Ford Keeping Volvo: Collaboration a Factor?

Collaboration was percolating beneath the surface of Ford Motor Company’s announcement last Thursday that it would focus on fixing rather than selling Volvo. I argued in an August 3 post entitled “Why Ford Should Keep Volvo” that the greatest value Ford stands to gain by keeping Volvo is the Culture of Collaboration. You can read my post here.

In the announcement, Ford said that it has developed a plan for Volvo. The priority is to improve the unit’s financial performance, which has been stymied by several factors including foreign exchange rates. Another objective is to increase “synergies” (essentially collaboration) between Ford-brand operations and Volvo, particularly in product development and purchasing.

In The Culture of Collaboration book, I write about highly-collaborative enterprises. Ford is included mostly because of Volvo. While Ford’s collaborative culture is a work in progress, Volvo collaborates constantly and is consensus-driven. In short, Ford has much to learn from Volvo on many levels. Clearly, Ford CEO Alan Mulally wants to accelerate collaboration between Ford and Volvo. Until recently, Alan ran Boeing Commercial Airplanes—and Boeing is among the most collaborative companies. My sense is that Alan is the right leader at the right time for Ford. He understands the value collaboration can create. Clearly, the desire to collaborate with Volvo is playing a role in Ford’s decision to keep the unit.