Alan Mullally – Courtesy Ford.com

A recent issue of USA Today contained an article by Mike Snider. Mr. Snider had covered a speech given by Ford CEO Alan Mulally to a group of students at the University of Georgia. Mr. Mulally is the CEO that helped steer Ford through the recent recession without having to declare bankruptcy as General Motors and Chrysler did. Today Ford is once again a very successful company and, as a result, Mr. Mulally is one of the most sought-after CEO’s in America. According to the article, rumor has it that Microsoft is trying to “woo” him away from Ford. The words of wisdom that he passed on to these students came from his parents and they should sound very familiar to all of us: “…while it’s nice to be important, it’s more important to be nice.” He then went on to say, “Be true to yourself and your values…and be accountable for actually getting things done.” None of this is rocket science, but this is the kind of stuff that truly great leaders are made of.