Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising TurnaroundOxford University Press, 2004 M08 26 - 280 pages How did a major corporation manage to turn itself around while Wall Street and others continued to predict its slow death? The answer may surprise you, and it provides a model for corporate transformation for any company or government agency operating in a world of accelerating change. The company is General Motors, and this book tells how it was able to change the way important decisions were made, leading to resurgence in business across its many product lines. At the beginning of the 1990s, GM was perceived by nearly everyone as falling behind its competitors at an alarming rate. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, though, the company had come storming back with successful new automobiles and new business concepts that captured new markets, while simultaneously holding on to many of its existing customers. What GM did is not just the story of a single automaker, but rather a compelling insight into an approach for any business organization that is faced with the need for a true transformation. As many companies have discovered, efforts at transformation too often fail. GM's successful transformation illustrates the importance of management's ability to change its mindset and make the tough decisions that revitalize business with bold new products and business concepts. At the heart of successful transformation is the imagination, courage and leadership required to visualize the kind of company an organization wants to become and then work toward that goal. With the destination set and understood by those who will need to implement the changes, decision-makers find it less difficult to overcome impediments to achieving their goal while finding creative ways of doing what may seem impossible. The lessons from GMs turnaround can help any business organization change and keep pace with today's turbulent marketplace. |
Other editions - View all
Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround Vincent P. Barabba Limited preview - 2004 |
Surviving Transformation: Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround Vincent P. Barabba Limited preview - 2004 |
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ability Adrian Slywotzky advisor alternative anticipate-and-lead approach assessment assumptions AutoChoiceAdvisor automotive Barabba benefits Bob Lutz brand business design buyers C. K. Prahalad Cadillac Census chapter competitive world complex consumer costs create creative customer’s customers decision makers develop effective electronic engine enterprise enterprise’s environment Escalade example existing experience firm focused Ford Ford Taurus fuel cell functional future GM’s Harvard Business School Hummer Hy-wire idealized design important improve industry insight interaction issue knowledge Kodak leadership lease Lutz make-and-sell manufacturing market research market share mid-sized needs OnStar operating organization percent perspective Peter Drucker Pontiac Grand Prix portfolio position potential problem products and services profits questions response Rick Wagoner Russell Ackoff scenario segment sense-and-respond solving stakeholders strategy successful systems thinking targeted Taurus tion tomers truck understanding vehicle