Surviving Transformation Lessons from GM's Surprising Turnaround

How did a major corporation manage to turn itself around while Wall Street and others continued to predict its slow death? The answer may surprise you, and it provides a model for corporate transformation for any company or government agency operating in a world of accelerating change. Thecompany is General Motors, and this book tells how it was able to change the way important decisions were made, leading to resurgence in business across its many product lines. At the beginning of the 1990s, GM was perceived by nearly everyone as falling behind its competitors at an alarming rate. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, though, the company had come storming back with successful new automobiles and new business concepts that captured new markets, while simultaneously holding on to many of its existing customers. What GM did is not just the story of a single automaker,but rather a compelling insight into an approach for any business organization that is faced with the need for a true transformation. As many companies have discovered, efforts at transformation too often fail. GM's successful transformation illustrates the importance of management's ability tochange its mindset and make the tough decisions that revitalize business with bold new products and business concepts. At the heart of successful transformation is the imagination, courage and leadership required to visualize the kind of company an organization wants to become and then work towardthat goal. With the destination set and understood by those who will need to implement the changes, decision-makers find it less difficult to overcome impediments to achieving their goal while finding creative ways of doing what may seem impossible. The lessons from GMs turnaround can help anybusiness organization change and keep pace with today's turbulent marketplace.

Vincent P. Barabba currently, he serves as Chairman of the Market Insight Corporation and the Internet Home Alliance and is a fellow of the Diamond Cluster.