And Dignity for All: Unlocking Greatness with Values-Based Leadership - Softcover

JIM DESPAIN rose from hourly worker at Caterpillar to Vice President and General Manager of Track-Type Tractors Division in East Peoria, Illinois—one of the company's largest manufacturing facilities. As its leader, he transformed the division's bottom line, cutting its breakeven point in half, while at the same time dramatically improving its historically difficult labor relations. Despain is currently a trustee at Eureka College.

JANE BODMAN CONVERSE was the communications player on Jim's culture-change team, responsible for messages and media to support the transformation at Caterpillar. She is President of Converse Inc., Peoria, Illinois, and has more than 30 years experience in organizational consulting, communications, and marketing.

Introduction

I am not your typical senior executive. I don't have an MBA. I wasn'tborn with a silver spoon in my mouth. No, this is the story of someone with an unlikely resume forsuccess. I was married when I was 16. I didn't go to college. What I learned, I learned on the job.I watched and I listened. I read and I asked. I tried and I failed. I learned and tried again.
Thisbook is the story of a lifetime of experiences and the lessons I learned that enabled me to becomea true leader of people. I began my career as a sweeper in a factory that makes the largestearthmoving equipment in the world. I ended it at the same company—a vice president of a $20billion corporation. This story includes how we transformed a factory and an entire division intohighly profitable leaders in our corporation and industry. It tells you how to do the same inwhatever business you find yourself.
In the end, through my own experiences, achievements, andstruggles, I discovered that values, defined as shared beliefs with standards for behavior in theworkplace, are the key to succeeding in changing and challenging times. These values aren't amoralistic code based on personal or company ethics, although ethics are integral. Instead, theyare a blueprint for creating a work environment that drives success because they provide people acontext for their decisions, broad boundaries for their ideas, and more freedom to make adifference.
And what a difference people with values can make. The Track-Type Tractors Division ofCaterpillar Inc. saw unprecedented improvement—improvement in everything from profit toemployee satisfaction. And we did this without extraordinary capital investment, forced"right-sizing," product replacements or additions, new marketing strategies, or any othertraditional idea. By establishing workplace values, we caused employees to feel an investment inthe organization. We inspired rather than constrained and, in the process, created ahigh-performance organization.
This book is the story of the transformation of a man and thetransformation of a business. Its purpose is to enable you to become a more effective leader and toshorten your journey by telling you what took me a lifetime to learn—that true leadership isvery different from management. Leadership is about others and not about self. It is about trustand not about power. It is about producing results by creating cultures where people know it's okayto be unique and different, so they willingly take off their masks, express themselves, and dogreat things. Their clash of opposing ideas generates sparks that light the path to progress. Myhope is that this book and my story will help unlock greatness for you.