It was another chaotic afternoon at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan with crowds all over the place. The 2012 Auto Expo was clearly in dire need of a makeover, I thought, as I dug into my ice-cream.

Suddenly, there was a big hug from behind and I turned around to see the smiling face of Alan Mulally. “Hey, good to see you,” exclaimed the President & CEO of Ford Motor Company. I was completely nonplussed. It was only the previous evening when I had interviewed Mulally for the first time in my professional career and here he was chatting up like an old buddy in the midst of madness at Pragati Maidan.

He had kind words to say about the article that had appeared and as we spoke, I happened to see his entourage wait patiently on the other side for their boss. It was overwhelming to think that a 20-minute interview was enough for Mulally to remember a face and reach out to say hello again. And this was from the top man at Ford and one of the most powerful CEOs in the world.

People person And as much as I was on cloud nine for weeks after the incident, and made it a point to tell all and sundry about this memorable encounter, my admiration for the man increased. You could not help but compare his warmth and spontaneity to some of our own CEOs who would have never dreamt of reaching out this way. Friends at Ford later told me that this was so typical of Mulally and the reason why it made him such a unique people’s man.

A little over a year later, I was invited to Chennai for another interview with the Ford chief. Soon after breakfast at the sprawling ITC Chola, the communications team was ready to escort me to the meeting. I remember being particularly worried about not being dressed formally enough but heaved a sigh of relief when Mulally came in without the trademark suit and tie.

He gave me a big hug and we began chatting about the auto industry and the state of the Indian economy. I don’t remember how the detour happened but the conversation shifted around to my mother and her sense of humour when Mulally suddenly declared that he wanted to write her a note. He asked for his official stationery paper and then began writing out this endearing message to someone he had not even met. It ended with his trademark signature and while handing it over to me, he said, “Make sure you mother reads it and do not forget to tell me what she had to say.”

The little things The interview followed, but all the while, I was absolutely floored by the man’s charm and his incredible gesture of just reaching out to people.

When most of us are knotted up at the workplace and some colleagues get on our nerves, we switch off and sulk. And here was this man reminding me how simple it was to spread cheer and bonhomie. This was a real life example being enacted out by someone who did not really need to but still went the extra mile.

My mother, needless to add, was floored by the letter and I told her that Mulally was keen to get her reaction. I faithfully emailed him and we have kept the correspondence going since then. Even today, I cannot help but think it is gestures like this that make such a world of difference to someone who could be going through a particularly hard day. Perhaps each of us need to adopt the Mulally mantra to spread cheer in our otherwise cynical lives!

And make no mistake, there was more to the man than just that famous grin. He was handpicked by Bill Ford in 2006 to ensure that the company did not collapse. It was after reading American Icon by Bryce Hoffman (gifted to me by Mulally with his autograph to boot) do you realise the kind of work what went into making this turnaround happen.

Had Mulally not been around, it is perhaps likely that Ford would have collapsed like General Motors and Chrysler did during the 2009 crash at Detroit.

The next couple of months will see Mulally step down to make way for his successor, Mark Fields. Knowing him and his energy levels, I am sure that there are still many active working years ahead for this remarkable individual.

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