Love in Action

Transform Your Organization with Alan Mulally’s ‘Working Together’ System


Listen Later

Quotes:

  • Marcel begins his conversation with world-renowned CEO Alan Mulally by exploring Alan’s background and upbringing, which heavily influenced his leadership style and life of service. As they dive into the slide stack, Alan shares pivotal lessons and words that shaped his early life and career at Boeing and Ford, including a statement that embodies his “Working Together” system: “By ‘working together’ with others, you can make the most positive contribution to the most people.” [18:47]
  • Alan Mulally and his trusted advisor Sarah McArthur designed the “Working Together” system to foster a connected and collaborative culture of love by design. Alan highlights the key elements of his operating system, starting with its most important principle: people first... love ‘em up. "Love" as a guiding word for organizational processes marks a profound shift from traditional leadership approaches. Alan clarifies his intention behind the word love, stating, “I’m not looking for a date... this means I LOVE humanity, and we’re going to work together and align around, including everybody, a compelling vision, a comprehensive strategy for achieving it, and relentless positive implementation.” [27:04]
  • Alan illustrates the transformative impact of the "Working Together" system with examples from his time at Boeing and Ford. One such example is the 1990 agreement for the development of the Boeing 777. This collaborative effort was so powerful that the first pilots of the plane requested it be named Working Together. Quoting the pilots, John Cashman and Kenny Higgins, Alan recalls: “We have never had a working together experience like this... This airplane is going to be phenomenal.” [37:39]
  • Alan clearly outlines the goals and expectations he sets with his teams at every step. For today’s listeners and viewers, he highlights the Ford Creating Value Roadmap included in the slides. Alan emphasizes that these expectations are always developed collaboratively. In this case, the team created an acronym—FORD—to outline the process, which culminates in the essence of his philosophy: “The essence of everything is working together globally using our expected behaviors.” [43:52]
  • Alan explains the “Working Together” leadership and management system as consisting of five key elements. It starts with the Principles and Practices discussed earlier in the episode, followed by implementation through Governance, Leadership Team, Creating Value Roadmap, and Business Plan Review. He describes this system as an ever-spinning circle revisited weekly to ensure its effectiveness. “The reason this is called a system is because you need to do this over and over again.” [55:43]
  • Alan is also known for his remarkable work-life balance, which he attributes to the alignment of authentic leadership with the Be and Do of the “Working Together” system. He describes this alignment as an authentic, integrated One Life and Life’s Work of Service, calling it “our love made visible.” Alan challenges listeners to reflect by filling out a chart from one of the slides, identifying their Who, What, Why, and How. “This is one of the biggest contributions we can each make by moving in this direction, because we don’t have to go tell everybody about it... They can see it.” [1:04:34]

Key Takeaways:

  • Alan Mulally shares a heartfelt conclusion, tying together the Be and Do of “Working Together.” He leaves listeners with well wishes and advice: “Start in the morning with your partner [yourself]... and ask if there is anything else you need to do to serve as you live with humility and love. It’s amazing what it will mean to your life.” [1:24:22] 

Send Marcel a text message!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Love in ActionBy Marcel Schwantes

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

55 ratings


More shows like Love in Action

View all
99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,147 Listeners

The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes

The School of Greatness

21,282 Listeners

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish by Shane Parrish

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

2,643 Listeners

10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

10% Happier with Dan Harris

12,513 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,785 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,191 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,304 Listeners

Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People

658 Listeners

SmartLess by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

SmartLess

57,990 Listeners

The Intimate Marriage Podcast, with Intimacy Coach Alexandra Stockwell, MD by Alexandra Stockwell, MD

The Intimate Marriage Podcast, with Intimacy Coach Alexandra Stockwell, MD

152 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,237 Listeners

The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni by Patrick Lencioni

The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni

359 Listeners

Passion Struck with John R. Miles by John R. Miles

Passion Struck with John R. Miles

726 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

20,416 Listeners

The Headlines by The New York Times

The Headlines

485 Listeners