When people are given the chance they will always act in their own economical interest. So why would we think that businesses, labor unions, governments or even our own selves would be any different?
What has lead to the big 3′s demise is this basic fact. Even today the big 3′s lobbyist are hard at work opposing stricter fuel efficiency standards and fighting to keep change years away. Rather then then spending money on innovation, testing and strategic developments they made the choice to spend money keeping things the exact same. GM constantly took the easiest path. They chose to live off brand names rather given true value. The difference between an Escalade and Tahoe is little leather and chrome, nothing more.
The hard choices and what makes people and companies legendary are those that consistently make the right decision based on the wants and needs of the consumer or end user. This is very easily said and extremely hard to apply, but absolutely should be considered every day by you and your company are in business. It comes down to your connection with the end user. The big 3 have been focused and spent dollars on staying disconnected.
What lessons can you apply in your business or life that you learned from the domestic auto industry?
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I learned that the situation facing the Big 3 simply isn’t as one dimensional as you present here.
One visit to a Cadillac or Chevrolet dealer will demonstrate that GM builds great cars. The Chevy Malibu is every bit as good as a Toyota Camry. The Cadillac CTS has an interior that’s every bit as nicely appointed as a German luxo-sedan. The Corvette offers as much fun on four wheels that other cars do for twice the price. [And how about GM's "halo" vehicles? The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V and Corvette ZR-1 post incredible performance numbers... Most notably their ability to lap the Nürburgring faster than anything else in their classes.]
I’m not going to argue your Escalade/Tahoe point because I agree there isn’t much difference between the two than some bits of chrome, but you’re applying paint with a broad brush here.
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just another,
Your right, this was far from an in depth analysis, but even on the surface there are lesson to be learned.
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Absolutely. I think the biggest lesson to be learned from all of this is that if you give your customers enough rope, they’ll eventually hang you both.
I’m really pointing my finger more squarely at the mortgage industry here. The failure of the domestic automakers to continue normal business operations is more a result of our economy’s mortgage-debt-induced credit woes than the automakers’ business models.
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