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Example of a personality profile: 

Ross H. Roberts, Ford Division vice president

A Profile by Al Lee

Ascend the glass elevator to the 37th floor of Detroit's Renaissance Center. Enter the posh offices of Ford Division's vice president and general manager and you may hear a booming Texas drawl from the inner office yelling: "What you doing outthere, boy? Get your tail on in here."

That's Ross Roberts' Texas-style intercom -- brash, blithful, belligerent, and like everything from the Lone Star State, a little bit larger than life.

Ross Roberts' achievements are Texas proportioned, as well.

He has corralled the most successful dealer team in the auto industry, and has taken Ford Division sales to the top in North America -- with the number one selling car and truuck, and five of the ten best selling vehicles, all wearing his brand.

In a career that spans 34 years, Roberts always has made big accomplishments seem like free-and-easy Texas play. Yet beneath the cultivated good-ol-boy image is a self-driven and super sophisticated leader who lives by uncompromising values.

"Ross Roberts is a complex person who cares deeply, and commits wholeheartedly," said Bob Rewey, Ford Group Executive VicePresident of Marketing, and a career-long friend. "He makes everything he does seem light-hearted, but, believe me, as long as I've known him, Ross has never taken any of his personal or professional values lightly."

One begins to understand Ross Roberts when he is asked what his greatest accomplishments have been. He doesn't hesitate to say, "Three healthy, happy kids. Nothing else is even a close second."

Family values, spiritual and personal principles, and a tenacious insistence on "doing what's right by everyone," is at the core of Ross Roberts' dynamic success story. "

They could boot me out of this office tonight," Roberts says,"and I figure if I felt right about what I did for the company and our dealers that day, and if I had a little fun with it, well then, I'd have no regrets." 

Ross H. Roberts learned his values early.

Born "Cecil Ross Kling" in Gainesville, Texas on February 3,1938, Ross was raised in less-than-auspicious circumstances in Texas-Oklahoma dustbowl border towns.

He was raised by his mother, who was part American Indian. She worked as a clerk to support him and his two siblings."

Mother raised us to be proud of our Indian heritage," Ross says. "She was a strong woman who instilled her values, her religious convictions, and especially the dignity of self reliance and work."

Ross can not recall a day when he didn't work. He had a paper route when he was in the first grade, and evening and weekends at numerous jobs throughout his school years.

When he was in the sixth grade, the family moved to Norman, Oklahoma, where his mother met, and married, "Doc" Floyd Roberts. Ross would later change his name from "Kling" to "Roberts," out of respect for his step father."

Doc ran a used car lot, mostly BMWs and Audies," Ross says. "I sold cars in the summers and on weekends, and pumped gas at night."

Yet despite constant work, Ross excelled in school. He was a straight-A student throughout high school and earned letters in football and basketball. Always gregarious, Ross held virtually every office in the school including election as class president. 

An avid reader of American history, Ross wanted to someday go into politics. He worked his way through the University of Oklahoma as a political science major, graduating in three years with academic honors.

Jim Dolman, now an attorney in Ardmore, Oklahoma, was a close friend of Ross's in college and has stayed in touch over the years."

In our fraternity, Ross would party with the guys half the night, then go to work at an all-night gas station. The next morning when we all had to take a test, Ross was the one who aced it. We soon learned we couldn't pace ourselves by him, for Ross has an immense intelligence, and an endless source of energy, the rest of us lacked."

After college, Ross put his intellect to work in the Army Counter Intelligence Corps. Lieutenant Roberts spent two years working on subversive activities."

At the time I saw it as a stepping stone into the C.I.A., then law school, then a career in politics," Roberts said. "But I also loved cars, so when Ford offered me a job I figured I'd try it on for awhile." 

In 1962, Roberts started at Ford Division doing detailed marketing studies, and he immediately questioned whether he'd made the right choice. "It was all theory and paper work," Ross said. "It was awful."

Then in 1963, Ross was transferred back home to Texas, assigned to the Dallas Sales Office. He quickly earned promotion to Field Manager."

I'd never had a business course, and here I was supposedly advising outstanding dealers on how to run their businesses," Ross said. "

A parts manager taught me how to pull financial statements, anda service technician instructed me on warranties. I had the bestteachers in the world -- dealership people who where working with customers every day, who knew what it was really all about. "

For his six years in the Dallas office, Roberts went through all of the chairs -- car and truck, new and used sales, leasing, and parts management. He recalls the period as "the best time ever,"which might have much to do with meeting and marrying Donna FitzPatrick, a Texas Tech University graduate who worked as a buyer for a local department store."

Donna was always a lot of fun to be with," he said. "We shared all the same values and liked all the same people. That's never changed."

In 1968, they shared the birth of their first child, Tara -- whom Ross named after the plantation inn his favorite book, the Civil War novel, "Gone With The Wind." 

Next, Ross was brought back to Michigan, where he served for nearly two years as Communications Coordinator. "Just a lot of paper shuffling and memo passing," he said. "Nothing much worth doing."

Roberts developed an aversion for all things bureaucratic, especially meetings where "you take minutes and waste hours." His own management style was to put his trust in individuals. "It's having confidence in people," he said. "Listen to the alternatives, there are always alternatives." 

And if they made mistakes? He said, "In Texas, they say it's O.K. to spill the milk, as long as you don't kill the cow. I think that's about right." 

In 1971, he was back in Texas, this time as General Field Manager headquartered in Houston. He now had a family to move. Ross Floyd Roberts, was born just a few weeks before he relocated. And like the birth of each of his children, he recalls it was "the happiest day of my life." 

The family grew again after Roberts' next move, this time to Connecticut, where he would be Assistant District Sales Manager for the New York region. Their son Brett was born in 1972. "I wanted to name him "Rett" as in Rett Butler, but Donna wouldn't let me."

The New York District was Roberts' first Eastern assignment, and he said, "They looked at this Texas boy like I'd just come from another planet."

Marvin Suskin, co-owner of Westchester Ford in Scarsdale, NewYork, disagrees. "Ross Roberts is never out of place as long as there are people," Suskin said. "He is one of the most open, and engaging, people I've ever known."

And I've never known anyone more caring. I remember when on an incentive trip, we met a little girl in a monastery in Germany. She asked Ross, `Do you know McGiver?' McGiver was an American television show star, played by Richard Anderson. Ross said, "no," and you'd think that would have been the end of it. But several months later Ross met Anderson while shooting a Ford commercial in California. Ross got an autographed picture and sent it to that little German girl. That's who Ross Roberts is. "

It was caring, in fact, that got Ross Roberts into trouble in TheNew York Office. He was vocal in opposition to Ford policies at a time when, in his words, "they filled every dealer vacancy with any warm body available." 

"You don't do anyone good by giving him a store he can't handle, then not backing him up," Ross said. "The quality of our dealerships is what the customer sees, so dealer selection is one of the most important jobs we have to do."

Roberts took his stand in opposition to his immediate boss, and it almost became his Alamo. Tension mounted. Ross decided to quit Ford Motor Company.

He put a down payment on his own dealership in Galveston, Texas, and sent his family back to Texas. However, at the final closing, Ross discovered hidden liabilities which he knew he did not have the capital to assume. 

At the same time, Ford offered him a new assignment where he could have more control over serving dealers as he believed they should be supported. 

Soon after, Ross was in a new job in a new region, Operations Manager of the Mid-Atlantic District, in Washington, D.C. Roberts accepted, and moved his family again. 

A life-long history buff, Ross would put the Washington assignment to good use for his family. 

"Every Sunday after church, without fail, we'd go on an outing to some historic battlefield or museum. "It took us 16 weeks just to see all of the Smithsonian. The kids hated it. They were bored to tears, but the outings were a learning experience theythanked me for later."

The family would have many learning experiences as they continuedto move. Ross was stepping through a series of District Manager positions -- next, in Louisville, Kentucky, and just 16 monthslater, to Los Angeles, California."

If we had a family meeting on Sunday evening, everyone knew that meant another move," Ross said."

Donna was always great about it, but the kids sometimes took the moves hard. My daughter Tara never registered in the same school twice until she was in the 10th grade. But it brought us together, made us a closer family than we might have been."

The wide range of field assignments also brought Ross even closer to Ford dealers, developing a network of friends from coast to coast.

Duffy James, Santa Ana (CA) Lincoln-Mercury dealer said, "I have a vivid memory of Ross sitting on the floor in my office late at night helping me make up incentive plans.

"There's nothing Ross won't do for the cause. For example, a Los Angeles dealer once said that television commercials were too difficult. Ross said, "nonsense," and to prove it he actually went on television himself in a series of commercials to sell our products.

"Ross never asked anyone to climb a hill that he wouldn't go up first himself. The result is that I don't know of a dealer who wouldn't follow Ross anywhere." 

In 1981, Ross Roberts climbed a new hill. Until then, he had been exclusively in sales, now he would shift perspectives as Lincoln-Mercury's General Marketing Manager."

It was a major change," Ross said. "Marketing was new to me. But I had a great advantage in that I would work for Bob Rewey, who was without a doubt Ford's marketing genius. I learned under the best."

Roberts would also learn under the worst possible conditions. A deep recession, double-digit inflation, and two oil embargoes had all but decimated the Lincoln-Mercury's large luxury car market."

We came up with a couple of brilliant strategies to save Lincoln-Mercury," Roberts said. "First, Red Carpet Leasing which tied customers closer to the dealer. Second, he put the Lincoln Town car in rental fleets where it would gain tremendous exposure with traveling executives. That was the first luxury rental car from a major company."

The Roberts and Rewey team proved an unbeatable combination. They had much in common -- high intelligence, uncompromising values,families that came first, and a penchant for working 14 hourdays. Yet it was their differences that made them a strong team. For while Rewey was the introspective strategist, Roberts was acharismatic initiator.

"Ross is the ultimate quarterback," Rewey said. "He gets the right people on his team, hands off assignments to those who can move them ahead, and, above all, he has no equal as a motivator. Ross is really the best in the business."

In 1985, Rewey moved to the larger Ford Division as vice president of marketing, and he persuaded Roberts to move with him, becoming general marketing manager. 

"Bob and I don't always agree, and I guess that's putting it mildly," Ross said. "But the one thing we never argue about is that marketing only helps sell cars, quality is the key.

"Good products, good dealers. It's that simple."

Roberts concentrated on building the best dealer system in theindustry. One tool Roberts championed to assist the dealer wasQuality Commitment-Performance (QCP), a program that surveyed new car owners at frequent intervals after purchase, then reported the results back to the dealer."

It gave the dealers a measuring stick," Ross said. "For the first time, they could compare how their customers rated theirdealership on sales, service and parts operations."

With that tool, customer satisfaction rose steadily in all areasof the dealer network. 

Yet Ross Roberts consistently argued that tools, no matter how sharp, do not keep a dealership on the cutting edge. Only people do that. And for Roberts, the focus has to be on giving those people the authority to serve the customer directly. "

Big outfits like Ford can smother a dealership with bureaucracy," Ross said. "So one of the first things we had towork on was getting Ford off the dealer's back. We eliminated much of the paper work and red tape that was doing nothing more than playing Big Brother with the dealers."

Those 4,500 Ford dealers have our reputation in their hands, and if we pick them right, and give them the right tools, then we darn well better learn to trust them."

In 1988, Roberts was elected to vice president of Ford MotorCompany, and took over the job of Lincoln-Mercury general manager. While such a large step up tends to take an executive away from the day-to-day field operations, that wouldn't happen with Roberts.

Ross Roberts' leadership style is to be personally involved, not to listen from the height of the corporate penthouse, but across a cup of coffee on the dealership floor.

Three days out of every week, Ross Roberts visited dealerships around the country, a pace he would continue no matter what job he held. 

"When a corporate mucky muck shows up at a dealership and makes the rounds of the departments, it boosts morale, makes everyone understand how important we feel they are," Roberts said. "While there are a lot of other benefits to the visits, just letting them know we appreciate them is worth my time and effort."

Ed Jussen, of Star Lincoln-Mercury Group in Glendale, California, has seen many Roberts visits. He said, "Ross is what I'd call a gregarious listener. His ears are always tuned to other people's ideas, and to ways he can be supportive."

But Ross also can be tough, especially when it comes to doing what is right. "I remember one small, but characteristic example," Jussen said.

"Ross was on a promotion trip with a group of dealers and wives in Acapulco. Ross had a local merchant take every couple's picture and place them in special frames. But when merchant found out it was Ford Motor Company paying the bill, he inflated the price. Ross refused to buy, and wouldn't let anyone else pay for them, either. It wasn't even an expensive item, but there was a principle involved. Ross will not tolerate dishonesty, no matter how small."

But mostly what people see in Ross is caring," Jussen said, "from little things like sending personal notes and flowers whena dealer is ill, to committing to appearances to support a dealer's personal project. Ross definitely is a caring kind of a guy."

The caring side, which Ross never mentions, includes active support and participation in a wide range of typically children-centered community programs. They include serving on the National Committee for LRAZA, a Spanish youth effort, on the Detroit Sports Commission, Palmer Drug Abuse Program, churchboards, and from marketing for the Boy Scouts to standing on the serving line at a local soup kitchen. 

And in true Ross Roberts style, he does nothing that he doesn't draw others in, as well, with a  "Boy, I'm going to put the arm on you with this Boy Scout thing." In fact, many say Roberts reaches the pinnacle of his sales skills when he's recruiting for a philanthropic cause.

At Ford, Ross reached the pinnacle of his salesmanship in his next position, as vice president and general manager of Ford Division. Here he would implement a national sales strategy that catapulted Ford Division to industry leadership."

Actually, there are two strategies," Ross said. "First, we keep it simple. Dealers can't keep track of lots of differences -- 15 cars and truck lines, you can't get a focus. Our job is to give the dealers one special car, and one special truck to focus on.

It is in keeping the dealers focused that Ross Roberts excels. As Tom Wagner, vice president and general manager of Ford customer satisfaction, and career-long friend, said: "Keeping Taurus and F-Series trucks as the two top selling vehicles in America is something I don't believe anyone but Ross could pull off. He has a remarkable ability to get everyone energized."

Roberts' second approach is to respect and serve the differences between regional markets. 

"People act like North America is one big homogeneous family," Ross said. "But even in families, there are different needs to be recognized. In fact, America has eight children, maybe more -- each region with distinct individual differences."

Roberts points to the independent New Englanders, who want bare-bones economy, and to the Southwest, where great distances mean big cars and full-sized pick up trucks, and to the Northern Middle America, where four wheel drive is a necessity, and to the Northwestern states where economy and environmentalism combine to create a need for small pick ups and utility vehicles.

"These regional niches can best be served by the regional dealers," Ross said. "Our job is to support them with enough ofthe right products, and to help them with local advertising andpromotions, but to remember it's their region, their specialmarket."

The distinctly different character of each region is embodied in a book, "The Nine Nations of North America, by Joel Garreau. Ross purchases in quantity and distributes to all of his managers. Yet Ross Roberts doesn't need the book, for he has lived in virtually every region, and visits them all frequently on his whirlwind schedule. "It really comes down to appreciating that people are unique, and to treat them that way."

Ross celebrates that same quality of uniqueness in his children, who have all gone their own ways. Tara, went to University ofMichigan, graduated with honors in advertising, and now is married and living in Chicago. Ross Floyd is the care giver, having earned his masters in social work from the University ofMichigan. And Brett is a senior at Michigan State, majoring infinance.

"Not that you don't try to influence them," Ross said. "I took Tara on a tour of colleges with a special visit to University ofOklahoma, SMU and the other Southern schools, then I took Ross Floyd on the same trip. Neither one chose my school."

With Brett, I got him in the car on the way to the airport, when he said, `Dad, I'll save you the time and money. I'm not going to any school except Michigan State.' That's the kind of influence I have on them."

Yet Ross Roberts has influenced his children, his thousands of friends, the many charities he immerses himself in, and he has had a profound influence on Ford's fortunes, and on satisfying millions of customers.

"It's all fun," Ross said. "People make it fun, and problems are fun, too, if you have people around you who love to experiment. The day I don't look forward to going to work, that's the day Donna and I pack up and go back home to Texas."

Most at Ford are hoping that does not happen soon.




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