Lee Iacocca: Rejection Propelled Him to Succeed

When the car company Chrysler Corporation was on the verge of economic collapse in the 1980s, Lee Iacocca became its savior. When he was its CEO he revived the company, that’s why Chrysler continues to produce quality cars to this day.

Iacocca was born on October 15, 1924. He spent his boyhood in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He studied industrial engineering at Bethlehem’s Lehigh University. His education was instrumental in his success in the steel industry later in his career.

He started his career in the automobile industry when he worked as an engineer with Ford Motor Company. Soon he worked with sales, then later with product development. In 1956, he developed a marketing campaign which he dubbed as “56 for 56.” The success of this marketing strategy helped him to climb the ladder of leadership until he was named Ford Division’s President in 1964.

Among Iacocca’s contributions to Ford were his design and marketing concepts of some of the most saleable Ford models which included Fiesta, Mustang and Lincoln Continental Mark III. However, personal conflict erupted between Iacocca and Ford in 1978 which led to Iacocca’s termination from Ford.

Iacocca joined Chrysler Corporation after he departed from Ford. During this time, Chrysler was experiencing loses on the larger models. The company was going bankrupt. As the Chairman, Iacocca started restructuring Chrysler. He streamlined the workers. He sold the losing divisions. He introduced the MiniMax project which Henry Ford refused to accept into the Ford product lines.

In the 1970s, at a time when America is experiencing fuel crisis, Chrysler introduced more compact cars. The Americans loved these cars because they are fuel efficient and are less expensive. The minivans and these compact cars were the models rejected by Henry Ford. In a few years’ time, Chrysler’s mini cars became the more sought-after cars of American families.

Soon in 1993, Chrysler purchased AMC, the producer of Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Jeep brand has been in Iacocca’s sight for a long time until Chrysler was able to acquire it.

After Chrysler’s acquisition of AMC, Iacocca left the company. He continued his passion in writing several books which detailed his life and work. As a retired officer of Chrysler, Iacocca continues to contribute as a writer and speaker for the company.