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I need to find the source, but when top GM brass was given a new model to demonstrate, they were given a ringer -- the whole car gone over with a fine toothed c
by MrFoof 17y ago
I need to find the source, but when top GM brass was given a new model to demonstrate, they were given a ringer -- the whole car gone over with a fine toothed comb to iron out the slightest defect (source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/inside-gm-mystery-of-crap-interiors-solved/ http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/inside-gm-mystery-of-crap-i...).
So not only were they less aware of what they were competing against, they had a false idea of what they were competing with.
- wglb 17y agoAccording to The Reckoning by David Halberstam, it was sort of worse than that--may still be. Executives' cars were put into the service bay as soon as they drove into work, and readjusted as needed. Daily. A more non-dogfood arrangement is hard to imagine. Additionally, he tells a story of someone bringing a speaker to an executive meeting who had deep knowledge of the Japanese auto market. They were allowed to speak, so long as they did not talk about Japanese autos or the Japanese auto industry. I don't see MS as being in that sort of situation. However, as a very large successful organization (whose early genius builders have moved on), there are cultural perspectives that are hard to shake.