The Ultimate Global Citizen - An Interview with Stanford Ovshinsky, CEO of Energy Conversion Devices
Allen Flickinger, MBA2 rflickin@umich.edu
Issue date: 3/5/01 Section: Corporate
Q: It’s hard to imagine ECD without thinking of Stanford Ovshinsky. How do you envision the leadership of the company if and when you retire?
A: Bob Stempel [ECD’s Chairman and former CEO of General Motors] is a tremendous leader—I tell him to think of himself as the chief executive of this company as if I weren’t around. He’s a great person and a great engineer. Everyone is a leader in this company. I’m more proud of our people and our culture than I am of my inventions. We have 35 first-generation Americans working for us. If they were back in their home countries, they’d be killing each other. We have what I call our “young tigers” working for us—the brightest young people. I believe that we have the lowest turnover rate of anyone. And we certainly have no shortage of talent—we’ve had Nobelists send us their best people.
Q: How would you describe ECD’s culture?
A: Non-bureaucratic, free, focused on problem-solving, collaborative, collegial, based on mutual respect. I’m the only company president I know of who is a member of a union—they made me an honorary member. Too many companies have noble causes in their charter, but in reality there’s much internal competition and elbowing instead of cooperation to achieve a common goal.
Q: My fellow business school students are going to be reading this story. What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur coming out of a business program?
A: They probably think I represent the old school. But I feel like I’m 19 years old. There’s a popular mindset that as soon as you get out of school, it’s not acceptable to become a small millionaire, but a multi, multi-millionaire. In order to succeed, you have to want to solve problems. You have to understand the basics of your business—I can’t emphasize that enough. You have to be entrepreneurial and motivated by things other than greed. Otherwise it leads to cynicism. You need a nose for what’s important, and an ability to observe and understand trends in our society. Always pick the important problems.
A: Bob Stempel [ECD’s Chairman and former CEO of General Motors] is a tremendous leader—I tell him to think of himself as the chief executive of this company as if I weren’t around. He’s a great person and a great engineer. Everyone is a leader in this company. I’m more proud of our people and our culture than I am of my inventions. We have 35 first-generation Americans working for us. If they were back in their home countries, they’d be killing each other. We have what I call our “young tigers” working for us—the brightest young people. I believe that we have the lowest turnover rate of anyone. And we certainly have no shortage of talent—we’ve had Nobelists send us their best people.
Q: How would you describe ECD’s culture?
A: Non-bureaucratic, free, focused on problem-solving, collaborative, collegial, based on mutual respect. I’m the only company president I know of who is a member of a union—they made me an honorary member. Too many companies have noble causes in their charter, but in reality there’s much internal competition and elbowing instead of cooperation to achieve a common goal.
Q: My fellow business school students are going to be reading this story. What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur coming out of a business program?
A: They probably think I represent the old school. But I feel like I’m 19 years old. There’s a popular mindset that as soon as you get out of school, it’s not acceptable to become a small millionaire, but a multi, multi-millionaire. In order to succeed, you have to want to solve problems. You have to understand the basics of your business—I can’t emphasize that enough. You have to be entrepreneurial and motivated by things other than greed. Otherwise it leads to cynicism. You need a nose for what’s important, and an ability to observe and understand trends in our society. Always pick the important problems.
