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| Sunday, May 9, 2004 |
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| Sunday, May 9, 2004 |
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...And Dignity for All
It is the tale of a man who used his on-job experiences and transformed the company’s vision, values and goals through value-based leadership. Most corporate leaders know in their hearts that trusting and respecting people make good business sense, but there are a few who dare to solve problems using these as the fundamentals of success. In this competitive world, the "effort-from-within" alone can contribute to enduring success and that can only be mustered by charismatic and effective leaders like Despain. Field Marshal Slim said: "Leadership is of the sprit, management is that of the mind. Leaders are essential, managers are necessary." Despain demonstrated leadership of the sprit to make everyone succeed. Such case studies of corporate integrity on road to individual and corporate success can inspire any freshman. The co-author, president of Converse Marketing Inc., Illinois, was the leader of James’ culture-change team and helped him in communication to support the transformation at Caterpillar. James Despain, born to a miner, was quick to learn the basic rule if mining—respecting authority. He got his dedication, commitment, honesty and trustworthiness from his father. His father combined the "obsession for honesty" of Abraham Lincoln and the demanding obedience of the mines to raise his son. Despain traces the history of American industry of the 1950s, when leadership merely meant command and how it alienated the worker from the company. His hard work and enthusiasm to learn did not pay off when the factory decided to lay him off. Out of Caterpillar, he sold insurance and worked on construction sites for survival, jobs exactly opposite of what he was doing earlier. The company later recalled in apprentice-training programme, but during his struggle, he had learnt that a worker’s personal and professional lives were linked. He learnt early in life that if he did a great job, the boss would want him to continue doing the same job for the rest of his life, without any incentives or promotion; the boss thought James’ only job to make money for him. Despain quit and lost faith in superiors. He then enjoyed six of the Japanese culture of performance and respect and learnt many new things, which he adopted later as a manager. Eight years in Mexico as president of a Caterpillar plant, he almost ruined his health due to anxiety and depression. Excellence, he learnt, came through paying attention to details, while retaining the focus on core issues. Despain was able to rebuild his division based on trust, mutual respect, teamwork, empowerment, risk taking, sense of urgency, continuous improvement, commitment, customer satisfaction and support from his workers. This man conquered the odds with values and became one of the most successful top managers. The book is not only for the corporate world, in fact, but also for anyone with self-belief. |
THE story of success honestly told is always
fascinating. However when the achiever’s first step is as humble as
that of James Despain, it inspires many who aspire to fulfil their
dreams. Despain, who joined Caterpillar over 43 years ago, turned around
the track-type tractor division and rose to be its vice-president during
this period. It is a story with few parallels.
