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And this is the auto industry. Their bad decisions based on their vaunted experience has led them to the situation they face now. Experience didn't save them.

by bena 17y ago

And this is the auto industry. Their bad decisions based on their vaunted experience has led them to the situation they face now. Experience didn't save them. Hell on the other side, experience didn't make Toyota the company it is now (although they did recently post a loss, they are hardly in GM's position). Willingness to disregard that experience and try something that made sense did. Years of experience is a poor indicator of success.

erlanger 17y ago
"Years of experience is a poor indicator of success." That's a bold claim that defies common sense. Do you have anything to back it up?
- aaronblohowiak 17y ago
  the phrase "necessary but not sufficient" comes to mind. there are exceptions, of course.
aaronblohowiak 17y ago
Experience did make Toyota the company it is now. If you read about LEAN, it is all about learning from what you do, and performing constant variation to see if you can do things better. it is NOT about "disregarding that experience." The present shape of the auto industry is complex, and not simply attributable to the hubris of its leaders. The outsourcing of parts manufacturing, a labour union that is too strong, a lack of funding for attractive design, a government that offered too many protections, and last but not least, the entitlement culture of the american auto industry. The American auto industry was not competitive. I am not suggesting it was easy to make money, I am suggesting that we simply did not keep up the hunger for "new & better". To say that is merely the product of age and experience is foolhardy at best.
- bena 17y ago
  The change to LEAN and JIT production was a radical new way to produce cars. That's what I meant by disregarding experience, not that they are completely fly by the seat of their pants all the time. They completely revamped what it meant to be an automobile manufacturer by trying a new process they had no experience with. They realized experience isn't a goal in and of itself and that sometimes it can be a hindrance.

by bena 17y ago

erlanger 17y ago

"Years of experience is a poor indicator of success." That's a bold claim that defies common sense. Do you have anything to back it up?

aaronblohowiak 17y ago
the phrase "necessary but not sufficient" comes to mind. there are exceptions, of course.

aaronblohowiak 17y ago

Experience did make Toyota the company it is now. If you read about LEAN, it is all about learning from what you do, and performing constant variation to see if you can do things better. it is NOT about "disregarding that experience." The present shape of the auto industry is complex, and not simply attributable to the hubris of its leaders. The outsourcing of parts manufacturing, a labour union that is too strong, a lack of funding for attractive design, a government that offered too many protections, and last but not least, the entitlement culture of the american auto industry. The American auto industry was not competitive. I am not suggesting it was easy to make money, I am suggesting that we simply did not keep up the hunger for "new & better". To say that is merely the product of age and experience is foolhardy at best.

bena 17y ago
The change to LEAN and JIT production was a radical new way to produce cars. That's what I meant by disregarding experience, not that they are completely fly by the seat of their pants all the time. They completely revamped what it meant to be an automobile manufacturer by trying a new process they had no experience with. They realized experience isn't a goal in and of itself and that sometimes it can be a hindrance.