Ford has sunk millions (and sometimes billions) into initiatives like Model e / FNV4, Ford Next, Canopy, and FordLabs, and what’s becoming increasingly clear is a repeated pattern: massive spending, vague execution, questionable hires or partnerships, and little to no lasting impact.
How do these projects keep getting approved? Who’s actually making the strategic calls? Who signs off on these black-box initiatives, the hiring, the vendors, the direction? The execution feels disconnected from reality. Where’s the accountability for these profound strategic missteps? What oversight exists? I don't understand: is it the board, the CEO, product leads, entire leadership chains, external partners, etc.? Is there an internal innovation council or P&L division that says money is for X and Y but not Z? Is there gatekeeping? Is it greed? Kickbacks? Special vendor relationships that lock us?
Who handles HR and talent acquisition? Did we just bring senior roles with high pay and unclear mandates in the name of innovation? Are our analysts in an ivory tower, not understanding the fundamentals and easily fooled? How come we need so much money to build and do things, and why are we cheap in places that matter? Is it a circular talent problem? Where does the actual money end up being spent? Who is hoarding it? Is it money laundering? Do special committees lack deep domain knowledge? I can't wrap my head around this.
Do executives rotate out before results materialize, or are they promoted elsewhere or hired externally? Does the Media & PR shape the story far more than the product teams? Is the company under existential pressure to look like they're innovating? Why does Ford's structure allow it? Is it due to consultants with strategy decks without deep product execution knowledge? How does HR acquire talent and also place them accordingly? Do we have executive recruiters with vague job specs that drag and drop people like a menial task? Is it because of the whole "who we know" bit which bypasses procurement for strategic partners to add to the reliance on market signaling?
Do we have a siloed org structure that breeds "mini-empires"? Do we have experts that may be downplaying other experts that may threaten an empire? Is talent held back, or perceived as going rogue for initiative and being vocal? Do things repeat because we have an inability to absorb failure lessons due to quietly folding concerns under the rug instead of facing humility and accountability? Did we really bask in what a startup mindset really means? Milchmädchenrechnung?
I really want to hear the rationale behind decisions in such a historic company competing in the now. Are we structurally incapable of absorbing new insight without breaking internal equilibrium? Is it from gov bailouts and subsidies that enable mistakes to continue, compelled through lobbying packets written by "independent" parties? Are people with real execution power and holistic domain knowledge not looped into the work?
Do we suffer with watered down layers of middle management or political handlers? Is it relationship over merit that requires tribal alignment when presenting accurate feedback or data to prevent it from being rejected if it comes from "outside the circle"? Do we monitor sabotage behavior, and do we enable it or step in and put our foot down? Is it ego over mission, where elevation itself upsets social balance and as an org we are unable to cut through biases? Are these divisions, projects, and products "moonshots," as in high risk but necessary for survival, yet poorly executed?
I'm not asking for the benefit of Ford, but to deeply understand and learn from what is going on in this company, I know trolls will come or bash execs and blanket it all, but I'm checking to see angles I may be missing here. Interested in any sort insight for my own education because I don't know what I don't know. Managing the unknown in my case-study. Thanks.