LEE IACOCCA: AUTOMOTIVE, PATRIOTIC “T3” LEADERSHIP

Lea Iacocca was born October 15, 1924. The son of Italian immigrants, he was an engineer from working class Pennsylvania who became an auto exec at Ford (developed the iconic Mustang but also the risible Pinto).  He was President and CEO of Chrysler from 1978-1992 (developed the top selling Chrysler Minivan) and saved that company from bankruptcy (paid off Chrysler’s 10 year government loans in three years … which impressed President Regan and began a close friendship between them).  Iacocca served as the foundation Chairman for the rehabilitation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the 1980’s (I still have my donor card!).  A brash, no-nonsense risk taker, he set a new standard for a CEOs by serving as the mascot for his company.  Iacocca’s inspirational style emphasized: 

  • TEAMWORK:  “In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words; People, Product, and Profits. Unless you’ve got a good people on the team, you can’t do much with the other two.”  “Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.”
  • TONE:  Capitalist and entrepreneurial mindset … “One of the things the government can’t do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt.”
  • TENACITY:  “You’ve got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.” It’s called perseverance.”  “If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we’ve satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late.”

Lee Iaococca is often referred to as “America’s First Corporate Folk Hero.”   He was a car genius, marketing mastermind and had a motivational, style which energized his employees and the public.   My leadership alliteration guide is “The Three T’s: Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity™.”  Iacocca’s was “People, Product, Profits” which achieved remarkable results through his hiring and inspiring a new generation of American automotive executives, and stirring the patriotic character of a nation by restoring the principal immigration gateway to our nation!

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a leadership expert.  He is the CEO of The Becker T3 Group, a platform for his motivational and national security keynote speaking. A former Naval Intelligence Officer, he’s successfully led large, diverse, high-performing teams afloat and ashore in peace, crisis and combat.  In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor

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