Marie Ziegler of John Deere Essay

The characteristics of effective sustainable business leadership consist of having a vision of what the business is aiming to attain, seeing the value in the process and providing the leadership to attain the goal. The leadership starts with believing in yourself knowing that your capable of making your dreams come true. John Deere was born on February 7,1804 in Rutland, Vermont. In 1836 John Deere moved to Grand Detour, Illinois to escape from depressing business conditions he had in Vermont. Capable and hard working John Deere used his skills as a blacksmith were instantly in command. John Deere opened his shop in 1837 allowing him to operate as a general repairman as well as a manufacturer of small tools such as pitchforks and shovels. Using a broken saw blade Deere created a plow in the year of 1837. By 1841, Deere produced 100 plows annually. Two years later became an alliance with Leonard Andrus to fabricate more plows to increase demand purchasing a new land for the building of a new two-story factory alongside of the Rock River in Illinois. This factory produced about 400 plows in that same year. Regardless the success, Deere’s alliance with Andrus finished in 1848, when Deere moved to Moline, Illinois which offered advantages of water power, coal and cheaper transportation than to be found in Grand Detour. In 1850, approximately 1600 plows were made, and the company was soon producing other tools to complement its steel plow. In 1858, Deere transferred leadership of the company to his son, Charles, who served as its vice president. John Deere retained the title of president of the company, but now turned his attention to civic and political activities. John Deere was active in public life throughout his career in Moline. Among other roles, he was a founder and president of the National Bank of Moline, was an active member of the First Congregational Church, and served as the city’s mayor for two years. John Deere died on May 17, 1886, at his home in Moline. (â€Å"Past Leaders â€Å", 2014). After the death of John Deere the company was producing a collection of farm tools in addition to plows, plus wagons, corn planters, and cultivators. At the same time the company expanded into the bicycle business during the 1890’s, but the essential focus stayed on agricultural imp lements. Increased  competition during the early 1900s from the new International Harvester Company led the company to expand its offerings in the implement business, but it was the production of gasoline tractors which would come to define Deere & Company’s operations during the twentieth century. After Charles Deere death in 1907, William Butterworth Deere & Company new president started the business expansion into the tractor business. During the years John Deere has been increasing profits as well as production becoming one of the best equipments for farming. According to â€Å"Past Leaders † (2014), (Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land – those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world’s dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality, built on a tradition of integrity). As of 2014, Deere & Company employs approximately 67,000 people in 27 countries worldwide, including the United States, Australia, Turkey, Canada, United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, India, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Morocco and South Africa, among many others and is the greatest agriculture machinery company in the world. Inside the United States, the company’s primary locations are its administrative center in Moline, Illinois and manufacturing factories in central and southeastern United States. (â€Å"John Deere†, 2014). Marie Z. Ziegler is Vice President and Treasurer for Deere & Company, a position she’s held since November 2010. Ziegler is responsible for the company’s worldwide treasury and investor relations activities. Ziegler joined Deere & Company in 1978 as a consolidation accountant and has held management positions in finance, treasury operations, strategic planning and investor and banking relations. She served as Director of Investor Relations, and in May 2001, was appointed Vice President, Investor Relations for Deere & Company. (â€Å"John Deere†, 2014). The John Deere portfolio of businesses is varied, yet interrelated. Two of our businesses – Agricultural and Construction equipment – are in an excellent position to take advantage of global growth. Two additional  businesses – Turf and Forestry equipment – support and enhance worldwide channel development. And additional supporting businesses – Financial Services, Power Systems, Parts Services, and the Intelligent Solutions Group – strengthen and differentiate our equipment businesses. Strategy. (2014). The key for John Deere success is having exceptional operating performance, disciplined SVA growth, and aligned high-performance teamwork. These factors direct success for this company as they are important for the future of John Deere as they leverage and create core strengths.. John Deere future successes will require more people working for them. For that reason, they are creating strength in four additional capabilities: Deep Customer Understanding, Delivering Customer Value, World-class Distribution System, and Growing Extraordinary Global Talent. These additional success factors are critical in order to achieve sustainable SVA growth through global growth. Shareholder Value Added (SVA) – the difference between operating profit and pretax cost of capital – is a metric used by John Deere to evaluate business results and measure sustainable performance. Why Invest. (2014). John Deere tracks their progress as they follow their growth goals by monitoring Performance metrics and Health metrics. Performance metrics is the traditional financial measures based on what they deliver to their stakeholders. Health metrics is based on the company’s success factors such as their qualities, attributes, and actions being introduced to ensure the sustainability of our performance over time. Measures of Success.(2014). The â€Å"How† is represented by John Deere core values of Integrity, Quality, Commitment, and Innovation. Customers can see the value of the products and processes. People recognize how John Deere manage an every day business, including the manner of how employees, customers,suppliers, dealers, and stakeholders are taken care of. John Deere core values define them as they come together and distinguish from competitors. John Deere commitment to these core values is optional, and never waivers. Core values.(2014).