![\"\"](\"http:\/\/deetergallahergroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/AlanMulallyPhotoCreditFlickrFordAPA(2).jpg\" "\\"Alan")
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Photo courtesy of Flickr Ford APA<\/p>\n
One of the most valuable shifts in business communication is taking place on Twitter: a global audience can now learn from industry leaders and apply high-level advice in real time. At Amazon.com, there are 28,242 books written specifically on business strategy. Since it\u2019s impossible to read and filter all that advice, there are competitive advantages to connecting with executives and learning from a primary source. And even more valuable to have access to a Fortune 10 executive\u2019s insight.<\/p>\n
On March 31, Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally joined members of his management team at the New York International Auto Show for 30 minutes on Twitter. Pictured with Digital Communications Director Scott Montyand fresh from co-chairing the prestigious China Development Forum (CDF) in Beijing, Mulally was available for conversation and questions. Named one of Barron\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest CEOs in March, Alan Mulally\u2019s accessibility defines Ford\u2019s corporate culture.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/deetergallahergroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Connect-with-Ford-During-2010-Ne-5000(1).jpg\" "\\"Connect")
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Understanding the value of first-person business knowledge, I sent a tweet focused on his business strategy at Ford: Describe your leadership style & how has it helped you make difficult decisions at Ford more palatable?
\nIn a few minutes, his reply to me appeared on Twitter: Focus on the customer, have a compelling vision, relentless implementation, great team. ^AM TY!<\/p>\n
An executive with 198,000 employees worldwide, the 7th largest company in the United States and the 17th largest in the world, invited questions from interested people on Twitter. Wow! It\u2019s a new communication model that levels the learning field. I would hope that Scott Monty was flooded with inquisitive tweets for his CEO. Every business student, small business owner, car dealer, and American taxpayer should be interested in the real-time replies from one of the brightest CEOs in the world.<\/p>\n
Alan Mulally\u2019s response is a business strategy lesson in 140 characters and is every bit as applicable to small business as it is to the Fortune 10.<\/p>\n
Focus on the customer. Common sense? It doesn\u2019t take an algorithm to understand what clients and customers need. But it does require a conversation with the customer. The American automotive industry knows that men and women from every culture want safe, SYNCed, energy-smart, fun-to-drive transportation. The result of Ford\u2019s new obsessive focus on the customer is a litany of consumer and industry recognition for the Fusion, Focus, Transit Connect, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and the social media barnstormer\u2014the Fiesta\u2014with 50,000 hand raisers interested in the vehicle before it touched American soil. It\u2019s a reminder to even the smallest business: Never lose track of why you exist, and who you really serve. Alan Mulally understands there is no such principle as Too big to fail or Too small to matter\u2014and that applies to people as well as corporations.<\/p>\n
Have a compelling vision. A quick search on YouTube uncovers the Boeing-turned-Ford exec\u2019s passion and vision. His One Ford mantra is unmistakable, and his executive presence and congeniality nearly compel you to say: Where do I sign up? Mulally is laser-focused on restoring Ford to its global leader status. And yet, to reach that finish line, he realizes they can never take their eyes off the true enablers of this success\u2014the consumers from Pittsburgh to Beijing. \u201cIt\u2019s about bringing people together around the world and providing safe and efficient transportation for all. I believe that once people are together, they can share ideas and see that they have much more in common than they are different,\u201d he beams in a video clip for The Second Mile on February 5, 2010. <\/p>\n