福特掌门人权力交接平稳

    就在不久前，福特汽车公司（Ford Motor Co.）管理层的变更就像是南美香蕉共和国的死刑执行现场。

    1978年，亨利•福特二世突然裁掉了董事长李•艾柯卡。他把艾柯卡叫进办公室，告诉他：“我就是不喜欢你。”1989年，CEO唐•皮特森对董事会失去了信心。他发表了一份奇怪的声明，称要“移植”他自己，随后离去。而在2001年，福特公司经受了好几个月的公众质疑之后，董事长比尔•福特开除了CEO雅克•纳赛尔。

    当然，比起1945年的那次斗争，以上这些都只是小儿科。当年，亨利•福特二世不得不解除居心叵测的哈里•班尼特的职位，才终于从年老体衰的祖父那里接管了公司。

    假如有什么人不相信艾伦•穆拉利的确已经改变了这家财富500强的企业文化，最新一系列管理层交接的消息足以打消他们的疑虑。

    福特管理层变动的故事没有成为不和谐高层变动的范例，反而变成了商学院探讨长期战略性管理层变动的研究案例。

    这样的转变很大程度上要归功于穆拉利出众的能力。他公开透明的管理风格和执行总裁比尔•福特对他毫无保留的支持都提高了员工对公司的忠诚度。

    在上周四的电话会议上，比尔•福特脱口而出：“我爱艾伦。”其他人可能不会如此明确地表达自己的感受，因此这句话蕴含的感情被广为流传。凭借他光芒四射的外向性格，艾伦•穆拉利赢得了所有人的支持，除了那些始终深表怀疑的顽固派。

    穆拉利希望在离职之前，能够留在迪尔伯恩继续工作，平稳地度过这个时期，不过人们并不清楚他的这一意愿在这场权利的顺利交接中起到了多大的作用。穆拉利已经积累了相当的个人财富，也没有任何家人住在密歇根，因此人们有理由认为他有可能会迅速离职，前往气候更加宜人的地区生活。

当天的重大新闻：

    •关于穆拉利退休时间的猜测持续了数月之后，穆拉利称他会在迪尔伯恩的岗位上一直待到至少2014年年底，那个时候他都69岁了。这比预计多了至少一年，也留出了足够的时间给下一任做好准备。

    •51岁的马克•菲尔兹长期以来都是CEO的候选人。目前他已经升职为首席营运官。这意味着只要穆拉利决定离职，他随时都能接替。菲尔兹同时继承了穆拉利标志性的管理革新：周四的业务流程工作总结会上，所有的主管都要在同事面前报告自己运营状况的最新进展。

    •平步青云的制造专家、亚洲地区总裁乔•辛瑞克斯接管了菲尔兹监管南北美洲的任务。对辛瑞克斯而言，这次提拔来得有些晚。他常年在亚洲的航班上奔波，是猎头公司的追逐的热门对象。

    •销售奇才吉姆•法雷肩负起了林肯汽车复兴的全球运营责任，获得了将其理论付诸于实践的机会。法雷加入时，林肯汽车正计划推出首款重新设计的汽车款式，迈出大张旗鼓的复兴之路上的第一步。

    这次管理层的变更正处于福特走向未来成功的潜在转折点，它将决定福特是否能继续穆拉利的改革，抑或将在不利的市场环境、复苏的竞争对手和自身缺陷的三重夹攻下被迫退却。

    In the not-so-distant past, management transitions at Ford Motor Co. were much like the firing squad at a South American banana republic.

    Henry Ford II abruptly fired president Lee Iacocca in 1978 by calling him into his office and telling him "I simply don't like you." CEO Don Petersen departed in 1989 after losing the confidence of the board of directors with the bizarre announcement that he planned to "repot" himself. And chairman Bill Ford booted CEO Jac Nasser in October 2001 after months of public disputes.

    Of course, all of that was an improvement over 1945 when Henry Ford II had to practically disarm the thuggish, gin-toting Harry Bennett in order to take over the company from his ailing grandfather.

    If there were any doubts about the changes in Ford (F, Fortune 500) culture wrought by CEO Alan Mulally, they were erased by the news of the latest series of management changes.

    Instead of being a textbook example of jarring executive moves, Ford now becomes a business school case study of strategic long-term management transitions.

    The transformation is largely the result of Mulally's ability to inspire personal loyalty, due to his transparent and open management style, along with the unqualified support he gets from executive chairman Bill Ford.

    In a conference call Thursday, Bill Ford blurted out, "I love Alan." While others may not be so demonstrative about their affections, the sentiment behind the expression seems to be widely shared. With his radiant and outgoing personality, Mulally has won over all but the most deeply cynical.

    Less obvious in the smooth transition is how it was facilitated by Mulally's willingness to remain in Dearborn and on the job well past what might have been expected to be his normal sell-by date. Having amassed a considerable personal fortune and without any family ties to Michigan, he might have reasonably been expected to depart more quickly for temperate climes.

The day's big news:

    •After months of speculation about the timing of his retirement, Mulally says he will stay on the job and in Dearborn at least through 2014, when he will be 69 years old. That's at least a year longer than expected, providing ample time to make the transition to the next in line.

    •Mark Fields, 51, long tipped as a CEO candidate, moves up to chief operating officer, clearly positioning him to succeed Mulally whenever he does decide to step down. Fields also takes over Mulally's signature management innovation at Ford: the Thursday business process review meeting, in which all executives are expected to provide unflinching updates of their operations in the presence of their colleagues.

    •Joe Hinrichs, a fast-rising manufacturing expert who had been running Asia, takes over Fields' old job overseeing North and South America. The promotion is overdue for Hinrichs, who was wearing himself on long-distance flights around Asia and was highly sought-after by headhunters for other firms.

    •Marketing whiz Jim Farley gets a chance to put actions behind his words and theories by accepting global operating responsibility for the revival of Lincoln. Farley steps in just as Lincoln is scheduled to introduce its first redesigned model as part of a much-hyped turnaround.

    The changes come at a potential tipping point in Ford's future success that will determine whether it can continue to build on Mulally's reforms or be forced to retreat due to a combination of adverse markets, resurgent competitors, and its own shortcomings.