Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself—how long have you been at HARMAN? What is your role?
A:
About eight years ago, I joined HARMAN as a lead for the Project Management Office (PMO) team within the car audio strategic business unit (SBU). We had a lot of projects and needed to find a solution to assess risk in a more efficient way. I implemented standards for product development and launch processes within this large division across all regions. Part of this was the creation of a weekly car audio gating process that allowed us to identify project risks in advance.
At the request of HARMAN leadership, I also spent time leading one of the company’s most significant OEM accounts for car audio. Our efforts impacted cultural change and enhanced quality with a 50% decrease in defects. I am now in a role where I can employ our process improvements across many customer groups and SBUs globally - from car audio to intelligent cockpit and connectivity.
Q: Why is Collaboration important? What does the “Move as one with the impact of thousands” Superpower mean to you?
I'm originally from the Philippines and moved to the US in 2001. One of the cultural philosophies that I have used throughout my career is the idea of “Kapwa,” which means treating everyone equally and working together as a family. This notion aligns so closely with our Superpower: “Move as one with the impact of thousands.”
Regardless of hierarchies in companies or in a family, I believe that you should treat all with equal respect. By working together, we can achieve a bigger goal. Kapwa makes you think outside of the box and acknowledge that the most creative idea can come from anyone. This collaboration results in a greater impact.
Q: How does HARMAN Automotive deliver on this? What does “Move as one with the impact of thousands” look like in daily work at HARMAN?
Our president, Christian Sobottka, leads by example. Moving as one requires a clear understanding of our targets and Christian always communicates our strategy, both short- and long-term. With that in mind, it's easier for us to understand exactly what we need to do individually to achieve it.
In my role in the PMO, we move as one by making sure that our gate reviews are done together. I think the consistency and alignment across SBUs helps us to achieve as one because we have clear deliverables. Each team member knows who's accountable for what and can be successful as a result.
Q: How is this different/unique from how HARMAN Automotive has operated in the past?
In the past, each division had distinct processes and tools. Car audio might do something one way and intelligent cockpit would use another process. We have made a concerted effort and cultural shift to work as one HARMAN and one automotive division with clearly defined purposeful processes.
We assess the risk of projects together based on a common protocol. Cultural change like this doesn’t happen overnight, but I am seeing that we're growing together and making strong progress.
Q: How is this different from competition? Why do other companies fail at doing this?
Mentors outside of HARMAN and close friends in the automotive industry often tell me that many companies still work in silos without clearly defined processes and roles.
To work as one at HARMAN Automotive, we have developed one process that works across all SBUs, which we call our business management system (BMS). All our work instruction, process and role definition live in the BMS. We train our new employees on our system and it’s accessible to all levels.
Reverse mentoring is another unique program we have implemented at HARMAN. Our senior leaders coach our new employees and vice versa. Working equally as a family means that each side listens and learns a new way of doing something. And that's a culture that's very open and positive.
Q: How does “Move as one with the impact of thousands” impact the way HARMAN approaches process improvement?
As I mentioned, the BMS is accessible to any employee at HARMAN—from program and account management to manufacturing. The processes from product development to launch is at our fingertips. BMS is a proprietary tool that was developed by HARMAN and our subject matter experts drawing from best practices throughout our experience.
Q: You were recently named one of Automotive News’ Rising Stars. Members of the 2024 group of Rising Stars are inventive visionaries who demonstrate an aptitude for growth, find innovative ways to overcome ever-changing obstacles to serve others, and foster passion and collaboration among their teams. What does this recognition mean to you and how did the “Move as one with the impact of thousands” Superpower play a role in your success?
To me, the Automotive News Rising Star award means that I was able to lead a team that works together. And that's a big deal because a team that can’t work together can't achieve something great and impact thousands.
I built a culture where we can move as one and think outside the box to make our organization better. That's what this recognition really means—my team was able to drive change among other parts of the organization that don’t report directly to us. We succeeded because people throughout the company believe that our processes and improvements are valuable. This is an achievement of my team for sure, not me as an individual. We can't do it alone.
Q: How will this Superpower help HARMAN Automotive deliver on its automotive strategy and vision to deliver Consumer Experiences. Automotive Grade.?
Our strategy is like a large pie. While the vision may seem ambitious at first, success comes from moving as one. Each slice represents a different area of expertise - whether it’s engineering, Human-Machine Interface (HMI) or manufacturing. Together, these elements spark creative thinking, allowing us to deliver unique consumer experiences that deliver on customer requirements. By working together as a unified whole, we develop processes that are automotive grade.
Q: What does success look like - big and small - any specific metrics?
This may be a surprising answer, but success to me means that my group is no longer necessary. We are really coaches and mentors advising project teams on what to do next and what process to follow. Success means that those teams don't need me anymore and are able to do it on their own. Our employees around the globe can go into our BMS and easily access the process and tools needed at any stage. The coaching and mentoring we do become obsolete because our teams are now internally independent.
Q: What are you most excited about for the future of HARMAN with the “Move as one with the impact of thousands” Superpower?
It goes back to self-sufficiency and trusting one another. All our Superpowers work hand in hand. As an example, without our “trust and transparency, always” Superpower, you can't trust your team member to move with you to make a difference and a positive impact. For the future of HARMAN, I’m excited that all our Superpowers are achievable.
Our leaders believe in these Superpowers. It's one thing to say, “this is what I want you to do,” and then not see leadership doing it. But again and again, I see our leaders implementing the Superpowers. They lead with them, and our teams see that and follow suit.
About Marygracesoleil Ericson
Ericson currently serves as the Sr. Director, Global Automotive PMO, at HARMAN International. With nearly 15 years in the automotive industry, Ericson has been the force multiplier for product development and launch standards and has led diverse teams in North America, Japan, Europe, China and India. With deep expertise in Program Management, Ericson has been coaching a global CPM organization and delivered a gating process above 90% G-Y for the past two years.
Marygracesoleil Ericson
Sr. Director, Global Automotive PMO, HARMAN International
Connect with the Author: LinkedIn
