John Deere

The John Deere Way

As many former giants of the American industrial heartland fall prey to low-cost foreign competition and high domestic manufacturing costs, one U.S. company stands out as a shining example of growth, brand recognition, and phenomenal success in a globalized world. John Deere has done more than prevail in its primary market: With $19.9 billion in annual sales and 46,000 employees, this global powerhouse has expanded its highly respected brand name beyond agricultural equipment to become the world leader in forestry harvesting equipment and a major supplier of equipment for construction, lawn and turf care, and golf course maintenance, as well as financial services and managed health care.

Performance that Endures

How can a company founded in the early nineteenth century maintain such a high level of vitality in the constantly changing business climate of the twenty-first century? Can other organizations crack the secrets of this enduring firm's success and use them to enhance their own growth and profitability? In The John Deere Way, celebrated business author David Magee takes you behind the scenes to discover the timeless underlying principles and innovative practices that have enabled John Deere to continue to leap ahead of the competition for nearly 170 years.
Given unfettered access to the company, its archives, and its CEO Robert Lane, Magee soon discovered that the driving force behind this dynamic organization is a set of values and principles instilled at its inception by John Deere himself. From the day Deere developed the world's first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow in 1837 through to a remarkable series of innovations spearheaded by Robert Lane today, these principles have guided the company through good times and bad, helping it survive depressions and wars while making the most of prosperous times.

Insightful introduction from Deere & Company

From "I will not put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me," to "You cannot have enduring performance without trust," The John Deere Way shares each of these secrets for the first time. Then, it examines how Deere employees, from the CEO on down, strive to express each principle through their actions in the workplace every day. This close examination translates each of Deere's values into useable and proven leadership lessons that can invigorate any company of any size in any industry.
Complete with an insightful introduction from Deere & Company Chairman and CEO Robert Lane, The John Deere Way offers compelling and important reading for anyone interested in industrial history; cutting-edge business practices; or a good, old-fashioned American success story.
The John Deere Way: Performance that Endures by David Magee
ISBN: 0471706442

The John Deere Legacy

Not only is The John Deere Tractor Legacy published under license of Deere & Company, it is edited by the world's most respected and best known John Deere historian and expert-Don Macmillan-so readers know they can rely on its information.
This comprehensive history of the man, his company, and his legacy includes a biography of John Deere, plus excerpts from the writings of Deere engineers and historians, such as Wayne Broehl, Harold Brock, and Orrin Miller. Images are from the Deere archives, as well as from noted tractor photographer Ralph W. Sanders.Readers will find never-before-published material in The John Deere Tractor Legacy, including compelling accounts of the development of the Waterloo Boy, the Johnny Popper, and the New Generation tractors. Readers will also discover the importance of the work that Deere did for the U.S. Army in World War II and how it helped the company to become the number-one tractor manufacturer in the world. Coverage of plows, implements, combines, cars, snowmobiles, lawn and garden tractors, and bicycles is also included.

Best-known John Deere historian

Don Macmillan is the most respected and best-known John Deere historian and expert. Macmillan worked as a Deere dealer in the U.K. for years, and built one of the best collections of Deere tractors in England. Don Macmillan is the author of John Deere Tractors and Equipment Volumes 1 and 2 and John Deere Tractors Worldwide by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), and The Big Book of John Deere Tractors and The Field Guide to John Deere Tractors by Voyageur Press.
The John Deere Legacy by Don MacMillian
ISBN: 0896586197

John Deere: A History of the Tractor

No tractor has achieved a more iconic status than John Deere. It's simple, two-cylinder tractors proved just the reliable, dependable tool the early 20th century American farmer needed to take the great leap from farming with animals to mechanized farming. Although a late comer to the motorized farming industry, today John Deere's two-cylinder tractors are the most sought after collector tractors in the world.

Conservative company

Always a conservative company, John Deere stuck with its two-cylinder tractors into the middle part of the century, long after every other manufacturer had moved on to four- and six-cylinder tractors. Yet these simple, noble machines continued to serve their market. When John Deere entered the multi-cylinder fray, it did so with the most advanced, groundbreaking machines ever built - the New Generation tractors. These tractors set the trends for all subsequent tractor development through the latter half of the 20th century.
John Deere: A History of the Tractor by Randy Leffingwell
ISBN: 0760318611

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