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Is the Boeing CEO departure enough to save the company?

December 23, 2019 by Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

With today’s not-totally-unexpected announcement of Dennis Muilenberg parting ways with Boeing, the question remains whether this is enough to turn Boeing’s fortunes around. The adage that “the buck stops at the head of the organization” having been touted amongst regulators and aviation pundits, many have hailed this event as a turnaround moment for the beleaguered manufacturer. Indeed, investors are rewarding this announcement with an upward bump in Boeing’s stock price. But is this the event that will re-invigorate the company, instill aviation community faith and trust in the company? I believe much more needs to be done to satisfy Boeing aircraft stakeholders that change is underway.

In recent hearings, Mr. Muilenberg was depicted as the architect of the Boeing culture that pervades the Boeing organization. His various leadership roles at Boeing did indeed leave a legacy of getting the job done, managing costs, delivering aircraft and, more importantly, delivering value to Boeing shareholders. And here’s where the legacy that Mr. Muilenberg leaves as he exits the CEO role will be defining. But the Boeing Board of Directors needs to do some soul-searching as they are complicit in Boeing’s cultural paradigm.

Boeing has pursued a product development strategy in recent years that put market share and cost containment in the pilot’s seat. With Airbus’ A320neo series aircraft in the marketplace as both fuel- and performance-leader, Boeing’s board elected to pursue the 737MAX path to quickly bring a competitive aircraft to market rather than design and develop and new aircraft with the needed economics and performance. In hindsight, a strategic error for which Boeing is currently paying the price.

Along with Mr. Muilenberg’s departure, the Boeing Board of Directors needs a membership review. The next generation of Board membership along with the new CEO will need to reinvent the Boeing culture and reshape the aircraft manufacturer into the trustworthy entity it once was.

What do you think will happen next?

John Gradek is Principal with Dergel Executive Search. His practice covers Executive Search for Aviation, Supply Chain and Logistics, Manufacturing, Operations and Technology Leadership.

Delta Airlines’ Next Step in Private Aviation

December 12, 2019 by John Gradek Leave a Comment

With today’s news that Delta Airlines is acquiring a majority interest in WheelsUp, the world’s largest airline continues its path to rationalize its operating portfolio by merging Delta Private Jets into the WheelsUp organization. The statement by Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, highlights the airline’s desire to expand its footprint beyond its current commercial aviation market further into private aviation. The question remains as to Delta’s long-term private aviation strategy with this merger and whether this new WheelsUp entity will offer enough differentiation against NetJets in the private aircraft market.

The world of private aviation has become quite crowded in recent years, with a wide variety of business models vying for a static set of target customers. The creation of a 190-aircraft fleet with this merger seems to be aimed at the “last mile” segment of well-heeled North American clients, and Delta is most likely looking to capture a larger share of the longer-haul travel segment by offering a larger variety of options on “last-mile” services on private aircraft. Surely this is one way to broaden the DL service base to more North American cities.

A greater cynic than I might look at this transaction as a further effort by Delta to rationalize its core businesses by getting out of the increasingly competitive private jet market. Delta needed a home for its 90-aircraft private jet fleet and WheelsUp was a more than willing recipient of this transfer. Will Delta get fair market value for its fleet in exchanging it for majority ownership in WheelsUp?

A shake-out of the private aviation market is inevitable, but in the meantime, look to this transaction to benefit Delta’s premium travelers looking to get to commercial aviation’s underserved markets. This can be a more time-effective solution for some of these last-mile locations.

How will this impact your business travel decisions?

John Gradek is Principal with Dergel Executive Search. His practice covers Executive Search for Aviation, Supply Chain and Logistics, Manufacturing, Operations and Technology Leadership.

1 Mistake Executives Make using LinkedIn

December 10, 2019 by Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

It wouldn’t surprise you that as part of what I do, both as an Executive Recruiter as well as my role overseeing our CFO Moves and CHRO Moves weekly reports, I view many LinkedIn profiles and follow a large number of executives in my LinkedIn News Feed.

In speaking with executives daily, I continuously recommend that people focus on how they use LinkedIn. Today, LinkedIn is the social media tool for business professionals, and executives have a huge opportunity to control their personal and career brand.

The number one piece of advice I give to executives is that they need to be visible. In today’s world, if you are not visible, you don’t exist. When you look around you, successful executives are successful in large part because of they take control of their visibility and their brand. Remember – your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.

So how do you impact what people say about you? The good news is that today, with LinkedIn, you can stay visible with your network by engaging with them individually. You can do this by tagging people, messaging them, commenting, liking or sharing other people’s content. You can also share news articles of interest to you, and perhaps even share your perspective and start a conversation.

These things do not need to take up a large component of your time. But if you are not personally engaging with your network, you are losing the opportunity to be visible, stay relevant and be kept in mind for opportunities.

The Mistake

Too many executives have their LinkedIn posts controlled by their corporate communications team. While I understand the reason why a company would like to control the content on behalf of the company, this is the worst thing you can do for your career on LinkedIn.

You are missing the opportunity to personally engage with people in your network, as well as grow your network organically. In not doing this, people in your network will just see you ‘selling your company’, and not have the opportunity to genuinely interact with you, build trust, and keep you in mind for future career opportunities.

This is not to say that you should not support your company while in the role. Rather than be a social media channel for the corporate agenda, be genuine and engage with your network and build trust for both you and your company. But do not do this exclusively.

Your LinkedIn Profile belongs to you. Do not give it up to your company. Your career and personal life is yours, forever. No matter how much you are dedicated and committed to your company, this has a time limitation.

Invest in your career – Take control of your personal brand.

A Step Closer to Armageddon

August 9, 2019 by John Gradek Leave a Comment

This week’s attention-grabbing headline screamed out news of the Apocalypse: FedEx Ends Ground-Delivery Deal With Amazon.

Who would have thought 10 years ago that the retailer-logistics relationship between Amazon and FedEx would one day see an end? The FedEx distribution powerhouse and the ever-growing ecommerce juggernaut called Amazon, together operated a juggernaut of global proportions. Who could forget the days where an online Amazon purchase would end with an at-home door delivery within a couple of days? Who would have dreamed that this relationship would end?

This saga had its genesis during Christmas 2013, over 5 years ago, when the combination of a surge in Christmas delivery orders and poor weather across the U.S., prevented FedEx, among others, from meeting the delivery commitment made by ecommerce giants like Amazon. While the logistics organizations change their staffing and operating practices to avoid a repeat performance during subsequent peak shipping periods, the faith in the reliability of the supply chain was broken. A fresh approach was deemed to be needed.

With the growth of its truck fleet in 2014 and the launch of its Prime Air service in the fall of 2015, Amazon has targeted its transportation partners with its own asset-heavy infrastructure, looking to leverage service disruption, i.e. same-day and 2-hour delivery, with laser-focused last-mile delivery practices. FedEx, along with UPS and USPS, have been observing and learning from this Amazon shift in supply chain management, all wary of the potential for this new Amazon model to further erode their traditional ecommerce support role.

While FedEx might be the latest service provider to feel Amazon’s focus on integrating distribution in-house, it is obvious that others are in Amazon’s cross-hairs. Look out UPS, USPS, your turn’s coming up.

As a business executive with oversight of your company’s supply chain, you need to be vigilant of the strategic moves being made by other, key players in the chain. Risk management and risk containment are key practices in today’s world and the Amazon-FedEx scenario should serve as a reminder that relationships can change, suppliers can become buyers and partners can become competitors.

John Gradek is Principal with Dergel Executive Search. His practice covers Executive Search for Supply Chain and Logistics, Manufacturing, Operations and Technology Leadership.

Dear Samuel: Help! I’ve been Ghosted

July 23, 2019 by Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

Dear Samuel,

Here is my question: What happens when an executive recruiter “ghosts” you as an executive candidate?

There are tons of articles due to a robust job market that candidates are “ghosting” recruiters during the sourcing and/or after job offers phases. But how do you deal with a top-rated recruiter who “ghosts” executive candidates? This happened a few times to me and I find it frustrating, especially at the executive level.

Thank you,

Chuck in Chicago

Dear Chuck,

Wow.

First, on behalf of all the executive recruiters out there that care, I’m sorry that someone treated you this way.

Why do people Ghost others? This is a relevant question across the spectrum today, both in our personal lives as well as the business world we live in.

From my perspective, there are three reasons why people Ghost.

They are uncomfortable with sharing bad news, or
They have no news, or
They don’t care enough to follow up.

Executive recruiters are humans, and as humans, we are not perfect.

However, “top-rated” recruiters stay “top-rated” knowing that a candidate can be a client at some point in time in the future. All executives that they deal with need to be treated with respect, courtesy and care.

If I was in your shoes, I would take the Ghosting as a sign that the client is not interested in you. You need to look at it as it is their loss, and that they were not the right fit for you. See it as a gift.

Your next role is out there with an employer that appreciates what you are bringing to the table and sees your value. They also have made the decision to work with an executive recruiter that reflects their values.

And as you need to hire for your new employer, you’ll make sure that you’ll only work with “top-rated” recruiters that care.

Wishing you the best as you continue your career for people that treat you right,

Samuel

Dear Readers,

Dear Samuel is a feature of our Leadership Blog that deals with questions executives have about their leadership roles and career situations. If you have any questions that you would like Samuel Dergel to address, please send your questions to dearsamuel@dergelsearch.com.

Please note that all questions asked will be treated in the strictest of confidence and all identifying material in questions asked will be edited to respect the privacy of all participants and companies.

Samuel

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