Develop and Articulate clear and consistent sense of purpose and direction for the organization
Ghosn was only moderately successful in articulating an organization purpose. In presenting his first analysis of Nissan, he identified the challenge of “save the business without losing the company” while simultaneously presenting the goal of “ do everything in my power to bring Nissan back to profitability at the earliest date possible and revive it as a highly attractive company”. While the combination of saving the business and returning Nissan to attractiveness is an appropriate organizational purpose, the discussion of profitability goals appears to veer into the strategy arena, which would be more specific. While he is able to establish a common sense of direction and goals for all employees, saving the company, there had to have been questions regarding what not losing the company meant in the context of returning it to profitability. Additionall, a clear purpose is generally supported by decentralized and autonomous decision making. Ghosn makes a point of referring to everything that is in his power which seems inconsistent with establishing high levels of coordination and teamwork. Establish Demanding Performance Expectations Ghosn was successful in creating demanding performance expectations. Similar to the tactics employed by Jack Welch at GE, Ghosn worked to instill the concept of “stretch”. Stretch goals are those that cannot be achieved by incremental or small improvements but require extending one’s self to the limit to be actualized. It is a challenge that is significantly beyond the organizations current performance level. Ghosn took the concept of “stretch goals” and attempted to implement such goals as part of the culture: “ Ghosn was tough and demanding on team members…..rejected our recommendations outright.. He told us they were not