Boeing’s turnaround plan is something any business can relate to: focus on the culture and the work

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In today’s big story, Boeing’s new CEO has big plans for the company’s turnaround, including executives rolling up their sleeves.

What’s on deck:

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The big story

Boeing’s comeback pitch

Boeing’s new CEO is looking to navigate a turnaround that includes rethinking the aerospace giant’s culture.

Boeing reported a $6.1 billion loss in the third quarter, the latest knock for a company that’s faced constant setbacks this year, writes Business Insider’s Pete Syme.

But new CEO Kelly Ortberg has some ideas for how to fix Boeing’s “festering of issues.” In a memo to employees, he detailed a four-part plan for how Boeing can regain its place as an “iconic company and aerospace leader,” BI’s Benjamin Zhang reports.

You might think a nearly $100 billion company that builds airplanes needs a specific solution. But at its core, Ortberg’s plan is something any business can appreciate: focus on the culture and the work being done.

For Boeing that means putting executives on factory floors with the hope it will address safety, communication, and employee trust issues, writes BI’s Taylor Rains.

Whether you’re making sandwiches or 737s, having a front-row seat to how the work is being done often provides a better view of a company’s inefficiencies than any boardroom can.

Of course, Boeing’s problem’s are slightly more complicated than perfecting a BLT.

Just a few days into 2024, a Boeing 737 Max suffered a blowout incident that tanked the company’s stock and drew the attention of Congress. Since then, it has also been dealing with a costly strike and a struggling space program.

Plenty of business turnarounds include talking to those in the thick of it.

Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol, who is trying to stop the coffee chain’s sales slide, is looking to baristas for help.

He mentioned fixing some of the biggest problems Starbucks’ “green-apron partners” have flagged to executives, like devising a better way to manage mobile orders.

The effort to get direct feedback from the people doing the work is evident in Big Tech, too. The “year of efficiency” has become more of an era as tech giants like Meta and Amazon continue to flatten their organizations.

Those efforts have downsides, though. Tech giants’ focus on the work has meant a steady stream of layoffs as they keep removing layers. The end result could have an impact on morale.

News brief

Top headlines

3 things in markets

1. What’s going on with the “whale” betting on a Trump win? Here are some theories. Someone has bet roughly $46 million on former President Donald Trump reclaiming the White House on Polymarket. Political and betting-market commentators have speculated it’s either an influence campaign, a pump-and-dump scheme, or simply a bullish view on Trump’s prospects next month.

   2. Whether it’s Trump or Harris, Steve Schwarzman isn’t worried about a post-election recession. The billionaire Blackstone CEO has publicly backed the former president, but he doesn’t see Vice President Kamala Harris winning as a recession risk. “The economy is pretty strong and both of the candidates keep mentioning a lot of stimulative policies,” Schwarzman said.

   3. Apple stock dips on reports of dimming demand for the new iPhone. Apple stock dropped as much as 3% on Wednesday after analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities said Tim Cook’s company cut orders by 10 million units. Kuo also saw “no evidence” AI features were boosting demand. Meanwhile, the production of the Vision Pro is reportedly in flux.

3 things in tech

1. Introducing AI’s power players. Now in its second year, Business Insider’s 2024 AI Power list maps out who wields real power in artificial intelligence and machine learning. This year’s list honors people hoping to effect change and solve problems across the industry, from Groq CEO Jonathan Ross to Google DeepMind COO Lila Ibrahim.

   2. Tesla did better than expected in Q3. The electric carmaker reported earnings per share of $0.62 — a big beat over analysts expectations of $0.51. It also announced the Cybertruck turned a profit, marking a major win for Elon Musk as he enters the electric pickup market. Analysts saw the latest numbers as a clear sign that Tesla shouldn’t neglect its roots.

   3. A ban on celebrity jet-tracking isn’t a bad idea. But Meta still has some explaining to do. This week, the company suspended Threads accounts that shared flight data of figures like Taylor Swift and Donald Trump, citing safety concerns. That seems reasonable, but it doesn’t explain why Meta chose to wait until now to apply the three-year-old recommendation.

3 things in business

1. Millennials are making a massive financial mistake. If you came of age against a backdrop of two major crises, you might be left a little more risk-averse in your investments. But sitting on your cash will come back to bite you in the long run.
2. McDonald’s doesn’t think its E. coli outbreak will be like Chipotle’s in 2015. Execs said Chipotle’s cases involved the handling and preparation of food while McDonald’s outbreak was related to potentially contaminated ingredients from a supplier. But that hasn’t stopped victims of the recent outbreak from getting ready to sue the Golden Arches.
3. Hollywood’s star is fading. Los Angeles is losing ground as the center of the film industry, as the high cost of living and labor drives entertainment jobs to other locales. New York isn’t doing too well either — the country’s No. 2 entertainment job market also saw its share of jobs dip. The industry’s center of gravity appears to be shifting south.

What’s happening today

• Southwest Airlines, Barclays, Capital One, and other companies report earnings.
• G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meet.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.