CHAPTER 2Prepare to Win
“The will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win.”
—Vince Lombardi
In the 100 days before becoming CEO of Whirlpool, Marc Bitzer sat down and wrote his legacy—a 30-page document that set out exactly what he wanted to be remembered for at the end of his tenure.
The native German had been with Whirlpool for 18 years, starting in its European division as vice president, before climbing the ranks and moving across the Atlantic to head up Whirlpool North America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa—an experience that clearly helped him glow bright on the board's succession radar.
As he prepared to take on the CEO role in 2017, Marc took advantage of the countless long-haul flights he took with work to prepare his legacy document. He called it Agenda 8—a nod to the fact that he was the eighth CEO in Whirlpool's 120-year history.
The spark that lit the flame was a realization that becoming CEO meant he was now at the apex of his career—and there was no turning back.
“I realized that this is your last job. There is no promotion after this, so you might as well make it worth it and dream big.”
Agenda 8 covered what he wanted to do from a company portfolio perspective, a strategic perspective, and a leadership perspective. As the document grew, and became more specific, he began to share it with both his predecessor and lead director in the interests of being “totally transparent” about what he had in mind.
Looking back seven years later, Marc ...
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