Leading With Love: Alan Mulally’s Dedication To Service And Success

Alan Mulally first learned the meaning of service growing up in Kansas, where his mother drove him to school each morning. As they pulled up to the curb, she would turn to him and ask a simple yet profound question: “Do you remember what the purpose of life is?”

Every single day, young Alan would repeat the lesson she had instilled in him: “You taught us—it’s to love and be loved.” And each time, she would lean in and gently remind him, “In that order.”

That foundational lesson of putting service before self became the bedrock of Mulally’s leadership philosophy, one that would carry him through a storied career leading two of the world’s most iconic companies—Boeing and Ford.

On a recent two-part episode of Corporate Competitor Podcast, Mulally reflected on those early lessons, revealing how deeply they shaped his approach. “To serve is to live,” he said. “And you do it with humility and love for the greater good of humanity, no matter what you’ve decided to do as your service. That’s what my parents taught me.”

It was that same sense of service that led him to one of the most daunting challenges in corporate history. When Bill Ford reached out, asking him to step in as CEO at Ford—a company hemorrhaging $17 billion—he didn’t talk about stock prices or restructuring plans. Instead, Ford made a simple yet powerful appeal. “I want your service,” he told Mulally.

That phrase struck a chord with Mulally. Ford wasn’t just asking him to take a job—he was calling on Mulally’s core belief that leadership is about service.

Throughout his tenure at Ford and Boeing, Mulally lived out that philosophy. By embodying his “Working Together” approach, he orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds in corporate history. Fortune recognized him as one of the “World’s Greatest Leaders,” and Barron’s Magazine named him one of the “World’s Best CEOs.”

On the podcast, Mulally shared several key leadership lessons that business leaders can take to heart:

• The power of a compelling vision: Mulally emphasized that a clear vision, combined with a comprehensive strategy and relentless execution, was critical in uniting the Ford team behind an audacious goal—to restore Ford as the number one brand in the U.S. and the fastest-growing one worldwide.

• Transparency always wins: Mulally championed the idea of openly sharing both wins and struggles. Through Business Plan Reviews (BPRs), he implemented a system where leaders had to color-code their challenges: green for success and red for areas that needed attention. At first, while in a $17 billion deficit everyone reported green across the board—until Mulally called them out. “You have to show those who work with you that having something in the red is okay.” he said. “We can’t work on the problem if everyone’s always walking in green.”

• Collaboration over isolation: Too often, executives believe they must have all the answers before presenting challenges to leadership. Mulally sees it differently. “Everyone says that in the CEO world, you’re not supposed to come to the CEO with a challenge unless you already have a solution,” he shared. The better way? “You come with a challenge, and there’s an opportunity for us collectively to solve it.”

Mulally’s success wasn’t just about brilliant strategies or operational efficiencies—it was about serving others. He understood that leadership isn’t about commanding from the top; it’s about creating a culture where people feel empowered to bring challenges forward, knowing they’ll be met with support, not criticism.

That belief—that service precedes success—was something he learned long before boardrooms and billion-dollar turnarounds. It started with a mother’s simple wisdom: love first, and everything else will follow.

Watch Part 2 of the interview with Alan Mulally.