Lessons from the Heart of American Business: A Roadmap for Managers in the 21st Century

Citation

Modrow, W.M. (2001), "Lessons from the Heart of American Business: A Roadmap for Managers in the 21st Century", The Bottom Line, Vol. 14 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2001.17014dae.004

Lessons from the Heart of American Business: A Roadmap for Managers in the 21st Century

Lessons from the Heart of American Business: A Roadmap for Managers in the 21st Century

Greenwald, G. with Madigan, C.WarnerNew York, NY2001Keywords: Business administration, Management, Management philosophy

It is always an interesting challenge to review a book whose jacket cover has excerpts of praise from several prominent individuals. Mr Greenwald's work is no exception; it has praise from the president of Princeton University, an economist from MIT, and a former editor-in-chief of Time. These glowing references, not to imply that they are invalid, are similar to those on most jacket covers used merely for marketing. Mr Greenwald's narrative on his service of over four decades in the corporate world is an interesting work about the evolution of a corporate CEO and US business. His drive to move up the corporate ladder carries the reader through the automobile industry in Europe, South America, and North America. He worked for two giants in the US automobile industry, Ford and Chrysler, and the largest airline, United Airlines. Among his major accomplishments were resurrecting Chrysler and United Airlines, the former with the development of the K-Car and the Minivan, the latter using a new management breakthrough called employee ownership.

This book is written for those interested in biography, business, and those who aspire to work in corporate management. The author tells us about his life lessons, using experiences as examples to bring his various points home. He does this keeping all the corporate, business management terms in layman's language. A self-described Type A personality, Mr Greenwald readily admits knowing very little about cars, planes and computers; however, he knew the importance of them and where they fit in. He discovered what worked and wishes to share these lessons.

After graduating from Princeton in 1957, he accepted employment from Ford, where he worked until 1979. During those 22 years, Mr Greenwald worked in Detroit, Brazil, Paris, London and Venezuela. What he learned from his experience outside the USA was that the "World and the USA work on different agendas." Thus, what works in the USA does not necessarily work in foreign countries. Employees, management and consumers are different. Lee Iacocca convinced him to try a new challenge and work for Chrysler in 1979, where he spent 11 years helping turn around a "dead" company. Mr Greenwald's description of those years was quite suspenseful. Would Chrysler survive? This entertaining and enlightening section about Chrysler needs be read by anyone who is in business.

In 1990, Mr Greenwald began his first (hopefully not his last) real chance as a CEO of a major company, United Airlines. He brought a new challenge to United Airlines and a new management style, "employee owned." He felt that the only way to save the company was for the employees to purchase and run it. Thus, he reduced supervision, as employees took responsibility for their own jobs. He also had to convince the suppliers, banks and customers that they have a stake in the company's survival. He has several examples of how to be a successful CEO, but the best is "a CEO has to become a chameleon – good guy, bad guy, strong leader, tough guy" (p. 151). Mr Greenwald is now involved in mentoring programs and eliminating welfare dependency.

Where the author could provide more insight for those interested in the demands of corporate work is concern between a career and family life. Greenwald emphasizes the importance of a personal life. On the other hand, whether it is intentional or not, his treatment of his personal life is brief, a one-page description of his four children, and only as adults. This leaves the readers to their own conclusion.

He ties his lessons to examples well and lauds by name those who aided in the successes, but those who contributed or were instrumental in the failures or negatives were given generic titles. This is in good taste. Furthermore, having worked with two dynamic leaders, Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca, he acknowledges their power and brilliance, but minimizes them in his work. His thoughts on these two could fill chapters.

Similar to most corporate managers, Mr Greenwald wrote his life lessons as his life in the corporate world was closing; they impart knowledge on business, their secrets, successes, accomplishments and lessons. What makes Mr Greenwald's book so effective is that he juxtaposes his four decades of corporate management experiences with how management can adapt itself to a variety of cultures, ethics and environments. He learned from his mistakes and then implemented his lessons. He does not merely sit back and reflect on his life in business.

William M. ModrowReference Librarian, Robert M. Strozier Library, Florida State University