Wednesday, June 04, 2014

She is the best leader GM will ever have.

She is a moral leader. Not necessary spouting religious verses, because, morality is larger than religion. She brings the VALUES important to her customers over and above 'squeeze every nickel for blood' Wall Street dividends.

She is a grassroots executive. I hope she finds other women within her executive team as well. Right now many of her peers are men. But, that is GM and she has to build on what she finds before she can move the company into it's best leadership. Yes. I believe she will bring leadership that will revolutionize GM. I also believe her strong alliance with unions will maintain and build her customer base.

She a bit abhors the executive culture she finds within GM. She believes it is far too covert and undermining the quality of their products. Ms. Barra needs to implement a "Whistleblower Bonus." When anyone in the company, including the cleaning crew, brings forward information proving to be 'quality improvement' she needs to provide a financial bonus for the information. The bonus has to be substantial enough to get everyone's attention, but, not so much the numerous overwhelming facts sink the treasury of the company. 

She knows how to builds cars. She knows her customers. She knows how to bring the two together. She is great. She is young enough to bring the values of the future to the leadership at GM while holding on to it's legacy. I like her a lot. I never doubted she would sail through an internal investigation.

Oh, yeah. She doesn't hate the American Middle Class nor does she see them as her toys to profit. She values them and sees their growth and upward movement as part of her future and the future of GM, too. She knows how to maintain the balance between a healthy bottom line and a growing product line based in customer values. She is not afraid of her customers and believes her truth is the best truth and the truth that will grow the company to be among the most moral and sustainable in the business. She is a complex person.

It is about time GM has the leadership it deserves.

In this April 15, 2014 file photo, Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, right, and Mark Reuss, Executive Vice President of Global Product Development for GM and President of GM America, watch the introduction of new Chevrolet cars at the New York International Auto Show, in New York. GM's corporate structure _ as well as what Barra has called a culture that valued cost-savings over safety _ will likely be a prime target in a report expected this week from former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas. Mark Lennihan, File / AP Photo

Posted on Tuesday, 06.03.1
By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer

DETROIT -- To understand (click here) how General Motors allowed a problem with a small part to balloon into a crisis, look at the organization chart.
As of early last year, the director of vehicle safety was four rungs down the ladder from the CEO, according to a copy of the chart obtained by The Associated Press. Finance, sales and public relations had a direct path to the top.
"What's a higher priority than product safety?" asks Yale University management and law professor Jonathan Macey, author of a book on corporate governance. "The organization chart does obviously reflect a company's priorities."
That structure — as well as what new CEO Mary Barra has called a culture that valued cost savings over safety — is likely to be a prime target in a report expected this week from former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas. He was hired by GM to investigate why the company took more than a decade to recall millions of cars with a defective ignition switch that has now been linked to at least 13 deaths....

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/03/4155679/before-recalls-safety-was-low.html#storylink=cpy