I don't see anything changing about our desire for quality and fuel efficiency and safety and smart design, no matter what the vehicle size.
— Alan Mulally
It's just really important that we have boundaries and guidelines to operate. Our homes, the cars, everything is going to be on the Internet. And so what are the guidelines? What do we want?
It's really important that we have an improvement curve on fuel mileage and CO2 reduction.
I'm more convinced than when I accepted this job that we can create a viable Ford Motor Co. that makes cars and trucks that people really do prefer. And we can make them using minimum resources and minimum time and be competitive with our competition.
A gas tax could be one important element of an integrated energy policy.
I believe America should make things.
If you have to improve your fuel efficiency every year, it leads to innovation.
The purpose of business is to make a reasonable return by making products and services that people want and value. If you are not, you are wasting resources.
At Ford, one of the behaviors is you listen, and you don't have side conversations during the meeting. It's just so important everybody stays focused.
Everybody cares about not only quality and functionality, but they also want the power of choice, whether it's a small vehicle or a large vehicle.
I found a new love in Google. I'm a Googler now.
What I've learned is the power of a compelling vision.
Positive leadership - conveying the idea that there is always a way forward - is so important, because that is what you are here for - to figure out how to move the organization forward. Critical to doing that is reinforcing the idea that everyone is included.
I know how inter-dependent the world is.
I taught my executive team how to argue.
What I found over the years is the most important thing is for a team to come together over a compelling vision, a comprehensive strategy for achieving that vision, and then a relentless implementation plan.
All of us want to know that we are doing great things, that we are touching a lot of people, and that what we are doing is something bigger than ourselves.
It's all about competitiveness: are you making the products that people really do want and value, and are you making it more efficiently and using less resources and less time than the competition?
Both Boeing and Ford are absolutely committed to safe and efficient transportation.
With Sync technology, we're seamlessly connected to the Internet, hands-free, and able to focus on the road but also able to handle guidance and navigation and play your music.
You create value, and you create jobs.
Man, have I become a car guy!
I had a great life at Boeing. I'd been there for 37 years and contributed to all the Boeing airplanes as a designer: the 707, 727, 37, 47, 57, 67 and 'triple 7' and the 87.
The One Ford plan drives the business to get PGA, Profitable Growth for All, meaning that every year we increase the profits and cash flow. So how do we do that? We serve all the markets around the world with a complete family of vehicles and use the One Ford Plan.
I grew up with Microsoft. I know the leadership of Microsoft.
My career has been spent developing airplanes.
We're so interdependent, and what one country does is such an important part of what happens in the global economy.
When people feel accountable and included, it is more fun.
The most important thing that most countries around the world believe in is letting the markets determine the currency.
At the most fundamental level, it is an honor to serve - at whatever type or size of organization you are privileged to lead, whether it is a for-profit or nonprofit. It is an honor to serve. Starting from that foundation, it is important to have a compelling vision and a comprehensive plan.
I've just seen it all - I've seen the bird flu, I've seen the Asian economic meltdown, SARS, 9/11, economic cycles.
We've always loved the automobile, and we all love Henry Ford's original vision to open the highways to all mankind, the freedom and movement.
Google is really committed to improving everything. So it has been really fun to participate in all of their different moonshots.
Leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working together.
If you have a common purpose and an environment in which people want to help others succeed, the problems will be fixed quickly.
It was an honor to serve at Boeing on the 777.
The similarities between commercial airplanes and automobiles are striking. It's all about safe and efficient transportation using the latest technology and the best fuel efficiency.
No country is ever successful in the long term... without a really strong and vibrant manufacturing base.
The reason I loved working at Boeing was because I loved the idea of air travel as a way of bringing people and cultures together - because when we come together as people and cultures, we realize that we are not that different after all, and when we realize that we are not that different after all, the world becomes a better place.
Having one national standard for mpg and CO2 is extremely important.
You need to have a can-do attitude. There is always a way.
I have a lot of respect for Microsoft.
We want people to still have choices - Ford cars and trucks, whatever works for their lifestyle.
Ford had a number of different strategies over the years that they thought obviously made sense at the time, just like all the different brands, and also the regional operations.
It is just more rewarding to do things in a supportive environment.
Data can set you free.
Where you really get in trouble is if the market is dropping and the economy's slowing down and you don't take action.
I've been through geopolitical and economic cycles.
The automobile has moved into the mainstream of our integrated digital world.
The Chinese love Ford's product line: they love the quality, the fuel-efficiency, the safety, the brand.
