The John Deere Way
Performance that Endures
By: David Magee
Published: Mar 31, 2005
ISBN: 0471706442
Format: Hardcover, 242pp
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
You've probably heard the slogan, "Nothing runs like a Deere". For giant farm,industrial, and yard equipment manufacturer John Deere, it's more than a mere catchphrase. It's the way the company does business. In The John Deere Way Performance that Endures, author David Magee interviewed John Deere employees from CEOs and executives to assembly line workers and janitors. The resulting book is a testament to an unwavering commitment to excellence.
Business writer David Magee (photo left) demonstrates clearly how everyone working for the company is committed to the John Deere Way of doing business. Indeed, it's a way of life. Employees join the John Deere family and stay with the company for their entire working career. A rarity in the modern world of mass layoffs and job changes, staff stability is part of the company's success secret. Employees look to a bright future, with a solid company past to guide them.
At John Deere, people on the job for twenty years are often thought of as newcomers. Employment at the company is usually lifelong, and very often spans several generations, as company wisdom and lore are passed along. This tremendous wealth of experience from top to bottom, has helped the company to innovate and improve their product line. It has built the famous green and yellow brand recognition, and reputation for quality, that's second to none. At the same time, long term executives avoid the catastrophic mistakes that many other corporations have suffered.
The company began in 1837 when a blacksmith named John Deere marketed the first commercially successful, self scouring steel plow. The commitment to quality that created John Deere's original success permeates the company today. To understand the corporate culture is to understand the company. The culture and the business are tightly entwined and rooted in the rural Midwest where the company makes its headquarters. Indeed, it's impossible to think of the John Deere culture without considering the deeply seated rural values instilled in everyone is part of the corporate family.
Decisions are made based on the time tested idea that ethical business practices pay off in both the short and longer terms. When new plans and concepts are formulated, they must pass the test of the John Deere core values. The code of ethics for all company decision makers, regardless of their position, are integrity, quality, innovation, and commitment. It's not unusual for an employee to ask, "what would John Deere have done" in the same situation.
At John Deere, ethical business is good business that endures. Read The John Deere Way Performance that Endures by David Magee, and learn how honesty and integrity can build your business and your brand as well.
You'll understand why truly "Nothing runs like a Deere".
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