We already know that General Motors head of global product development Mary Barra is “a car guy”. But what’s perhaps even more important is her goal for 2012, which involves instilling a greater amount of discipline in The General and the various processes that result in bringing vehicles to market. Specifically, Barra would like GM to become more disciplined in four key areas, including:
- Vehicle development — which would increase efficiency, improve speed to market, and raise quality
- Product schedules – which would lower incentives while increasing resale and residual values
- Manufacturing — which would improve quality
- Brand Promises — which would improve customer satisfaction
Overall, Barra has set out to achieve segment-leading quality and states that “everything starts and ends with great products” — a statement we wholeheartedly agree with ourselves.
The video below touches upon a few other areas of interest — such as how releasing the new Chevy Malibu six months ahead of schedule represents an opportunity for The General.
Comments
This reminds me of that time Mr. Miyagi told me Daniel Son Wax on… wax off. Wax on… wax off.
I like this woman she seems like a car guy and here I thought that GM didn’t have any car guys in there company. She drives a camaro cudos .
You may think this is ridiculous, but I think we have the perfect measuring stick on whether GM is really different now, and whether Mary is just making a hollow speech, or is a true leader implementing a better corporate culture. I’ve been in a very big organization like GM for decades, and I know how easy it is, and usually of personal benefit, to just go with the flow. In a big organization it takes real leadership to stop stupid things from going forward, and even stronger leadership to change course once someone has backed something stupid. Let’s see if GM can fix the armrest in the Sonic and Encore by the 2013 model year. If they do, I’ll be impressed with both Mary and the new GM.
True; I know exactly what you mean when you say that it’s easier to go with the flow of things and not be a “bad spoke” in disrupting the status quo/dogma. Too bad very few have the proverbial balls to do this these days.
Discipline was what Soichiro Honda used to build his company into the force it was up to the early 90s. Back then EVERYTHING with a Honda name was great to look at, excellent to drive, and if they raced, they won. After he died and the company changed hands to a set of idiots we have vehicles like the Accord Crosstour and the 2013 CRV coming to market, not to mention Acura’s birdbeak eyesore face. Quality isn’t where it should be either. Hondasan would have surely started fist fights in the design studio and on the production floor over these atrocities. GM needs the same level of discipline.
I think we can all say that Hondasan was a visionary. If only we had more of those today…