WHAT GGU CAN LEARN FROM GM

Friday Oct 23, 2009

One of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes is, "You can see a lot by watching."

I grew up in Motown and my dad worked for General Motors for more than 30 years. We were worried when there were strikes. We were pleased when there was overtime. Dad always provided for the family.

GM has learned some big lessons in the past 5 years that are not lost on colleges and universities.

Of the failures of 3 major GM auto lines, perhaps the biggest lesson comes from the shutdown of Saturn. That effort was to be different in several ways: cars built to order, a no-haggle price policy for dealers, labor and management were to be partners, and the focus was to be on customer service.

In retrospect, it seems obvious that GM should have taken these innovative ideas and applied them to its existing lines, rather than add a new one without adequate focus and financing. With too many GM brands, Saturn found itself competing for survival within GM as much as it was competing for customers.

Here at GGU we have always had an eye for the needed and new, but we also have excellent "models" already in existence.

We have the largest and one of the best taxation programs in the country. We have a national reputation in environmental law. But we have also blazed the trail in new programming and new methods of delivery.

Do you agree with that Saturn failed because GM had too many brands and was unable to differentiate or focus on the brand?

(Source: "Lessons from Saturn's Fall." USA Today. December 2, 2009)

Category: Economy

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