INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 
The Close Concerns of Lee Iacocca
The Motivational Minute
By Michael J. Herman
DRIVEN! That’s the word that best describes Lee Iacocca. After all, not only did he conceive and design the modern automotive industry, but he’s still redesigning it and other facets of our lifestyle at 84 years young. Iacocca known for his collaborative leadership style leads with clarity. He’s on a mission and it is unlikely anything will stop him.
Whether it be the Chrysler Minivan, (which soon turns 25), or transforming us from a fossil fuel to a renewable energy source society, Iacocca has his vision set on the future. Is that at all surprising for someone who rose at rocket speed to lead one of the world’s top automakers from last to first place
and into profitability?
Is it at all surprising that Iacocca who saw the future of the auto industry and how it could and would effect all our lives in the future still focuses on the future for to young people. Not just for young Americans, but for all humanity.
Perhaps Iacocca’s number one quality as a leader remains his belief in the success of a strong team.
“Pick your dream team first. Assemble it to achieve as much using the team’s uniqueness as possible.” Picking your dream team at the start is a fundamental key to Iacocca’s strength as a leader. He believes with the right people in the right places doing what they do best, success is certain and he has proven so.
The second quality setting Iacocca apart from others is that he craves solutions. Not simply resolving problems, but quite literally, Iacocca wants to improve the quality of life for humanity. It is this trait that brought him from his meager beginnings to stand among the greatest innovators of American Industry. He sees each person and what they can contribute as a possibility. Being able to see that quality is the art, bringing it out of others is Iacocca’s craft. He listens. He knows he is not alone and that everyone in the organization makes the parts work.
It’s what Iacocca sees that everyone misses that sets him apart. He wants a world that works for everyone.
“You can’t do everything all at once. You have to pick which causes are most important to you and do everything you can to make them succeed,” offers the Los Angeles resident octogenarian.
“Our most pressing issue going forward is renewable fuels. Not just domestically, but globally as well.” Causes are important to the man who once turned around a struggling Ford Motor Co. and then a failing Chrysler Corp. Now his callings are more personal, youth education, curing diabetes, and renewable fuels are brightest on his dashboard.
Michael J. Herman is a nationally syndicated columnist, speaker, and Best Selling Author. His company The Motivational Minute Publishing Company in Burbank, CA is a leading producer of peak performance seminars and business coaching. www.michaeljherman.com
