Golightly, who was in his first weeks as director of the chairman’s office, with duties that were part public affairs and part executive assistant for Ford. Golightly remembers Ford being visibly concerned and distraught when he walked into the office and sat down for updated information on the accident. Details were still sketchy.

"Do you think I should go?" Ford asked.

Golightly was barely three weeks into his job and still getting to know and understand the man he worked for. The company’s CEO was out of the country. Its head of public affairs was out of town. The chairman bore the company name and the Rouge was an unstable accident scene at a volatile, 78-year-old powerhouse with boilers fed by natural gas. Golightly followed his first gut reaction and advised Ford not to go.

"That’s ridiculous," Ford said. "I’ve got to go."

"Generals don’t go to the front lines," another company adviser told the chairman.

"Bust me down to private then," Ford responded, "because I’m out of here."

Customer Reviews

Interesting story of Bill Ford
When Bill Ford took over Ford Motor, the company was in dreadful shape. Under his leadership, Ford has made plausible progress. This book recognizes that, but it also recognizes there are still problems with the company, due in large part to industry ailments, the end of SUV sales and outdated products.
The books makes it obvious however that he is not hiding from these issues and is instead addressing them head on.
This is the first account of Henry Ford's great grandson and it offers much insight into how he sees the world and runs one of America's most important companies.

The story of how Bill Ford revived the Ford Motor Company
Ford Tough: Bill Ford And The Battle To Rebuild America's Automaker is the story of how Bill Ford revived and reshaped the Ford Motor Company, bringing the 100+ year old automobile manufacturer back from the bring of ruin. Ford Tough reveals the inner workings of the company while offering a detailed portrait of the first member of the illustrious Ford family to take charge of the company since 1979. A dedicated environmentalist and a man with a deep sense of personal and corporate responsibility to his employees, Bill Ford is revealed as the man who played a crucial role against seemingly insurmountable odds in creating the company's ultimately successful turnaround. Superbly narrated by Chris Ryan, this recommended, flawlessly recorded, CD format audio book is abridged on three discs with a total of a three hour running time.

A bit rosy, but good nonetheless.
My dad use to work for Ford in the late seventies, so he bought Fords well into the early eighties. So, as a kid growing up the eighties, all I saw was my dad trying to fix the Fords in the late eighties. I actually thought that a car breaking down every few months was actually normal. Needless to say, I own a Toyota now. So this book intrigued me. How could a company that my father was proud of revive itself to something that I might consider purchasing a product from?

Well, this book describes Bill Ford's life and the life of the Ford Motor company. To address the negatives first, while mostly honest, he tends to overestimate how bad things have gotten in the nineties while and overestimates how good Ford is in the present day and in the not so recent past. He gives the impression that Ford's quality issues and their financial problems were recent problems that are totally resolved. He makes Bill Ford look like a super genius who fixed everything in his first few year.

Now to point out the good. This book is part history lesson, part biography, part financial, part business book all mixed into one. Magee actually goes into depth with not just mere anecdotes and Bill Ford's life story, but gets into numbers and processes. He talks about management styles, he talks about strategies. He delves into design and the competition. More importantly, he brings a lot of relevant and pertinent information in a fluid, quick manner that doesn't bog down the reader.

I will definitely read more books from this author, and for anyone interested in the automotive industry, or anyone interested in large corporations, this book is a must read.