Unified Action

Name: Unified Action
ISBN: 9787518083268

布赖斯·霍夫曼 / Wu Shanghui / 范申China Textile & Apparel Press · ChinaMay 2023

4.4

Word count: 262K words
Chapters: 25
ISBN: 9787518083268

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Summary

This book vividly tells the remarkable story of how Ford Motor Company, a century-old enterprise, achieved rebirth and revival after falling into a devastating $12.7 billion loss in 2006. What kind of CEO and what kind of leadership does it take to turn around a century-old company on the brink? This book offers a rare classic case in corporate history, providing readers with inspiration from multiple dimensions.

Editor's review

This book recounts how Ford Motor Company revived itself after falling into massive losses in 2006, with its core question being what kind of CEO and leadership are needed for a century-old enterprise to turn around at the brink. As a corporate history case, its value lies not in novelty but in presenting strategic trade-offs, organizational change, and execution in a single narrative, letting readers see how leadership is tested under pressure. The writing advances as a story and is highly readable, suitable for managers to read in concentrated sessions during commutes or weekends. Readers might enter with questions in mind: in the face of crisis, what should decision-makers change first and what later, which moves depend on personal courage and which on organizational consensus. The cases in the book can also serve as team discussion material for comparing the change difficulties of one's own organization. Note that this is a case narrative of one company; readers should maintain independent judgment and should not simply apply a single case to other organizational contexts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Corporate managers and entrepreneurs focused on leadership and organizational change in crisis
Business school students and management researchers seeking corporate transformation case material
General readers interested in the automotive industry and corporate history
Team leaders hoping to use the case for internal discussion and review

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for specific management tool templates and operational manuals
Academic readers expecting a systematic textbook on leadership theory
Readers with no interest in the automotive industry or business management topics

Reading tips

Read chronologically, noting key decision points and their rationale as you go
After each stage, write down how you would choose differently, then compare with the book's approach
Use team reading of crisis-response chapters to discuss your organization's change challenges
After reading, prepare a one-page summary of key points, distilling transferable leadership principles rather than copying practices

About the publisher

China Textile & Apparel Press China · Founded in 1953

China Textile & Apparel Press is a publisher traditionally known for its strengths in textiles and apparel, while also expanding into social science, psychology, and humanities reading for general audiences. Its library of about 211 titles covers categories such as essays and miscellaneous writings, applied psychology, inspirational growth, social psychology, social culture, and social science. Representative books include classic popular works such as the illustrated edition of Guwen Guanzhi, as well as psychology and social science titles such as Antonio Damasio's When Feeling Happens and Looking for Spinoza, Kathryn Mannix's When We Must Talk About Death and Separation, The Anxious Generation, Life Is No Big Deal, and The Intelligent Structure. Its authors include Wu Chucai, Wu Diaohou, Zhou Renlai, Yan Yan, and Zhang Xi. Public information is limited; based on the titles in its library, the press emphasizes a combination of classic texts with psychology and social-issues reading, balancing its professional identity with the needs of general readers.

版权信息
推荐序从艾柯卡、郭士纳到穆拉利，百年企业绝境重振需要什么样的CEO？
作者手记福特汽车的故事
序言比尔·福特交棒，艾伦·穆拉利登场
第1章亨利·福特创建的公司
第2章内斗不断，谁是福特公司的救世主
第3章穆拉利的艰难抉择
第4章 “波音救星”空降底特律
第5章拒绝无用会议，BPR进程呈现所有问题
第6章全球化重组，“一个福特”战略
第7章抵押整个福特，尽最大可能多贷款
第8章重建高管团队，结束任人唯亲的时代
第9章重新规划产品线，简化与聚焦
第10章家族纷争不能危害公司目标
第11章携手工会，劳工关系是合作关系
第12章广告战略，赋予公司人性
第13章股权之争，绝不放弃对公司的控制权
第14章华尔街崩溃，进入危机模式
第15章团结供应商，也要团结竞争对手
第16章前往华盛顿，底特律需要救援
第17章放弃救援，福特是不一样的公司
第18章站到聚光灯下，自己拯救自己
第19章扭亏为盈，穆拉利兑现承诺
第20章福特的未来，一家更均衡的全球化公司
结语为美国制造业的灵魂而战斗

FAQ

Is this book an official biography of Ford?

According to available information, this book is written by Bryce G. Hoffman and recounts how Ford revived itself after falling into losses in 2006. It is a corporate case narrative, not positioned as an official biography. Readers can treat it as a case study rather than official corporate history.

Can ordinary readers without a management background understand it?

Yes. The book advances as a story centered on corporate crisis and revival, with a strong narrative style that does not require professional management knowledge. General readers can read it as a corporate history story, while managers can draw more inspiration about decision-making and change.

Can the lessons in the book be directly applied to other companies?

Direct application is not advisable. The book presents how one century-old company responded under a specific industry and specific crisis, with strong case-specific characteristics. Readers are better off distilling the leadership principles and change approaches and then adapting them to their own organization's size, industry, and stage.

Do I need to know Ford's history in advance to read this book?

No. The book focuses on the crisis and revival phase after 2006, and the narrative is relatively self-contained; readers can enter without prior knowledge of Ford's full development history. If interested in the background, they can supplement their understanding of the company's early history after reading to deepen comprehension.

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About the author

布赖斯·霍夫曼 Author

Public information about Bryce Hoffman is limited; all that is currently known is that four of his works have been translated for the Chinese book market, with his writing falling mainly into the fields of management and social culture. His representative works include Unified Action, Strategies for Winning, the Winning Battles trilogy, and The Legendary Stories We Experienced Together (8 volumes). Judging from the titles and categories, Hoffman focuses on organizational execution, teamwork, and strategy formulation for managers and workplace readers, while also engaging in narrative social and cultural writing that records shared experiences in story form. His works are classified under management and social culture in the Chinese market, indicating a readership spanning both practical and humanistic interests. Because basic details such as dates of birth and death, nationality, and English name are unavailable, a full biography cannot yet be outlined, but the existing works already show a dual orientation toward practical methods and narrative expression, offering reference for management researchers and general readers alike.

Wu Shanghui Author · Chinese

Wu Shanghui is a Chinese translator whose translations focus mainly on works about economics, business, and technology. His translations include ThinkPad: The Untold Story by Arimasa Naito and William Holstein, which explores the origins and design philosophy of the iconic laptop; The Commercial Adventure of England by John Butman and others, which traces the history of British commerce; and The Unification Campaign by Bryce G. Hoffman, co-translated with Fan Shen. His choices of titles show an interest in corporate management, business history, and the organizational workings behind technology products, with translations intended to help Chinese readers learn about overseas business practice and technological innovation. Public information about him is limited and his biographical details remain incomplete; he has three works in the catalog, commonly classified under management.

范申 Author · China

Fan Shen is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. The only work currently on record is Unified Action, commonly classified under management. Based on the available information alone, it is not possible to confirm his educational background, professional experience, or dates of birth and death, nor to determine whether Unified Action is an independent work or a co-authored one. Judging from the title and category, the book likely addresses organizational coordination, consistency in execution, and management practice, aimed at readers who need to align a team around shared goals and a common rhythm. As a management author, Fan Shen may favor practical operability, grounding management ideas in concrete action rather than停留在 conceptual introduction. Since only one work is included and materials such as prefaces, postscripts, or author statements are lacking, his writing style and industry influence await further documentation. Readers are advised to rely primarily on the work itself and to verify the author's identity and the book's background through publication information, rather than drawing excessive inferences from a limited entry.