Nucor has always played a prominent role when I cite companies where culture has been the major driver of its success and CEO Dan DiMicco is the poster boy for what a CEO should be/do.

Since 2000 DiMicco increased sales fivefold and gave shareholders a 464% return, but keeping and developing the culture put in place by Ken Iverson is his greatest claim to fame as well as the basis for Nucor’s phenomenal success.

Nucor is living proof of a mantra in which I totally believe, i.e., people are intelligent, motivated and honestly want their company to succeed, and that, given the opportunity, all employees, no matter their level or education, will use their brains and skills to make success happen whether they are told to or not.

Read this short overview to really understand the difference between Nucor’s approach to things like pay for performance, empowerment and ‘ownership’ vs. the emptiness of those words at most companies.

DiMicco is moving up to Executive Chairman and President John Ferriola is being promoted to CEO, but don’t expect the culture to change any time soon.

The CEO-in-waiting, Ferriola, has said “I consider myself an apostle” for the gospel of Ken Iverson.

Flickr image credit: Nucor

Richard’s recent posts (here and here) questioned what happens to culture and people as assets during a tanking economy.

Is culture anything more than lip service? Glib words to throw around during an expansion, but hollow and valueless otherwise?

Yes—and no

Unfortunately, too many executives still see people as an expendable resource—interchangeable and replaceable.

But not all.

The companies with strong, innovative cultures where executive action supports an environment that challenges and encourages growth will come out of this stronger and miles ahead of their lip-synching competitors.

They also know that keeping their people motivated and as happy as possible is the only option if they want to keep their customers happy.

Think Apple, Nucor, IBM and dozens of others, large, medium and small, where the execs practice what they preach.

But no matter how authentic the culture, the economy happens and companies have to deal with it—and even the best may face layoffs.

Today I’m going to share with you articles about three folks whom I consider superb leadagers.

Let me know if you agree.

First is Dan DiMicco, CEO of Nucor Steel, who was just named Businessperson of the Year by the Charlotte Business Journal. I’ve followed Nucor for a long time and DiMicco just keeps impressing; more so since he always sidesteps taking personal credit, focusing instead on his senior staff and employees. He’s also produced one of the most forward thinking cultures in the corporate world, especially considering he’s heavy industry, producing a real product that has neither chips nor software, and created the largest steel company in the country by successfully acquiring and integrating 22 companies over the last eight years.

Next up are the collective CEOs of Corning, who, for the last 157 years, have nurtured and facilitated a culture of innovation allowing Corning to reinvent itself time and time again and thumbing its nose at every analyst and pundit who predicted its demise. Whoo hoo, these guys rock!

Third is Idris Jala, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, who did an initial turn around of the state-owned airline in three-and-a-half months because that was all the operating cash he had and no bailout was offered. I wrote about him a month ago and there’s a link to the full McKinsey interview (requires free registration) in the post. Well worth reading if you missed it the first time.

Finally, 24 short CEO profiles offered up by Business Week; their selection includes a dozen of the best along with a dozen of the worst. I think you’ll enjoy them.

Your comments—priceless

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Image credit: flickr