GM CEO Fritz Henderson Wary of Hubris
Published: June 25th, 2009
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This interview raises some important questions. Is it me or does Alex Taylor sound like Sgt. Friday? What editor thought he could get away with using B-roll of a union worker with a sign referring to a “Golden Shower?” What kind of company has a CEO who can go his entire life without anyone daring to correct his pronunciation of “hubris?” Why would the CEO of GM point out out that “every one” of the company’s surviving 34 nameplates has to be a winner? I mean, what are the odds? And what’s with this: “We’ve lost a part of the population but [sotto voce] it’s not that large.” No complacency here. No, sir.
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So Fritz says essentially that: GM has a broken culture and is too risk averse His job is on the line and he knows it That all products must be winners, not just some (something that Rick actually used to say) That he understands that a part of the population is gone, never to return.(evidently, most of them hanging out here) What part of this message is offensive? Fritz has had proven success in Brazil and Asia...he's talking straight. What's the problem...sounds like Jack Welch or Mullaly. Second, on the nameplates, how many of you have been to Tokyo and walked a Toyota showroom there. They have 34 nameplates for mid-sized cars alone! They even were selling the Pontiac version of the Matrix in the same showroom when I was there three years ago. Lexus and Toyota have 28 models between two brands. The number of nameplates has gone from over 80 to 34...it's not a big number for four brands. Fritz is talking with more clarity, more often and with more credibility than any CEO in the industry. And while there is no minimizing the magnitude and severity of where GM finds itself...the fact is we're all here. Why not see if it can work? BTW, bluecon, the Atlas Shrugged guy is Jim Taggert. I don't think I hear any similarities in tone or rehtoric from Fritz that would make your charge stick.
"Hoobris"?