When Nothing is Normal: Managing in Extreme Uncertainty
To increase the odds that a new operating model will be effective, managers must ensure that it addresses the problems of operating under highly uncertain conditions, such as the COVID-19 crisis presents today.
Rather than making periodic reviews of a static plan, managers need to meet for iterative decision-making sessions structured around three imperatives: discover, design, execute. To make informed decisions, managers need specialized knowledge and should actively seek expert advice. Experts can contribute to better decisions by filling gaps in existing management knowledge.
Managers must work together to diagnose the current situation, consider its practical implications, explore how it might evolve, and establish and execute appropriate actions. Leaders must be sensitive to the possibility that information they thought was clear and certain could turn out to be wrong.
Read the article at McKinsey & Company.
An Electric Ford F-150 is Coming, but the 700-Mile Power Boost Hybrid is Already a Hit
In January 1914, Henry Ford said “Within a year, I hope, we shall begin the manufacture of an electric automobile. The problem so far has been to build a storage battery of light weight which would operate for long distances without recharging.” If he could see his company now, he would probably say "What took you so long?"
During the global F-150 launch in June of this year, Ford executive Mark LaNeve said that electric powertrains are a big part of the brand's future. "Within two years, we'll have a zero-emissions F-150," he asserted.
The 2021 Ford F-150 is offered with PowerBoost, a 3.5 liter powertrain and and the ProPower onboard generator. The hybrid is the best of both worlds: 700 miles on one tank of gas with an assist from an efficient battery without stopping for a charge.
Read the article at The Drive.
The New Post-Pandemic Landscape for Fleet Managers
By Donald Dunphy, Contributing Editor
November 2020
This will make sense in a few – just go with me for a moment.
In what feels like a lifetime ago, 2008 to be exact, I was working for a lawn care company, not as a writer but as a literal on-the-road treatment provider. I and my co-worker Patricio were on a lawn along the New Jersey coast. It was mid-September, and one could feel the chill coming off of the ocean; over the miniature, personal cove below; up the hill; and onto the modest backyard. The actual house was small, but then again, this was the summer home and it was right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, so location, not size, was everything.
The cellphone buzzed in my pants pocket. I answered to hear the voice of the boss of the company. The property security system must have sent a message to its management team that we were there and they, in turn, must have notified the owner who, subsequently, told our boss to stop all treatments immediately. The back ramp of the truck comes down, the Z-Sprayer and spreader are loaded in, and we are gone.
You see, the home was owned by an individual who was a primary partner of a major banking company, and it was about to tumble into bankruptcy, like a Z-Sprayer that rolled too close to the coastline.
Volkswagen Plans a Lower-Cost Electric Car the Size of a Polo
Volkswagen is bringing forward the development of a small electric car for the mass market in anticipation of tougher climate regulations as it seeks to boost sales in a new green era.
Under the project dubbed "Small BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)", engineers are racing to develop a purely-battery powered car around the size of a Polo which will be available for between 20,000 and 25,000 euros ($24,000-30,000).
The carmaker has said the European Union's more stringent emissions targets will force it to boost the proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles in its European car sales to 60% by 2030, up from a previous target of 40%.
Read the article at Autoblog.
FMW Welcomes Donald Dunphy
Fleet Management Weekly welcomes contributing editor Donald Dunphy to the site.
Formerly with NAFA Fleet Management Association, he brings nearly ten years of fleet journalism to our readership. Donald is also an entertainment writer who has interviewed notable figures such as Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Jonathan Coulton, and Alan Parsons, among others.
Donald has written several articles for FMW including Preparing Your Fleet for an Unusually Active Vehicle-Animal Collision Season and, appearing in this week's issue, The New Post-Pandemic Landscape for Fleet Managers
