GM and Faltering Leadership

On NPR last night, I was listening to the latest report on the negotiations between GM and the UAW. On the surface, leadership of the two organizations were claiming success, but it was interesting to hear the interviews with UAW members. One said that over and over managers had asked them how to make things work more efficiently in the plants and what they needed to do better - and management never took any of the suggestions. Another member was so very angry at having to give in to the degree they did as upper management continued to be paid millions, even as the company continued to falter. And although it's common to try and lay the blame for GM's problems at the feet of the union members, I don't buy it for a second. Yes, there may be some problems, but labor prices are only that high per car when a company loses as much market share as GM has over the years for not delivering what customers really wanted.

If you've ever had people working for you - or ever had a family or been involved in a volunteer organization - it's hard to ask people to sacrifice. The only way to gain the moral authority to do so is to to make sacrifices yourself. I think GM management has totally blown the chance of being leaders. You can't keep asking for concessions while protecting your own interests. Why not drop all management bonuses until the company can sufficiently turn around? Why don't the CEO and CFO take pay cuts? If you're already worth millions because of compensation in previous years, you don't have as much pressure. (And here's an interesting look Forbes took at Wagoner's compensation in 2005.) If Wagoner at least had done taken a cut, he would have gained enormous credibility among the very people who have to make work any plan he creates. Instead, GM, as has happened in so many other companies and industries, decided to stick with business as usual - as for concessions from employees and not match it to recognize that everyone is in the same boat. And so, I wouldn't expect anything other than business as usual in all other aspects.