Tough Love at Ford
Experience outside Detroit helps Stevens frame the competitive challenges facing America's No. 2 automaker. In the 1990s, when SUVs were king and Ford was flush with cash, rising healthcare and pension costs could be passed on to consumers through higher prices. But the aggressive rollout of SUVs, pickups, and other high-margin vehicles by Toyota, Nissan, and other automakers has eroded that advantage. "There were assumptions that were accurate for years," Stevens explains, "and were suddenly turned upside down."
Change agent. In addition to business leader and role model, Stevens has become a kind of senior life coach at Ford, helping colleagues--including several friends who have lost their jobs--envision a future beyond the company they once thought would be their lifetime employer: "I talk to people about transitioning into a different stage of life. If you get a buyout, buy a franchise." Stevens also advises workers, both young and old, to change their expectations. "In my generation, when you came into the workforce you had to find a retirement plan. That's not reality today," she believes. "We're in a transitional state. You have to have skills and the ability to develop so you can continually market yourselves."
That straightforward demeanor has earned plaudits, especially since Ford has announced other reform efforts in recent years that have gained little traction. "She is the most candid, outspoken executive I've seen in Detroit in a long time," says former Merrill Lynch auto analyst John Casesa, managing partner of Casesa Strategic Advisors. "She is exactly what Ford needs--in big doses."
A poll on female leaders is at www.usnews.com/women
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