Necessity is the Mother of … Innovation

We have all heard the expression, originally penned by Plato in his timeless classic Republic:  “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

That same idea, updated for 21st century America might be:  “Necessity is the mother of … innovation.”

More than financial bailouts, more than legislation, more than simple hard work, and more than dogged determination, innovation may well be the key to resurrecting our business leadership in the world.

Many think that innovation is the province of the entrepreneurial spirit, most often in evidence in small businesses, for whom innovation is the only inexpensive weapon in the arsenal.

That may be true in a macro sense, but in this article I am going to unabashedly sing the praises of a very different kind of company; one that is a true icon of the American Spirit.   This fine organization, when faced with the pressures of the recession, the desire to shepherd the needs of an enormous employee base, and the grim reality of multinational competition, instead of looking outside for answers, looked inside to the spirit of its founder, the steady professionalism of its current CEO, and the resourcefulness of its employees.  That company is the Ford Motor Company.

When Ford’s CEO, Alan Mulally, appeared before Senator Dodd’s committee roughly a year and a half ago, he could have run for cover, assigned blame to others, sidestepped the real issues, or adopted the characteristic of so many other mega-corporations: obfuscation.  Instead, he posited a rational explanation for the company’s problems, spoke candidly to the Committee and by implication to the American public, with not merely an explanation but with a reasoned battle plan for the future.  In fact, long before the hearings, he and myriad Ford executives and employees had already started moving in the right direction.  Their rubber was already meeting the road, so to speak, and they did not appear to be begging for a bailout, but simply for some limited, temporary help.

With fond memories of my first car, an innovative 1965 Mustang, I said a quick prayer that he would somehow pull it off.  He did.

A few short weeks ago, the New York Times had this to say:

“The Ford Motor Company, founded in 1903 by Henry Ford, is one of the largest auto makers in the world.  During a time of crisis throughout the auto industry in recent years, Ford emerged as the sole American automaker in a position to survive the steepest sales downturn in decades without a government bailout. That helped the company improve its reputation and win new customers.   The company earned $2.7 billion in 2009 and said that it expects to be profitable in 2010 as well.”

I read that article with a comforting mixture of gratitude and pride.  Gratitude that we live in a nation that still rewards hard work and diligence, and pride that Americans can still rise to the occasion, whether that be a horrific attack such as 9/11 or a mouth-dropping recession.

Last, but certainly not least, one more thought needs expression:  The spirit of innovation at Ford transcends the multi-levels of the hierarchy, and reaches down and throughout it’s vast employee culture.  I wish I had time to remark about the many stories of heroics and Herculean effort by so many unsung heroes.  I’ll leave that to the business historians in the years ahead.  But one example, a very humble man on a Social Media mission, typifies for me the spirit, innovation and resourcefulness of Ford.  His name is Scott Monty.

Scott is the head of Social Media for Ford, a position of obvious importance given the tools we have at our disposal today, and laudatory given his relative youth.  We all know how difficult it can be to convince established companies to innovate with Twitter, as just one example.  Scott appears to be very successful in that role.  I wish him well.  Not just because he seems so deserving, but because as an ambassador of Social Media at the highest corporate levels, he is a modern day David, taking his slingshot into battle with the many Goliaths Ford must defeat: recession, limited resources, intense competition and escalating energy costs.  As was the case of David, so many centuries ago, it is often the smallest of us, with a big idea, and an rock-solid belief that it will work, that can make all the difference.

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