6 ms·

If Richard Branson Ran GM

79 points by steveplace 18y ago

ErrantX 18y ago
Tongue in cheek perhaps but very true! Never underestimate the power of publicity stunts :D (hmm). Although of course if he did run GM then they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place would they (though Im not sure I'd want to drive a care branded "Virgin".. only comes in white :P). Sharp commentary.
- jedc 18y ago
  And he clearly has a very good eye for how Richard Branson promotes his businesses! Definitely concur... very sharp commentary.
  - steveplace 18y ago
    Thanks. I read his book about a month ago.
vaksel 18y ago
thats the problem isn't it? GM/Ford/Chrysler CEOs just don't get it. If they got it, their companies wouldn't be in the crapper like they are today.
aaronblohowiak 18y ago
And undercar kits would be standard. All jesting aside, this blog author makes a good point about the lack of panache and poor PR of American auto manufacturers to coastal Americans.
jonknee 18y ago
If he ran GM they wouldn't need a bailout in the first place.
- Tritis 18y ago
  That's the crux of it. The Big Three are selling cars at a loss, and you can never make up selling at a loss in volume. There is no plan in place to create vehicles profitably so a bailout will only prolong death.
- ErrantX 18y ago
  Take it further: he is probably not running GM because you cant make it profitable.
  - jonknee 18y ago
    I think he could make it profitable. He's making cash in the airline business ($90m last quarter), which isn't exactly an outperforming sector. The car business isn't hard to make money in, it's just the big three that are fuck ups.
    - ErrantX 18y ago
      fair point I suppose (making Virgin atlantic pay was certainly no mean feat :D)
sanj 18y ago
What amazes me about the CEOs of the automakers is how tone-deaf they are to the PR debacle they're creating.
- antiform 18y ago
  It's hard to escape your environment, strip everything away, and see your life from 10,000 feet. It's hard to see what it's like at the bottom if you're on top and there's dozens of layers between you and the people that actually get their hands dirty. It's even harder if you've done this job for years and have no idea how things have changed since you rose in the corporate structure, if you were even at the bottom to begin with. It's a perennial problem in large groups with hierarchical structure, and GM is one of the largest and most hierarchical groups out there. What may seem to them as being a "go-getter" and exercising earned corporate privilege just makes them seem even more elitist and out-of-touch to the general public. It reminds me of the importance of the consigliere in the Italian Mafia (or at least in the fiction surrounding it). You need a close friend that you can trust to tell you what is right rather than what you want to hear. If you don't have a way to back up and see the big picture, you won't be able to see trouble until it's staring you in the face, no matter how dangerous it may be. Every time I hear of something like this, I remind myself to always be aware of the echo chamber that may be surrounding my own life and its affairs. What I think is real could very possibly be wishful fantasy.
- jrockway 18y ago
  I'll take some negative PR in exchange for 25 billion dollars. Email me if you're interested :P
- jaydub 18y ago
  Well, it can be hard to hear over the roar of private jets
bprater 18y ago
This whole taking a private jet thing borders on completely stupid and shows how inept some folks are in understanding how companies work. CEOs are any companies most important human asset. That asset has a finite amount of time he can work in any given day. Standing in line at an airport, waiting on layovers, not having access to communications -- are all wastes of time if you are a CEO. Especially NOW, when the big 3s are about to enter bankruptcy, you can't afford to waste a minute of the big 3's CEOs time. (Nobody is bitching that the US President rides around in the air's biggest fuel pig -- a 747.) EDIT: I just noticed a news clip where a senator was making the point, too. I'm embarassed. It's harder to build a broom closet than a nuke plant. Wasting anyone's time to talk about a $20,000 plane trip versus dealing with the $50B bailout is sad.
- slackerIII 18y ago
  Did they have to take 3 separate planes from Detroit?
- trickjarrett 18y ago
  Their time is precious, I won't disagree with that. But if your company is going bankrupt and about to ask to get a bail-out, then you had at least look like you're trying to cut back on expenses. Jets don't help that image. I'm not angry about this use, but it infuriates me that we're not seeing these companies make any sizable cuts. If I've missed these headlines, please direct me to them!
- jimbokun 18y ago
  "CEOs are any companies most important human asset." Please explain to me how these CEOs who have managed to bankrupt an entire U.S. industry constitute an "important human asset." The empirical evidence seems to suggest they are a net negative asset, and maybe filling up their schedules with unproductive activities will mitigate the further damage they could do by actually trying to make decisions and taking actions.
  - bprater 18y ago
    It was a general point, not restricted to these CEOs. Though I have a feeling they have been rather highly motivated lately.
kqr2 18y ago
What if pg ran GM? :-)
- jrockway 18y ago
  We would be reading an essay about people painting cars?
fredBuddemeyer 18y ago
he would bundle an alternative energy source with the car and deliver it as one product. he would realize the dealers are the prefect distribution system to establish a standard. he would mobilize the retirees who still somehow love the company and make them an asset instead of a liability (to say nothing of the perpetuity the old, loved cars represent). he would make an opportunity of the customization trend that has been going on for years and listen to his customers. he would have one more than model of a brand like corvette he would....
aagnihot 18y ago
These guys are not entrepreneur. They are executives(read PHB's). They might not even be good leaders. Henry Ford would have done things differently....
- corentin 18y ago
  These guys just need to get hit in the face with a copy of Atlas Shrugged.

79 points by steveplace 18y ago

Tongue in cheek perhaps but very true! Never underestimate the power of publicity stunts :D (hmm). Although of course if he did run GM then they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place would they (though Im not sure I'd want to drive a care branded "Virgin".. only comes in white :P). Sharp commentary.

jedc 18y ago
And he clearly has a very good eye for how Richard Branson promotes his businesses! Definitely concur... very sharp commentary.
- steveplace 18y ago
  Thanks. I read his book about a month ago.

vaksel 18y ago

thats the problem isn't it? GM/Ford/Chrysler CEOs just don't get it. If they got it, their companies wouldn't be in the crapper like they are today.

aaronblohowiak 18y ago

And undercar kits would be standard. All jesting aside, this blog author makes a good point about the lack of panache and poor PR of American auto manufacturers to coastal Americans.

jonknee 18y ago

If he ran GM they wouldn't need a bailout in the first place.

Tritis 18y ago
That's the crux of it. The Big Three are selling cars at a loss, and you can never make up selling at a loss in volume. There is no plan in place to create vehicles profitably so a bailout will only prolong death.
ErrantX 18y ago
Take it further: he is probably not running GM because you cant make it profitable.
- jonknee 18y ago
  I think he could make it profitable. He's making cash in the airline business ($90m last quarter), which isn't exactly an outperforming sector. The car business isn't hard to make money in, it's just the big three that are fuck ups.
  - ErrantX 18y ago
    fair point I suppose (making Virgin atlantic pay was certainly no mean feat :D)

sanj 18y ago

What amazes me about the CEOs of the automakers is how tone-deaf they are to the PR debacle they're creating.

antiform 18y ago
It's hard to escape your environment, strip everything away, and see your life from 10,000 feet. It's hard to see what it's like at the bottom if you're on top and there's dozens of layers between you and the people that actually get their hands dirty. It's even harder if you've done this job for years and have no idea how things have changed since you rose in the corporate structure, if you were even at the bottom to begin with. It's a perennial problem in large groups with hierarchical structure, and GM is one of the largest and most hierarchical groups out there. What may seem to them as being a "go-getter" and exercising earned corporate privilege just makes them seem even more elitist and out-of-touch to the general public. It reminds me of the importance of the consigliere in the Italian Mafia (or at least in the fiction surrounding it). You need a close friend that you can trust to tell you what is right rather than what you want to hear. If you don't have a way to back up and see the big picture, you won't be able to see trouble until it's staring you in the face, no matter how dangerous it may be. Every time I hear of something like this, I remind myself to always be aware of the echo chamber that may be surrounding my own life and its affairs. What I think is real could very possibly be wishful fantasy.
jrockway 18y ago
I'll take some negative PR in exchange for 25 billion dollars. Email me if you're interested :P
jaydub 18y ago
Well, it can be hard to hear over the roar of private jets

bprater 18y ago

This whole taking a private jet thing borders on completely stupid and shows how inept some folks are in understanding how companies work. CEOs are any companies most important human asset. That asset has a finite amount of time he can work in any given day. Standing in line at an airport, waiting on layovers, not having access to communications -- are all wastes of time if you are a CEO. Especially NOW, when the big 3s are about to enter bankruptcy, you can't afford to waste a minute of the big 3's CEOs time. (Nobody is bitching that the US President rides around in the air's biggest fuel pig -- a 747.) EDIT: I just noticed a news clip where a senator was making the point, too. I'm embarassed. It's harder to build a broom closet than a nuke plant. Wasting anyone's time to talk about a $20,000 plane trip versus dealing with the $50B bailout is sad.

slackerIII 18y ago
Did they have to take 3 separate planes from Detroit?
trickjarrett 18y ago
Their time is precious, I won't disagree with that. But if your company is going bankrupt and about to ask to get a bail-out, then you had at least look like you're trying to cut back on expenses. Jets don't help that image. I'm not angry about this use, but it infuriates me that we're not seeing these companies make any sizable cuts. If I've missed these headlines, please direct me to them!
jimbokun 18y ago
"CEOs are any companies most important human asset." Please explain to me how these CEOs who have managed to bankrupt an entire U.S. industry constitute an "important human asset." The empirical evidence seems to suggest they are a net negative asset, and maybe filling up their schedules with unproductive activities will mitigate the further damage they could do by actually trying to make decisions and taking actions.
- bprater 18y ago
  It was a general point, not restricted to these CEOs. Though I have a feeling they have been rather highly motivated lately.

kqr2 18y ago

What if pg ran GM? :-)

jrockway 18y ago
We would be reading an essay about people painting cars?

fredBuddemeyer 18y ago

he would bundle an alternative energy source with the car and deliver it as one product. he would realize the dealers are the prefect distribution system to establish a standard. he would mobilize the retirees who still somehow love the company and make them an asset instead of a liability (to say nothing of the perpetuity the old, loved cars represent). he would make an opportunity of the customization trend that has been going on for years and listen to his customers. he would have one more than model of a brand like corvette he would....

aagnihot 18y ago

These guys are not entrepreneur. They are executives(read PHB's). They might not even be good leaders. Henry Ford would have done things differently....

corentin 18y ago
These guys just need to get hit in the face with a copy of Atlas Shrugged.