Boeing 2006 Annual Report Download - page 8

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It is my personal belief that if the people
who run and participate in a company
grow, then that company’s growth will—
in many respects — follow naturally.
It is no accident that a few of the best
companies — year after year —continue
to produce the best leaders. Such
companies show the way in leadership
development. They know the kind of
leadership that is needed to succeed.
And they model it, teach it, measure it,
expect it and reward it.
And that is exactly the approach we are
taking at Boeing. Regardless of whether
a person is the head of a team of aero-
nautical engineers, a production line
supervisor, or the chief accountant or
lawyer in an office, we ask—and
expect—Boeing leaders to do certain
things well. They should chart the
course for their unit or team, set high
expectations and inspire others, find a
way to conquer unexpected obstacles,
live the company’s values by always
doing the right thing and deliver results.
The challenge for a leader is to embody
not one or two of those leadership attrib-
utes, but all of them. To overemphasize
“setting high expectations,” for example,
without “inspiring others” is to lose
credibility as a leader. The same goes for
“find a way” without “living the values.”
All of the attributes that we seek in a
leader at Boeing come into play in the
most important tool in the world for
developing people and achieving strong
performance within an open culture. That
is the candid, constructive, one-on-one
discussion between a manager and an
employee. Done well, it is that interac-
tion, more than anything else, that
excites and moves people forward.
Looking Forward
There is built-in excitement in doing
things that other companies cannot do
and turning dreams into reality. That is
part of the heritage — and the destiny —
of The Boeing Company.
In looking to the future, we have the
confidence that comes from knowing
that our businesses are well positioned
with leading-edge products in healthy
markets, with every expectation of strong
growth in the years immediately ahead.
With the launch of our growth and pro-
ductivity initiatives, we are more intensely
focused than ever on driving perform-
ance to new levels. We aim to elevate
our financial performance—and we will.
Beyond that, we are excited at our long-
term prospects. To be sure, we have a
lot of work ahead of us — this year and
next in particular — but because of what
we’ve done over the course of 2006,
and all that our employees continue to
do to increase growth and improve pro-
ductivity, we are in a very strong position
as we begin that work.
As a company, we look forward to help-
ing to shape a better future that will
benefit all of our stakeholders — our cus-
tomers, shareholders, supplier partners,
employees and the communities in which
we work and live. We want Boeing to
remain the strongest, best integrated
aerospace company in the world — and
we want you to see us that way, too.
Jim McNerney
Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer