Mr. Hackett spoke at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 9 in Las Vegas. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Senior executives at Ford Motor Co. F 0.08% have come to expect emails from their new boss, Chief Executive Jim Hackett, that include links to TED Talks and articles from Science Daily. They often come around 11 p.m., when he catches up on his reading.
The former chief of an office-furniture maker (Steelcase), Mr. Hackett frequently references the work of theoretical physicist Geoffrey West and uses terms such as “think phase” (a concept from his design background) and “clock speed” (a phrase from computing). In conversations, he often reaches for the nearest piece of paper or whiteboard to articulate his thinking by sketching out a diagram.
In a company long ruled by a rigid operational structure, Mr. Hackett’s cerebral, free-flowing management style has won some fans and mystified others. For investors, the question remains: What exactly is he thinking?
Ford’s finance chief, Bob Shanks, said some of Mr. Hackett’s concepts make his head hurt. “But I’m eager to understand. I’m eager to learn.” Mr. Shanks, who joined Ford in 1977, said the business hasn’t been performing at the level it should. “If someone thinks they have a better mousetrap, I’m all in.”
A number of top Ford executives have left within the past year, and many longtime employees and managers have struggled to adjust to his approach, say current and former workers. Some executives have turned to Mr. Hackett’s 28-year-old chief of staff for translations.
Mr. Hackett took over in May 2017, just when the Dearborn, Mich., car maker was in need of a turnaround. The company that invented the moving assembly line is grappling with new threats, from self-driving cars to electric vehicles to ride-hailing. Car makers are competing not just with each other but also with Silicon Valley upstarts.
Ford’s profits and stock price are down as Ford has fallen behind rivals that have moved more quickly into new technologies and quit money-losing businesses.
Mr. Hackett’s goal is to better position the company to tackle these challenges in part by engineering a culture shift, pushing executives to be less regimented and more open-minded. He has introduced new methodologies from his previous job, including a process called “design thinking” that attempts to solve problems by getting into the mind of the consumer.