Читать книгу The EQ Leader - Stein Steven J. - Страница 8

Whenever I give leadership presentations, I generally ask audiences to name an iconic business leader from 100 years ago. Anywhere in the world, whether I'm in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Helsinki, St. Lucia, Sydney, Bangkok, Dubai, Vancouver, or New York City, the name Henry Ford always comes up. While there are a number of reasons that Ford stands out, not the least of which is his innovations in the production of the automobile, he is mostly associated with a particular quote. It seems everyone everywhere remembers at least part of what he said, “to hell with the customer, who can have any color (car they want) as long as it's black.”

What is it about this quote, or attitude that stands out? Well most strong leaders have at least one signature characteristic they carry with them, perhaps as a legacy. For Henry Ford, it was most likely steadfastness. Leaders at that time were seen as captains of the ship. When the CEO made a decision, it was up to everyone in the organization to defend that decision. Not sticking with it was almost akin to treason. And the captain would go down with the ship, protecting his point of view.

This kind of leader is ego driven. The decisions this person makes are more about himself than about what is best for the company. This leader fears looking bad as much as he fears doing bad. In those days, changing your mind (or altering the course of the ship) was perceived as an unbearable weakness. It was the kiss of death upon which the leader would lose respect and no longer be able to face his workers. In parts of Asia, the concept of “saving face” is still a big issue.

While this type of leadership may appear strong to some, it usually comes with negative consequences. According to Lee Iacocca, who wrote the seminal article on Henry Ford for Time magazine, “The problem was that for too long they [Ford] worked on only one model. Although people told him to diversify, Henry Ford developed tunnel vision. He basically started saying ‘to hell with the customer,’ who can have any color as long as it's black. He didn't bring out a new design until the Model A in '27, and by then GM was gaining.”20

Tunnel vision at that time gave Ford's biggest competitor, General Motors, the break it needed to take significant market share. It was Ford's son who stepped in and finally insisted on bringing out new models (such as the Model A) and new colors that were needed for the continued survival of the company.

Ego-driven leaders tend to be driven by the past in that they look to past experiences for confirmation of their decisions, which facilitates steadfastness. What worked before should continue to work today and tomorrow. This supports their need for consistency – steadfastness. However, this can come at the cost of missing out on new opportunities, whether its technologies, changing economies, new strategies, or changes in customer focus.