Organizational Change Why Change Happens

Leadership Case Study

Callaway Golf Changes Leadership

Loosing a company CEO can be like a large family loosing a father. The driving force of the entire organization is suddenly gone, and the group is faced with discovering just how much they all relied on, and looked to the departed leader for guidance. Passing away in 2001, Ely Callaway left behind a legacy which described him as irascible, amusing, loquacious, entirely innovative, and as smart a businessman as ever swung a seven iron. Soon after his death, it became clear how big a divot his departure will make in the world of golf. Testimonials flowed from archrivals in the golf-equipment biz and star players who swung Callaway's classy clubs. Many remembered him as a friend, a mentor, and -- most of all -- a maverick.

While learned business skills can be replaced, the attitudes which infuse a company with drive to compete in the marketplace is something that goes deeper in a man than the education he has received. Attitudes flow from convictions and character, and the attitudes of an organization's leader flow down into every aspect of the organization. In recent years, research into leadership styles has demonstrated that the effectiveness of the organization is most often tied to the leadership style of the individual at its helm. (Burns and Cuilla, 1998) The characteristics embodies in Mr. Callaway may be hard to replace. In 1982, he bought an obscure golf-equipment manufacturer, and nine years later, Callaway Golf introduced a metal wood with a swollen, odd-looking head. Callaway called it "Big Bertha," after a World War I cannon. (Hyman, 2001)

Callaway's innovations earned a place for the company in the marketplace which other manufactures could only envy. Calloway's products made the game of golf fun for the 'average' golfer. Some have gone so far as to say his products started a revolution. (Hyman, 2001) Pro-golfers liked the feel and distance they got from the newly designed clubs, and Bertha and other innovatively designed clubs came along just as baby boomers were hitting their middle years, contributed to a surge of interest in golf and helped it shed its elitist image. By 1997, Callaway was the largest American manufacturer of golf clubs, with sales of $842.9 million. "Callaway is one of the strongest brands in golf, from basically nothing 10 years ago," says Nike Inc. Golf President Bob Wood. (Hyman, 2002) man like Callaway is far from common place, and the void he left in his golf company may be hard to fill. Looking back over his lifetime, Calloway had built the reputation as a successful leader in almost every venture. During his late teens, he won 4 golf championships. He was introduced to the world of commerce by his father's work in the family textile business, and added his own experience as business manager of his high school newspaper and yearbook.

Upon graduation from Emory University, Ely Callaway, like the rest of his generation, found the course of his life changed by the start of World War II.. By age 24, he had become the Army's sole procurement officer for cotton clothing, and soon thereafter his business career began to flourish. Deering-Milliken Co. charged him with opening a Southeastern sales office in Atlanta, and then moved him to New York to launch a new division. He oversaw the creation of a Deering-Milliken division that manufactured worsted fabrics for menswear; his success led Textron's textile division to hire away the budding corporate star. Textron was sold to Burlington Industries, and Ely Callaway continued his rise to the top. Ely Callaway was named Vice President of Burlington Industries in 1960; by 1968 he was the company's President and Director By the early '70s, he said goodbye to textiles and hello to wine. He defied experts who considered Southern California unsuitable for growing grapes and created Callaway Vineyard and Winery in Temecula. By the end of the 1970s, he put Temecula on the map as a serious wine-producing region. (callawaygolf.com, online)

Rather than sounding like an enhanced obituary, the long list of successes Ely Callaway left behind is an outline of a man's character. As described by His successor, Mr. Drapeau, Calloway was "a man of vision, yet focused, a believer that honesty and integrity were the underpinning of every relationship a ferocious, relentless competitor, yet an extremely compassionate person, accessible to all. A man whose confidence and self-worth made him unafraid to be wrong, Calloway made the opportunity to be right. A person with the willingness to undertake challenges others couldn't with a work-hard ethic that inspired us all." (callowaygolf.com, online). Ely Callaway attacked not only his own companies position in the marketplace, but the entire fragmented golf industry and brought organization, creativity, and imagination but also has set the standards for excellence," says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, director of the Center for Leadership and Career Studies in the Goizueta Business School. "Callaway furthermore has shown the ability for triumph and quality contributions in a wide array of venues that follow his interests across industries and across communities. (Thomas, 1997)