Christian Leadership in a World of Business
Week 5: Case Study
May 27, 2012

Week 5: Case Study Mattel started off in 1945, in a garage in California. Mattel is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of family products. The company is well-known for its toy brands, such as: Barbie, Fisher-Price, Disney, and Hot wheels to name a few. The company has annual revenue of about 6 million billion. Recently Mattel has faced some ethical problems due to recalls, and problems with partners. Mattel will have to make some changes in order to move on in the future, and gain the back there reputation. The Law of the Picture is being utilized at Mattel. They had their share of losses in the past, due to declining sales and bad decisions. For the most part they had leaders that developed a vision, and provided positive leadership style for others to follow. Jill Barad was one of the CEO’s at Mattel, she had style of management that some considered to be strict. She was successful in building the Barbie brand, for the company, but declining sales caused her to resign in 2000. As a leader you must be able to make your picture come alive (Maxwell, 2007). Her vision wasn’t strong enough to make it through the tough times. If it’s not strong enough for you to believe in it, then it’s not going to be strong enough for others to follow. Robert Eckert became the new CEO of Mattel in 2000. He came in with a vision to turn things around for the company. He started off by cutting cost and jobs. Then he helped the company to attain licensing for the Harry Potter series of books and movies. Mattel’s reputation was steadily improving and the company was flourishing. The Law of the Buy In states that: people don’t follow worthy causes they follow worthy leaders who promote causes they believe in (Maxwell, 2007). The employees at Mattel bought in to Eckert vision because he is doing exactly what he said he would do in turning the company around. As a leader you have to make sure that you are making responsible decisions that will lead your organization into the future. He has shown himself to be trustworthy and capable of accomplishing just what he set out to do. Mattel has truly experienced a turnaround. In 2008, they were recognized by Fortune magazine, and Forbes magazine as one of the most trustworthy companies in the US. Your success as a leader, is measured by the ability you have to take people were they need to go, but you can only do that if they first buy into you (Maxwell, 2007). Mattel has faced some major ethical problems in the production of several of their toys. With the company’s products