The Moral Vision
Making the Extra Effort
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MAKING THE EXTRA EFFORT
Lee Iacocca was born in 1924 to a poor family who
had left their home-town in Italy for America in
search of a livelihood. Iacocca worked hard at his
studies and secured a master’s degree in
engineering, after which he took a job in the Ford
Motor Company, where he continued to rise until
he became its President. Later, following some
disagreement with Henry Ford II, he was asked to
leave the Ford Company in 1978.
lacocca then got a job in another motor company,
the Chrysler Corporation, as its President. This
company had gone bankrupt at the time he joined
it, running at a loss of almost $ 160 million. He
made a proper assessment of the situation, then
began to work really hard at improving matters.
Within three years he had not only paid back all
loans, but was running the company at a profit.
Now he takes pride in saying, “I’m the company.”
lacocca subsequently wrote his autobiography
which contains many valuable suggestions, based
on his experiences, such as “The key to success is
