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Konstantine Othmer on the Valley Advantage
- rjurney 17y agoDon't let the wavy camera dissuade you from watching - the audio is the thing. My camera-lady / wife got a bug bite right before the interview... thus the wavy camera, as she scratched it :) The others (which are coming) were more stable. The part about Apple vs. GM culture is great.
- ajaimk 17y agoAbsolutely love what he says about unions and how they were more focused on their people than getting the job done. There are some times when covering your own ass is just not the right think to do.
- paulgb 17y agoI found that bit interesting too. A lot of people bring up unions as what killed GM, and the common rebuttal is that labor is a small part of GM's cost. If Konstantin's anecdote is typical of GM, it seems the cost of the union is a lot more than just labor costs.
- mnemonicsloth 17y agoMy understanding is that the problem isn't the cost of labor per se. Instead, it's rising health care costs. The medical provisions of GM's pension plan are pretty lavish, and it's been underfunded for years. GM isn't all that unusual here -- a lot of other firms (and a number of state governments) have underfunded pensions. http://www.businessinsider.com/gm-retirees-rush-to-get-dentures-glasses-and-viagra-2009-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/gm-retirees-rush-to-get-dentu...
- rjurney 17y agoIf you check the video, you'll find that the problem is cultural. Its a union and management problem.
- amcrae 17y agoGood job, Russell. Konstantin hits hard with the point that corporate culture in a start-up will reflect the attitude of the original founders - and it will stay dynamic for only as long as the venture works hard to maintain it. I'd venture to say that in 1908 Durant was eager to build a great product. One should ask what changed over the years.