One Team. One Plan. One Goal.

Business lessons learned today came eagerly from Ken Minielly, plant manager of Ford Motor Co.’s Louisville Assembly Plant, who spoke at the Louisville Downtown Rotary Club. He said that the Ford workers are almost giddy over their recent successes. How wonderful for Ford and for the economy. Minielly credited much of Ford’s success to Alan Mulally. Specifically he pulled out the ONE Ford mission: ONE TEAM. ONE PLAN, ONE GOAL. He still carries this laminated card in his pocket. What struck me as universal in application was the Plan and the simplicity of its 4 elements: Aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix. Accelerate development of new products our customers want and value. Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet. Work together effectively as one team.

The rest, as we say, is history.