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2010 Executive Tidbits
IBM, P&G, General Mills, McKinsey, and McDonald's have the best manager training programs according to Fortune 2009. |
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Check out Keith's other site:
Virtual Writing Coach |
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The
Executive Connection SM
a publication of The Virtual Executive
Coach SM
"Vision + Accountability = Success!"
www.virtualexecutivecoach.com
November, 2009
In This Issue:
1. Preview
2. Executive Summary
3. GM: Those Were The Good Ole Days
4. Helpful Hints
1. Preview
The Executive Connection explores the creative and analytical
process of business development, team-building, and executive
development. We are an interactive community of executives
and small business owners who desire to network with like-minded
high-performance executives to enhance our knowledge,
skills, and aptitudes in the competitive business world.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers coaching suggestions
around the topics of: business development, financing,
marketing, networking, incorporations, mergers, human
resources, governmental regulations, and tax laws. Topics
are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and
represent only his ideas on creating and running your
business.
Because we are an interactive community of executives
and business owners, other viewpoints are welcomed and
may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission
from Keith Barton.
2. Executive Summary
November, 2009
Dear Executive Connection Subscriber,
This month's newsletter features: GM: Those Were The Good Ole Days
3. GM: Those Were The Good Ole Days
Mustangs, GTOs, 442s, Firebirds, Camaro, and Toronado were the muscle cars of the 70s and
80s, but no more. We are being challenged by hybrids from overseas. China's Hyundai is being
tariffed to death to stifle competition from abroad. Even though Toyota and Honda plants thrive
in America, GM is having to retool to remain competitive despite its labor union salaries and
aging plants. Despite the bailout from Uncle Sam, GM has reduced assembly plants from 47 to 34,
brands from eight to four, omitting Pontiac and Oldsmobile while selling off Hummer to the Chinese,
cut employees by 23,000, reduced corporate spending by 21 billion, and reduced hourly labor costs
by 2.6 billion dollars.
CEO Rick Wagoner has installed a new management team with an average GM tenure of 25 years and
average age of 51. But can Motown survive the economic downturn that has forced many former GM
employees South and West for greener pastures? GM turned a deaf ear to newer, sportier product
lines, fuel efficient cars, and consumer safety and is now paying the price. The once, monolithic
company, full of bravado has been humbled by its bankruptcy and foreign competitors. GM did not
listen to car buyers, preferring instead to believe that "bigger is better." What GM failed to
recognize is the changing demographics of car buyers. No longer does loyalty matter. Fuel
efficiency, safety, and price matter. Why did GM fail to recognize these trends over the past
thirty years?
Because of the GM bureaucracy, decisions were bogged down in committees with a zillion regulations
that products had to meet, says Lutz, VP of Marketing. Communication was non-existent among the
executive staff as evidenced by Lutz declaring the Pontiac G8 the new Caprice before checking with
his CEO Fritz Henderson. Guess who won that round. When Henderson joined GM in 1984, the car maker
had 40% of the U.S. market; Toyota was just a fledging competitor back then. Now the Japanese are
in the driver's seat and consumer loyalty has never been higher, while GM share has shrunk to 20%.
Meanwhile, Chinese automaker Hyundai outpaces every GM brand in quality and sales except Chevy.
GM's first electric car, Volt is not due until 2010 despite Toyota's Prius and Ford's Focus, which
is the biggest seller in Europe.
U.S. taxpayers now own 60% or $50 billion of GM's depressed assets and the stakes have never been higher
for GM. Despite almost one billion dollars in tax credits and another 1.35 billion in DOE grants,
courtesy of the American Recovery and Investment Act, Detroit City remains mired in myopic vision and
union oppression. Detroit now enjoys the highest unemployment rate of 29% with plant closures in Grand
Rapids, Saginaw, Flint, Pontiac, Warren, Belleville, Ypsilanti, Kalamazoo, Adrian, Tecumseh, and Detroit.
Despite U.S. tariffs, Japan shifted its production plants to the U.S. beginning with the Marysville,
Ohio plant which opened in 1982.
As evidenced by the bygone era of elegance, the 1977 Cadillac DeVille with a 425-cubic inch V-8 has now
been replaced by a smaller Cadillac CTS which cannot match Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Avalon for ride,
safety, engineering, and customer satisfaction. GM may go the way of Ford's Edsel. One day you will
see the muscle cars of yesteryear in Detroit's Auto Museum of what life was like with four-barrel
carburetors, white sidewalls, fins, and chrome. Grandma and grandpa will speak about the good ole days,
much like their grandparents who touted the model As and Ts. Seems to me that GM's days are numbered
and it's not about cubic displacement or 0-60. GM now stands for General Myopia.
Helpful Hints:
- If you were GM's CEO how would you turn around a company that once touted a 40% market share?
- GM is leveraging its salvation on the 40k electric volt. Good or bad idea and why?
- Labor unions are a big factor in GM's demise. In right to work states, unions are not allowed
and competition breeds innovation. What concessions would you make to GM, if you were union boss?
Does GM need to reinvent itself or reinvest and why?
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Contact Information:
Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Voice: 281-583-5005
Fax: 281-583-5008
Web: http://www.virtualexecutivecoach.com
E-Mail: keith_barton@att.net
(c) Copyright 2009, Virtual Executive Coach SM
and A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
All rights reserved.
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may not copy it to a web site.
Republication of The Executive Connection SM
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With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue
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The Executive Connection SM
Mission:
The Executive Connection SM is dedicated to
helping first-time business owners and executives to recognize
resistance to change, while they create and manage their
own businesses. My goal is to help you transform your
vision into a successful business venture with the addition
of accountability structures and silent partner.
The Executive Connection SM is a publication
of The Virtual Executive Coach SM and Keith
Barton, Ph.D.
We would like The Executive Connection SM to
be as interactive as possible. If you have feedback, comments,
topics you would like addressed, or can suggest additional
resources to benefit us all, please email us at any time.
Send your e-mail to keith_barton@att.net.
Please forward this issue to anyone you think would find
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Archives:
You can read previous issues of The Executive Connection
SM in our archive section.
About Keith Barton, Ph.D
Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University
of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist
for over thirty years. He is a graduate of MentorCoach
and is accepting new clients.
He has been an adjunct professor at the University of
South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in
executive development, founded and managed Texas Community
Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home
services to persons with mental retardation. Keith founded
and has been running a clinical practice in Northwest Houston since 1990.
He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel
a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate
interest in helping others become attuned to their creative
powers of storytelling.
Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family
therapy and health psychology. He has published articles,
made presentations and conducted workshops about:
Small Business Development
Employee Wellness Programs
Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Leadership styles
Core values in the workplace
Executive Development
High-performance groups
Physician support groups
Writer support groups
© 2009 The Virtual Executive Coach SM
and Keith Barton.
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