First published 2011
Bob Lutz argues that American industry lost its way when financial analysts displaced creative leaders. In the early 1960s, automotive CEOs understood that capturing public imagination through innovative design and quality craftsmanship would generate profits naturally. The "car guys" controlled GM and built dominant brands including Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, GMC, and Chevrolet through bold creative leadership. Then GM's management shifted faith to numbers and spreadsheets. They wanted to eliminate the "waste" and "personality worship" of creative leaders while maximizing profitability. Management became too clever for its benefit. With number-crunchers controlling decisions, automakers and much of American industry abandoned their focus on product excellence and lost competitive advantage. Decline followed quickly. In 2001, General Motors brought Lutz from retirement to save the company by creating great cars again. As vice chairman, he fought against penny-pinching analysts who managed by bottom line metrics and restored focus on creativity, design, and vehicles that would satisfy customers.
Genres: history, business, american, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: corporate-corruption, redemption
Setting: General Motors
Period: 1960s, 2001
256 pages · Hardcover · Portfolio