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Using Web Power to Recharge a Low-Voltage Business Who would think a battery and power-systems maker could benefit from a Web-centric approach? Lucky for Lucent, Bruce Brock did Bruce Brock appeared to be in the midst of an ideal retirement two and a half years ago. He was living in a 6,500-square-foot house, which he designed himself, on the shore of a lake in rural Alexandria, Minn. The 56-year-old Brock had time to fish and ride his Harley and visit with grandchildren in Minneapolis, just a few hours' drive to the south. Then he got a call from an old colleague from his days as manager at Honeywell, where Brock had spent 26 years. When Bill Spivey, now president of Lucent Technologies' Network Products unit, asked Brock to help rebuild a troubled piece of his operation, he couldn't say no. "I was bored. I just couldn't fish anymore." So Brock headed for Mesquite, Tex., for what was supposed to be a brief consulting stint at Lucent's Power Systems unit, which makes batteries and other devices that run pieces of telecommunications equipment. The $1.5 billion unit was created years ago, when AT&T owned what is now known as Lucent. The equipment market was a monopoly back in those days. Suddenly the unit was competing with rivals, such as 15-year-old Cisco Systems, which have mastered the Web to lower costs and increase efficiency. When the consulting job was over, Brock opted to stay and try to whip the operation into shape as the unit's chief operating officer -- a move that has earned him recognition within Lucent for remaking what was seen as a dinosaur business. His strategy was to remake Power Systems for the world of the Web. He quickly created systems that allow customers to order goods directly instead of going through the sales force. And the orders are sent straight to the factory floor via the Web, eliminating up to a week of delay. He also established a new unit called Titania, which is designed from the ground up around the Web. All of Titania's manufacturing of high-end power systems for telecom gear is handled by outside contractors Solectron Corp. and Flextronics International Ltd., which manufacture the goods more cheaply than Titania could. "That is what it is all about: using the Web to integrate suppliers and contract manufacturers and customers," says Brock. IN DAD'S FOOTSTEPS. These steps boosted results dramatically. The cost of processing an order dropped as much as 30%, to between 50 cents and 75 cents. The support staff needed to keep track of documents has been reduced by as much as 75%. As a result, revenues have hit $312,000 per employee, up 25% from last year. That's still a pittance compared with the $650,000 generated annually by the average Cisco worker, but it is more than the $250,000 per worker generated companywide at Lucent. "There is a lot more to be done. We are nowhere near where we need to be," Brock says. The results at Titania give him cause for hope, though. That new unit will end the year with $1 million in revenue for each of its 100 employees, he says. Brock traces his ambition and interest in technology to his father, an entrepreneur who ran Alta Engineering, his own tool-and-die business in Minnesota. Even today, his 83-year-old father spends eight hours a day working on a computer, surfing the Web, and operating a ham radio. "I get my work ethic from my father. I can't keep up with him," Brock says. But he tries. The younger Brock owns a small company called Midwest Power Generators, which makes generators that run TVs and other appliances aboard trucks, so drivers don't have to idle their engines when they are resting. He bought it during his retirement, but he has since hired someone else to manage it. Early on, Brock threw himself into solving tough technical problems. He earned a degree in aeronautical engineering at the University of Minnesota and joined Honeywell two days after graduation in 1967. He eventually managed a complex unit that made testing equipment for military planes such as the F15. "It was an area most of us stayed clear of because it was especially complex, and there was a lot of liability," recalled Spivey, who ran a Honeywell division that made keyboards and other computer peripherals. "JUST A TOOL." At Honeywell, Brock was an early proponent of harnessing technology to aide collaboration. He used the company's network to manage his unit's contracts. But the management style he developed at Honeywell wasn't really rooted in technology. "Technology is just a tool," Brock says. "The things that really matter to me as a manager are accountability, responsibility, and communication." Now, at Power Systems, he harnesses the Web to help achieve those goals, too. Brock's successes keep surpassing his bosses expectations. Last spring, Spivey attended a Power Systems meeting in Mesquite, where he challenged the employees to double profits for the 1999 fiscal year, which ended in September. He promised to perform a Michael Jackson-style moonwalk for the group if it met the goal. Spivey lost the bet and performed the dance, complete with white glove, to the delight of the staff, which beat their original profit target by 30%. "I held him to his promise," Brock says. For Brock, the moonwalk confirmed one of his cherished beliefs about effective leadership. "Once you put a goal in writing and give people accountability, they will meet it because they want to succeed." Brock says he is already planning to put his old friend Spivey on stage again next year. Steve Rosenbush covers telecommunications for Business Week in New York. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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Bruce Brock: Chief operating officer of Lucent's Power Systems RELATED ITEMS BW e.biz, Dec, 13, 1999: "Rewiring Lucent in a Rush" WEB POINTERS Click here to visit some of the sites mentioned in the story: Lucent Technologies Power Systems Titania Solectron Flextronics Cisco Systems | ||||||
