Zhang Yinghu: Where did GM lose?

When the bankruptcy court in the East District of new york received boxes of information from General Motors, an era was over, and now Toyota is the overlord of automobiles. Although Toyota also suffered the worst losses in history, its abundant financial resources kept it from falling. More importantly, GM and Toyota are fundamentally different. The first point: Toyota grows bigger and GM grows smaller; The second point: GM people are aging before they get old, and Toyota people are aging before they get old. Lost in the inertia of mass production. The first point: why is GM willing to do big things, but the result is getting smaller and smaller? Americans began with mass production, and large-scale industrial production began at the beginning of last century. Henry Ford, william durant and Edison, the founder of General Electric, all think that production creates consumption. They and their successors used their greatest wisdom to sell cars and created a bubble of mass production from the growth of the automobile society. However, both the oil crisis and the economic crisis can hit American giants with high output, high inventory and high risk. More importantly, Americans who have no brand loyalty (which is also a lesson for the China market) only recognize new cars. The Japanese didn't defeat the Americans, but the Americans were defeated by themselves. They don't want to buy patriotic cars with high fuel consumption, and even have no verbal patriotism in the China market. Look at Toyota again. Why does Toyota want lean production and why does it choose rolling growth mode? To put it simply, when Toyota 1955 started its business, no bank in Japan was willing to lend money to automobile factories, and Toyota from rural areas was even less optimistic. Toyota can only produce what kind of cars it receives, and slowly formed the concept of lean by counting. Toyota also appreciated American mass production at first, and Toyota Yingzhi personally went to Detroit to learn from it. As a result, as soon as I arrived at the automobile city, I exclaimed, "We can't do this kind of mass production." . So after Ford's production line was brought to Japan, it was quickly put on a lean mask, and more, faster, better and more economical automobile society was built. Taiichi Ono dismantled the philosophy of American production line, and then rearranged it, which made the models pursued by major automobile manufacturers in the world today. Mr. Bilford said: "When an enterprise's annual output exceeds 5 million units, it can't lose money!" This is the American concept, and GM has always insisted on it. Even when Ford decisively sold Land Rover and Jaguar, it was still looking around for the possibility of adhering to the American concept. In the 1990s, Wagner showed GM the weakness of Americans after the oil crisis. They like large SUVs, but any efforts and wisdom based on marketing can be replicated and amplified by Asians who work harder and smarter. At this time, American enterprises accustomed to mass production can neither develop their strengths nor avoid their weaknesses. When Iacocca left Chrysler, he discovered that learning from Japanese Toyota's mode of production could not be successful, not because he could not persist in reform, but because he did not find the root cause at the beginning. The Japanese were poor for too long and the concept of a small resource country was deeply rooted, so he could succeed. Americans have been rich for too long, and the advantages of world powers are everywhere, so it is difficult to get out of the predicament. The building of the American auto giant is taller than anyone else, even the Marriott Hotel is in GM's headquarters, but the profit from selling ten cars is equal to the profit from selling one car by the Japanese. The Japanese car company's office is pitifully small. Suzuki headquarters doesn't even have a receptionist, only a pay phone, but it occupies the most potential major developing market. Lost in the "evergreen industry", but can only bloom the radiant yesterday's yellow flowers? Durant, Si Long and Wagner are all regarded as heroes of GM, but GM is not getting better and better, but getting worse and worse under repeated blows. When Rick Wagner took over the baton from the CEO of General Motors for the first time, he knew that he had benefited from a special corporate culture, which was called "lasting success". In 2009, when White House officials rudely said to him, "We want you to step aside," he finally understood that his stepping down was also due to the mechanism of "building a lasting career." General motors has always believed that enterprises need fresh minds and thorough reforms in the face of difficulties, but no one thought that in order to avoid facing difficulties again, enterprises need to keep the reform results. Smith asked the younger generation to speak on the stage when choosing a successor. Wagner was the first to rush to the stage to grab the microphone, and the second man took the stage to grab the microphone to speak. I believe that Wagner can grab the microphone, not only because he is a master, but also because he understands that in this enterprise, only those who dare to speak and do have a chance, and those who hide their talents can only sit on the bench forever. But this talent is more than enough for the position of marketing company manager, but not enough for commanding large groups. The culture of "eternal life" is based on two concepts: first, from a spatial perspective, a certain department cannot have absolute authority; Second, in terms of time, one should not occupy an important position for too long. In this way, water is alive, people are new, and enterprises can last forever. This culture looks beautiful, but there is a fatal problem. That is, every personnel change leads to a new strategy and a new team. And the accumulation of experience was put in a secondary position. Japanese culture comes from China, and Confucianism says that "change makes sense, and general rules last for a long time", and "quietness makes wisdom". How do you weigh it? It means that there is a changing "power" and a stable "balance" for a long time. Otherwise, it is impossible to achieve great things with only a wooden pole or a big iron block. Similarly, in space, Japanese companies are forbidden, that is, directors, mostly veterans of retirement age. The new person is a kind of balancing force in it, and it is impossible to replace the old one. In terms of time, a certain department even has an irreplaceable position. For example, Toyota has a factory in Odahara. Workers in their thirties and forties stay in a certain position all their lives, but experience is an important factor to ensure product quality. The old worker usually wears a golden hat. I asked him, "When will your apprentice take your place?" The old man replied, "Only 20 years." If you were in GM, such people would have gone to get a pension. GM has a large number of old employees who do nothing but get pensions. Winners wait for losers and thieves. Universal culture must have its own uniqueness, such as the use of global resources, the determination to sublate brands, and the overall contribution to marketing concepts. Toyota is also suffering from being too inclined to nursing homes, and the lack of foreign blood is also making Toyota die. He also hopes that Akio Toyoda can bring a new atmosphere. But one thing, from the success or failure of GM and the possible nirvana in the future, we must learn something, that is, we can't rely on "one success, ten thousand bones wither" and we can't be superstitious about "the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves before, and we are experts in lapping the shore." A coordinated corporate culture can make the industry accumulate wealth and attract the wind. (This article Source: Netease Auto Author: Zhang Yinghu)