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LINCOLN INDUSTRIES

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Robert Lincoln was the third generation of leadership at Lincoln Industries. Founded by
his grandfather 50 years earlier, Lincoln Industries was regarded as an industry leader in
automotive products and support services for 35 years. Robert’s father had been a role model for
Robert who had continued to inspire him. The recent discovery that he had cancer had thrown his
plans into considerable turmoil. He learned that he had to undergo at least six months of
chemotherapy and would be unable to lead Lincoln Industries. He had planned to retire in seven

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to ten years, but now the cancer had forced him to create a leadership replacement.

As Lincoln pondered his replacement, he realized that this was the wrong moment to be
stepping out. The industry was in a state of flux and there were clear signs that there was a break
with the past in the industry. Recent technological developments, global outsourcing of key
components, increasing competition in the industry, and the arrival of innovative substitutes from
other parts of the world required significant strategic leadership at Lincoln Industries, not only to
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survive, but to retain industry leadership in the new globally competitive environment. Lincoln
was not at all sure if what had made Lincoln Industries successful in the past was sufficient or
even appropriate for continued success in the future.

Lincoln Industries was a fairly flat organization with 10 vice president general managers
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and a small headquarters staff that reported to Lincoln (see Exhibit 1).

As Lincoln reflected on his 10 general managers (GMs), he tried to think about who
could best step up and lead in his absence. He thought four GMs were better suited to step up and
lead than the other six, even thought they were all quite good at functional leadership. But the
four he focused on were, in Lincoln’s mind, the best suited and for different reasons.
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The Candidates

Matt Grove

Grove was 52 years old and had been with Lincoln Industries for 30 years. He had gone
to school with Lincoln and been with Lincoln Industries almost as long as Lincoln himself.
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This case was written by Professors Alexander B. Horniman and Sankaran Venkataraman. It was written as a basis
for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright
© 2007 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order
copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation.
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Grove had been a super salesman and had set sales records never surpassed by present associates.
He was hard-working, very loyal to Lincoln and had been a very successful general manager. He
had a persistent weight problem; he was about 100 pounds overweight. Although he had been a
professional football player, he was now out of shape and unable to carry his weight. He had
recently been diagnosed with diabetes, which was troubling him. Lincoln was also concerned

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that his long-time friend had a habit of talking negatively about his peers. But he was good at
developing people and truly loved the business.

Charles Spencer

Spencer was 50 years old and had been with the company for 30 years. He was smooth
and effective with his people, with customers, and with suppliers. He was a successful general

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manager and, like Grove, was very loyal to Lincoln. There were times when he would frustrate
Lincoln because of his lack of attention to detail (Lincoln himself was almost obsessed with
attention to detail. In this business, he believed it was very important, if not essential.)

Spencer looked like a leader and certainly walked and talked like one. If only he would
pay more attention to the little things…
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Carol Johnson

Johnson was 48 years old and had been with the company for 25 years. Lincoln Industries
was a male-dominated organization, and yet Johnson had made it to GM by virtue of her hard
work, competence, and at times a sixth sense about the business. She was unique in her ability to
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define the business in a way that both made sense and inspired her associates. Although she was
younger than most of her GM colleagues, her division had consistently met targets and goals.

Roger Dunn

Dunn was 51 years old had been with the company for 10 years. Dunn had relatively less
experience at Lincoln Industries, yet his record was quite impressive. From the day he arrived, he
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expressed a desire to do more and more. His high energy and curiosity were at times annoying to
several of his GM peers, but his results tended to silence his critics. Dunn was impatient with the
status quo and wanted to experiment and try out new ideas. The company’s reputation had been
built around product quality and service excellence. A “Lincoln way” to do things had evolved
over the years, and at times Dunn wanted to challenge it. His results were always at or near the
top in division performance.
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The Decision

Robert Lincoln knew he had to make a decision about who would lead the company
while he was undergoing his cancer treatment. He also knew that his distinct style had made him
a legend in the industry, and that his general managers took great pride in reporting directly to
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him. Although he realized no one could replace him, Lincoln did need someone who could take
the company to the next level in a world that was looking increasingly different from the one he
was used to. All four of his choices were tactically astute and were very competent general
managers. As Lincoln drove to his doctor’s appointment, several questions swirled in his mind:
How much of the company’s past success and accomplishments would be useful for the future

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success and leadership of Lincoln Industries? What kind of capabilities might be needed to
succeed in this turbulent industry? Did they have what it takes to inspire a diverse enterprise and
not just a product division? Could they evolve from making and beating the numbers to
envisioning a future and setting the context to create that future? In short, he wondered what it
would take for the successful candidate to graduate from being just a tactical leader to being a
strategic leader of the whole enterprise.

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Exhibit 1
LINCOLN INDUSTRIES
Organizational Chart

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Robert Lincoln CEO/President
Matt Grove GM Alpha Division
Charles Spencer GM Bravo Division
Carol Johnson GM Delta Division
Roger Dunn GM Gamma Division

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Industries
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Corporate CEO/President
Staff (5) Robert Lincoln
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GM GM GM GM GM

GM GM GM GM GM
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