Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat, and now also the CEO of Chrysler, indicates that he will not be an "ivory tower" leader. Rather than the 15th floor executive tower office of the previous heads of Chrysler, his desk is on the 4th floor of the technical center (this from the Wall Street Journal on Friday June 19, 2009). And no, it's not an initiation prank played by his new employees.
His deliberate message? Mr. Marchionne is going to be close to the day-to-day decisions that will make or break the turnaround of the just-out-of-bankruptcy automaker.
It's a small thing that sends a big message. Jim Collins would call it a Catalytic Mechanism, and there are several ways of making small moves that have a big impact to shake up an organization.
Here's a leader who knows that the physical environment, or context, is just as important as the people, systems, and process for transforming an organization. This is just one of his prescriptions for flattening the management structure to speed decision-making, and it's a very visible warning shot that things are changing, and not just who owns the company.
Besides telling me to stop complaining about the blown engine in my dearly-departed 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, what else would you do to create some significant changes at the company?
Comments