Sunday Strategist: Ford Nailed Its CEO Search … After 6 Years

There hasn't been much time for Jim Farley to show the world he'll be a great Ford Motor CEO; he's been in the job just a month. Perhaps the best case he's made is calling out a personal bugaboo: the company's warranty costs are "unacceptably high."

Only an executive with deep knowledge of the auto industry would laser in on such a wonky topic. And only an executive who hasn't been a Ford lifer would be comfortable throwing such cold shade on product quality. In a swift shimmy of public relations, Farley cast himself as both an insider and an outsider, often a magic combination in a top boss.