Table of Contents
"I probably communicated more with her because we were apart than if I was there" — Mark Fields' counterintuitive insight about his weekly Detroit-Florida commute reveals how extreme leadership demands can paradoxically strengthen family relationships through forced intentionality.
Key Takeaways
- Extreme commuting can actually improve family communication by creating focused, intentional conversation time rather than distracted presence
- Auto industry CEOs face unique scrutiny because cars affect everyone's daily life, making every decision politically and economically charged
- "Running to the fire" by accepting difficult, unglamorous assignments accelerates career development more than seeking prestigious roles
- Confronting presidential candidates requires conviction in facts while maintaining respect for institutions and stakeholder interests
- CEO transitions happen overnight—relevance and identity can disappear instantly, requiring advance preparation for psychological adjustment
- Work-life balance is a misnomer; successful leaders manage "one life" with different time allocations rather than separate compartments
- Leading during crises requires maintaining positive energy and avoiding victim mentality, even when facing industry-wide catastrophe
- Strategic vision without proper stakeholder communication leads to stock underperformance despite strong operational results
Timeline Overview
- 00:00–03:35 — Early Career Decision: Choosing Ford over Microsoft and Silicon Graphics in 1989 despite Harvard classmates' skepticism about Detroit's prospects
- 03:35–04:52 — Industry Context 1989: Japanese automakers ascending, voluntary import restrictions, Detroit in cyclical downturn with competitive pressures mounting
- 04:52–05:22 — First Assignment: Product planning and marketing rotational program, learning core product development processes that shaped entire career
- 05:22–07:35 — Industry Complexity: Managing employees, unions, suppliers, dealers, governments across multiple countries with economic importance creating political pressure
- 07:35–18:49 — Trump Confrontation 2016: Presidential candidate attacking Ford's Mexico manufacturing plans, leading to public media defense using "facts are stubborn things"
- 18:49–21:32 — Weekly Commuting Reality: 12-year pattern of Detroit weekdays, Florida weekends, daily hour-long phone calls creating focused family communication
- 21:32–42:49 — Career Philosophy: "Running to the fire" by accepting difficult assignments nobody wanted, building experience through restructuring and crisis management
- 42:49–44:34 — Post-CEO Identity Crisis: Instant relevance loss, fear of becoming stale, three-month adjustment period before accepting new opportunities
- 44:34–49:25 — Leadership Advice: Taking time before jumping into next role, avoiding victim mentality, maintaining positive energy during organizational crises
- 49:25–52:27 — Great Recession Navigation: Early restructuring providing runway when GM and Chrysler went bankrupt, lobbying for competitor bailouts to save supply base
- 52:27–55:51 — Performance Self-Assessment: Rating himself 9-10 on financial results, 7 on strategy, 3-4 on stock price communication, and poor on board management
- 55:51–64:11 — Strategic Vision Challenges: Investing in EVs, autonomy, and mobility services ahead of market readiness, failing to communicate timeline expectations effectively
- 64:11–72:12 — Le Mans Victory Project: Deciding to win rather than just participate, pricing GT at $580,000 to break even, generating billion dollars in earned media
- 72:12–END — Leadership Philosophy: If you're going to compete, resource appropriately to win rather than settling for participation or half-measures
The Psychology of Extreme Commuting
Mark Fields' most surprising insight concerns his 12-year weekly commute between Detroit and Florida. Rather than destroying family relationships, the arrangement paradoxically strengthened them through forced intentionality.
"I probably communicated more with her because we were apart than if I was there, because if I was there, I'd come home for dinner, we'd spend a little bit of time together, I'd grunt at her, and then I go back to my emails and ignore the kids."
The discipline was remarkable: "Literally every day I would call my wife at the end of the day and we'd talk for about an hour... I actually had really focused time every day to talk just talk with her and talk with the kids."
This pattern emerged from practical necessity. When asked to run Ford's Americas division in 2005, his family had just relocated to Florida after years of international moves: "The deal I had with my wife was... I will come to you and literally from the end of 2005 to when I retired in May of 2017, I commuted back and forth between Detroit and Florida."
The structure created unexpected benefits: "By being away, I actually had really focused time every day to talk... versus sporadic communication where I feel a little guilty I haven't talked with my wife for a week so I'll give her a call."
Confronting Presidential Power with Corporate Facts
Fields' 2016 confrontation with Donald Trump reveals how auto industry CEOs navigate political pressure while defending business strategy. When Trump attacked Ford's Mexico manufacturing plans, Fields' response demonstrated principled corporate leadership under fire.
"I immediately was going to pick up the phone and call him... I was so pissed off I was like I want to call this guy." His communications team advised against direct contact, so Fields wrote a correction note instead.
Trump's response was characteristically personal: "He sends me back the note and handwritten on the note and he faxes it back... a nice handwritten note that says 'Mark I'm a big fan of Ford Donald Trump.'"
When Trump escalated attacks claiming "Ford is moving all of its manufacturing jobs out of the US," Fields chose public confrontation: "I got so fucking pissed I told my communications people I don't care get me on CNN get me on CNBC."
His media tour strategy was fact-based: "I basically used the term 'facts are stubborn things' and here are the facts because it came to the point where I needed to make sure that as a company... we get our message out."
The episode illustrates unique automotive industry dynamics: "When you're running a car company you have lots of individuals who have both overt agendas and hidden agendas and you just that's just part of the job."
The "Run to the Fire" Career Philosophy
Fields' advancement strategy contradicted conventional wisdom about seeking prestigious assignments. Instead, he deliberately pursued the most difficult, unglamorous roles.
"Just run to the fire. Go to those assignments that not necessarily are the sexiest ones out there that everybody wants to go to. Go to the ones that are really going to stretch you and challenge you."
The logic was risk-reward calculation: "I'm going to go there it's going to be tough but I'm going to learn a lot of things and if I'm successful well that'll help my career if I'm not successful I will have learned a lot of things and that will serve me well in whatever I do next."
This approach shaped his entire trajectory: "In my career at Ford they always sent me to places that had to be fixed... I always kind of thrived on those those kind of things."
The strategy extended beyond Ford: "Until I became COO I was basically always restructuring parts of Ford so I always had to do the nasty work of plants and dealing with governments and unions."
His college experience reinforced this mindset: "I joined a fraternity and I learned not only how to apply myself to my studies... but I also at the same time had a great balance... learning how to live in a house with 49 other guys and how you need to understand people."
Leading Through Industry Apocalypse
Fields' leadership during the Great Recession demonstrates crisis management principles applicable beyond automotive. When GM and Chrysler faced bankruptcy, Ford's survival required counterintuitive decisions.
"We knew that GM and Chrysler were going to run out of money about six months before they actually ran out of money... so we knew that something was coming."
Ford's early restructuring provided crucial runway: "By the time we had structured North America we had to say goodbye to literally about 35-40% of our salaried workforce and about 40% of our hourly workforce and we closed a number of plants."
Paradoxically, Ford lobbied for competitor bailouts: "If Chrysler or GM didn't get funds from the government... the supply base would go bankrupt and when the supply base went bankrupt we would go bankrupt because we shared a lot of the same suppliers."
Fields' team management during Chrysler's bankruptcy reveals leadership psychology: "I asked everybody to go around individually and I asked them tell me why you joined Ford originally and what keeps you here."
The exercise transformed mindset: "By the time we were done... we had realized we're not going to be victims we're going to deal with the cards as they are we're going to deal with them in a positive way and we're going to find a way through this."
The Instant Irrelevance of CEO Transition
Fields' abrupt departure from Ford in 2017 illustrates the psychological brutality of CEO transitions. Despite record financial performance, his tenure ended after three years due to stock underperformance and strategic communication failures.
"One day you're CEO the next day you're not... it's scary because you know... you don't have meetings every day 24/7 when you don't have all the things that you have to do as a CEO when you don't have the corporate plane anymore."
The identity shock was immediate: "The most bizarre day is the first day after you leave you're like oh my gosh like what am I supposed to do right... literally for 3 months after I left Ford I was still getting up at 5:00 a.m. saying where's my first meeting."
His father's advice proved prescient: "My dad wrote me a letter when I became CEO of Mazda and one of the lines in the letter... he said never let your title get wrapped up into the value of yourself."
Geographic context provided grounding: "In Detroit everybody knows who you are... where I lived in Florida nobody knew much about the auto industry so when I would go to backyard barbecues people would ask me what do you do I said I work for Ford and they go what dealership."
Strategic Vision vs. Stakeholder Communication
Fields' self-assessment reveals the complexity of CEO performance evaluation. Despite exceptional operational results, communication failures overshadowed achievements.
"On the performance of the company I would give myself a nine or 10... we had record profits record operating margins... from a financial standpoint we were really kind of running hitting on all cylinders."
However, strategic communication failed: "The stock price during my tenure was down about 30% so despite the fantastic operating performance... I hadn't articulated enough to the street strategy for the future."
The vision was prescient but premature: "I wanted Ford to become not only a great car company but a great mobility company as well... investing in EVs and autonomy... but I did not do a good job on articulating that."
Board management proved equally challenging: "When you become CEO the one thing nobody ever teaches you in business school nor do you get any on the job experience before you become CEO is how you deal with a board."
His assessment was brutally honest: "I probably did not do a good job on building relationships and managing that dynamic... I would not give myself a good grade for that."
The Le Mans Victory as Leadership Philosophy
Fields' decision to win Le Mans rather than merely participate encapsulates his leadership philosophy about committing fully to competitive endeavors.
When his team proposed a "souped up Mustang," Fields asked the crucial question: "Can we win? And he looked at me he said well not really but at least we can enter."
This triggered a broader principle: "If we can't if we're just going there to show up why bother we should go there to compete and have a chance to win."
The reference point was Ford's failed Formula 1 effort: "Every week we end up on the back of the grid and I kept challenging them why are we still in this... how does being at the back of the grid help our brand."
The Le Mans program required premium pricing for viability: "If this is going to be break even we have to price this thing at like over $500,000... that's what we're going to do it was the most expensive Ford we had ever sold."
Success validated the approach: "We not only won... the earned media that we got for the vehicle and for the win was probably over a billion dollars."
The underlying philosophy extends beyond racing: "If you're going to do something don't do it half ass because customers and the market's really smart and if you're doing just a paint and tape job you're going to get ridiculed."
Conclusion
Mark Fields' tenure at Ford demonstrates the complex reality of modern CEO leadership, where operational excellence doesn't guarantee survival without effective stakeholder communication. His unconventional approaches—from weekly commuting to presidential confrontations to Le Mans competition—reveal how extreme demands can sometimes strengthen rather than weaken personal relationships and corporate reputation. Most importantly, his philosophy of "running to the fire" and competing to win rather than merely participate offers timeless lessons about building capabilities through difficult assignments and committing fully to competitive endeavors. In an era where many leaders seek to minimize risk and maximize comfort, Fields' career illustrates the counterintuitive benefits of embracing challenge and accepting that true leadership often requires personal sacrifice in service of larger organizational missions.
Practical Implications
- Intentional Communication: Create structured, focused family communication routines rather than relying on physical presence alone for relationship building
- Crisis Leadership: Maintain positive energy and avoid victim mentality during organizational challenges by focusing teams on controllable factors and shared purpose
- Career Development: Seek difficult, unglamorous assignments that stretch capabilities rather than optimizing for prestigious or comfortable roles
- Stakeholder Management: Invest heavily in communication strategy and timeline expectation management, especially when pursuing long-term strategic transformations
- Political Navigation: Defend corporate decisions with fact-based responses while maintaining respect for institutions and stakeholder relationships
- Competition Philosophy: Commit fully to winning rather than settling for participation; half-measures often produce worse outcomes than bold commitment
- Identity Preparation: Develop personal identity beyond professional titles before leadership transitions to avoid psychological crisis during role changes
- Board Relationships: Recognize that board management requires distinct skills from operational leadership and invest accordingly in relationship building
