Nothing succeeds like success, as the golden axiom says and aptly suits great successful corporate bosses like Lee Iacocca, Chairman of Chrysler, or Jack Welch, CEO of General Electrics (GE) or most recently, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., to name a few.
What was one thing common to them was their exemplary courage to win, a macroscopic vision and foresightedness to envision beyond the horizon, and survive during adversities.
While Le Iacocca and Jack Welch belonged to the 20th century and mostly faced the challenges from Japanese industries, Steve Jobs, emerged as a great innovator and game changer in the digital industry. But, all three had their own shares of ups and downs in their lives. Their lives are replete with twists and turns. They had failed miserably and shunted out of the their respective organisations shamelessly. However, they emerged as heroes and emulated by one and all. Their saga of success instantly became “winning mantras” world wide. Success is illusory, slippery and difficult to achieve.
On the other hand, success goes to those who dare and try. Lee Iacocca is one of them. He was a Ford employee for 32 years and served as President of Ford Company for eight years till he was fired on July 13, 1978. The world came crashing on him, three months before he could complete his fifty-fourth birthday.
From an office of a size of a grand hotel suite at Fords Head Quarter, to a warehouse of Chrysler, where Iacocca joined later on October 15, 1978. It was like going to Siberia in exile where nobody wants to go. As the fate would have been, Chrysler came near to bankruptcy. It was like going from the frying pan into the fire for Iacocca. But, the sheer hard work imbued with vision and foresightedness, once again brought this fallen hero to great glory in America. Chrysler made an honest $925 million of operating profits in 1983, the best in Chryler’s history.This is the spirit behind his success.