Bob Lutz: Blame Ferdinand Piech For VW's Diesel Woes

[El Kabong]

Maximum Bob points cannon at Herr Piech, spares no gunpowder: "that's the way [Piech] ran everything. It's what I call a reign of terror and a culture where performance was driven by fear and intimidation. He just says, 'You will sell diesels in the U.S., and you will not fail. Do it, or I'll find somebody who will.' The guy was absolutely brutal."

More at the link:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a27197/bob-lutz-vw-diesel-fiasco/

[Drew Dowdell]

I think it was fairly obvious from the beginning that this was the result of Piech's style of leadership.

[Suaviloquent]

And he conveniently got himself impeached before all this happened.

 

You can't make drama like this up! 

[David]

Love the write up and I would have to say it is Spot on True.

 

I will also say that while Dictators can destroy a country, business, etc. Some aspects of a Dictator is what a CEO has to be. In regards to the body fit, GM should have long ago stated what the quality was to be, give a set time line for reaching that milestone and if it failed, PIP the Mgmt. to either succeed or move on with a new mgr. The CEO should be setting the expectation but not bullying the people, ask for input on how to achieve the desired result, they probably could have avoided much of this is the Leader had a more flexible open mind than total dictatorship.

[cp-the-nerd]

Love the write up and I would have to say it is Spot on True.

 

I will also say that while Dictators can destroy a country, business, etc. Some aspects of a Dictator is what a CEO has to be. In regards to the body fit, GM should have long ago stated what the quality was to be, give a set time line for reaching that milestone and if it failed, PIP the Mgmt. to either succeed or move on with a new mgr. The CEO should be setting the expectation but not bullying the people, ask for input on how to achieve the desired result, they probably could have avoided much of this is the Leader had a more flexible open mind than total dictatorship.

 

That part about GM and production fit, you have to understand that prior to the NUMMI venture with Toyota, GM (and the majority of D3 manufacturing plants) were using old production methods. A tightly manufactured, state of the art automobile was not really possible. The entire production process was incredibly counter intuitive.

 

There's an outstanding podcast about the history of NUMMI and GM being taught Japanese manufacturing methods. If anyone is interested, I'll dig it up.

[David]

 

Love the write up and I would have to say it is Spot on True.

 

I will also say that while Dictators can destroy a country, business, etc. Some aspects of a Dictator is what a CEO has to be. In regards to the body fit, GM should have long ago stated what the quality was to be, give a set time line for reaching that milestone and if it failed, PIP the Mgmt. to either succeed or move on with a new mgr. The CEO should be setting the expectation but not bullying the people, ask for input on how to achieve the desired result, they probably could have avoided much of this is the Leader had a more flexible open mind than total dictatorship.

 

That part about GM and production fit, you have to understand that prior to the NUMMI venture with Toyota, GM (and the majority of D3 manufacturing plants) were using old production methods. A tightly manufactured, state of the art automobile was not really possible. The entire production process was incredibly counter intuitive.

 

There's an outstanding podcast about the history of NUMMI and GM being taught Japanese manufacturing methods. If anyone is interested, I'll dig it up.

 

It is a Shame that we had to learn from Japan what was already known and had been tried to be taught to the US by Deming and Drucker on leadership and TQM (Total Quality Management). The US could have avoided the whole mess of the 80's, 90's and early 2000's.

 

Great Read:

 

https://thecanthocurmudgeon.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/peter-drucker-on-leadership-w-edwards-deming-total-quality-management-091211/

[El Kabong]

Confession: I have an actual paper copy of "Car Guys vs. Bean Counters" by Bob.

You can't have a CEO like Ferdinand Piech. You just can't. Overachieving is one thing, but doing it purely by fear is a recipe for the minions to do anything to keep their jobs.

A corporate culture will inevitably find its identity with the person in the Big Chair. If that person is a tyrant, tyranny will drive anything it sets its hand to. If that person is a hater, that company will be driven by insecurity and a sense of inferiority. If that person is a delegator, you have hope... as long as your minions are really good.