Leading change: CEO of Deere & Company - The McKinsey Quarterly - interview CEO Deere - Food & Agriculture

In 2000 a leading market position masked underlying problems at agricultural equipment maker Deere & Company, according to CEO Robert W. Lane.
Deere was "asset heavy and margin lean." Its products barely returned their cost of capital at the top of the cycle and dissipated economic profit at the bottom.
Lane's remedy—an ambitious plan to manage assets more efficiently, cut costs, and focus the company's attention on creating shareholder value—has thus far been remarkably successful.
In this interview, Lane speaks about the role that incentives, communication, and sequencing have played in the changes at Deere; the effect on Deere's culture; and the challenges that remain.

Biography of Deere's Robert W. Lane
Exhibit 1: Deere is the world's leading manufacturer of agricultural and forestry equipment, and a major producer of construction and turf-care equipment.
Exhibit 2: Deere developed targets for operating returns on operating assets at different places in the cycle.

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