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How do you stay in touch with those who work for you?
Mühlemann: Walking around, seeing customers together with colleagues, e-mail, roundtables, site visits, being accessible.
Lafley: I call it MBWA: manage by walking around. I think talking is really the best thing.
Gadiesh: I spend about 70 percent of my time working directly with our clients and our teams. So I am present, and I communicate a lot. I also listen a lot. Face-to-face communication is essential. Nothing can replace it.
Schleyer: However, when in-person contact isn't possible, we rely on videoconferencing and e-mail. We also use handheld e-mail systems to send messages. It's the ultimate in multitasking and allows one to stay constantly in touch.
Wagoner: I think it's critical to stay in touch with the “pulse” of the organization, which can be challenging in a large company like ours. One thing I do is hold regularly scheduled “diagonal-slice meetings,” which include people from all levels and all areas of the company.
What's the most valuable lesson you've learned from your employees?
Schleyer: I learn the most when I leave headquarters and go out in the field. There I have met so many workers who are incredibly motivated. It would be difficult to move the company forward without taking advantage of their collective motivation. Listening to employees has helped me formulate my own strategies.
Lafley: I agree, they have taught me the power of listening and of trust.
Mühlemann: I've learned the value of teamwork.
Wagoner: I've learned about the critical importance of providing consistent direction over time. It takes a while for direction to translate through the organization and for each unit and activity to align and support the achievement of objectives.
What are some of the leadership lessons to be learned from the fall of Enron?
Lafley: Beware of hubris. It raises the question, “Did they have the capability to understand the business model they created?” It shows the importance of experience as well as integrity.
Mühlemann: Arrogance and greed are bad advisors.
Gadiesh: First, no rug is big enough to sweep problems under indefinitely. If things are going wrong, stay humble enough to admit it and listen to the people who might know how to fix them. Second, for boards of directors: If someone can't explain something, it is either because they don't understand it, or they don't want you to understand it. In either case, the right response is to keep asking questions. Third, the importance of a focused growth strategy. Fourth, stay down-to-earth.
Schleyer: I would say the importance of corporate values — of identifying them, communicating them, demanding compliance to them, and living them.
Wagoner: Be on top of your business and know what's going on. If you don't know how you're making money, you could be in for a big surprise. It doesn't matter how big or powerful your company is, if you take risks you don't understand, you can destroy your business.
What is the single biggest challenge facing corporate America?
Wagoner: The global competitive environment. Certainly in the auto business, the competition is tougher and more global than ever before. Globalization provides us with more opportunities to grow, but the competition is definitely making it much tougher than it was when I graduated from HBS.
Schleyer: I think it's two things: short-term thinking and individual greed. When you put them together, you get serious problems.
Mühlemann: Regaining trust, growth, and finding a balance between corporate interests and the broader interests of society.
Lafley: I agree, the challenge is trust.
Gadiesh: Yes, trust. And I say trust — not accountability — because many CEOs and corporations are responsible and accountable, but given the recent events, there is a real issue of mistrust that spills into the general business environment.
