F-Bomb Flies From Ford's Fields

An Automotive News story today reported on an incredible – dare I say, game changing – method of corporate governance over at Ford; swearing at, and attempting to physically attack your co-workers!

According to a new book titled American Icon, which details Ford’s turnaround since 2006, CFO Don Leclair insisted that the advertising budget for Ford’s “Bold Moves” ad campaign be cut further. AN outlines the exchange below

“When you run the f–king business, you can do it,” Fields responded to Leclair, Hoffman wrote. “But you don’t run it. You’re the CFO. So, I’ll take your counsel, but that’s it.”

Leclair then shouted, “You’re going to do this,” Hoffman wrote, adding: Fields leapt out of his chair screaming, “I’m tired of this bulls—!”

Fields was “halfway across the table” when Bill Ford, then the automaker’s CEO, grabbed him, according to Hoffman. “Cut it out,” Ford said, according to Hoffman’s book

A look at Ford’s org chart shows that Fields and Leclair are on the same level, which makes Fields’ statement regarding running “the f—king business” all the more puzzling. Leclair, as CFO, would probably be a greater asset to Ford than a fungible marketing wonk like Fields, and if this were a conventional work place, Fields probably would have been fired for this kind of behavior. Leclair apparently blocked other moronic marketing department schemes like offering carbon offsets along with the purchase of a Ford vehicle because they were deemed to be the 21st century secular liberl version of buying indulgences from the Church too expensive.

It’s worth noting that at the same time, Fields was criticized for using the company jet to fly home to Florida, at a cost of $18,000 each week at the same time that the Leclair incident, and the shedding of tens of thousands of hourly workers was occurring.

For a breathless rimjob of Fields dubious actions an alternate view on the events, and Fields suitability as Ford’s future CEO, check out Jalopnik’s own piece on the matter.