Learning the Lesson that I was the most effective “face” to our customers took me a long time and was critical to our ultimate growth and profitability. In my Product Manager positions at GE and later as President of small Machinery Divisions I was often “trotted” out by the sales force to meet customers. Sales [...]
Top Automotive Leaders Visit HBS Campus
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Apr 282008
On March 19th, the Automotive and Transportation Club and the Turnaround Club hosted two of the most distinguished speakers that have set foot on campus this year: Rick Wagoner, CEO and Chairman of General Motors (HBS ’77), and John Smith, Group Vice President of Global Product Planning (HBS ’76). Several other guests from General Motors, [...]
Alumni Perspective – RICK WAGONER, (MBA ’77)
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Apr 072008
General Motors is the world’s largest auto company, selling over 9 million vehicles in 2007 and employing over 260,000 people. At its helm is HBS alumnus Rick Wagoner, who made GM history in 2000 as the youngest person to take over the CEO post. But taking on the position has been no joyride; since 2000 [...]
The HBS Lingo
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Sep 242007
Before HBS-WrongBeing Quiet or Making a concise statement Now-RightLoud nonsense, “organized” in outline form, referencing:a) Several exhibits showing mapsb) Generations of false expertisec) Irrelevant work experience Before HBS-Attractive MarriedSomeone’s partnerEd. SchoolWorked in marketing and has personality defect Now-Unattractive Attractive Before HBS “I plugged numbers into a spreadsheet.” Now“I learned many lessons about teamwork at Goldman [...]
Oct 242005
The Leadership and Values Committee hosted an interactive discussion with Rick Wagoner (MBA ’77), chairman and CEO of General Motors, Thursday, October 13. The discussion, titled “Leading with Integrity During Times of Change,” focused on the challenges of leadership in difficult situations, such as those presently faced by General Motors. Students Chris Alff (OG) and [...]
Feb 282005
The Asia Business Conference was held last weekend from Friday afternoon, February 18th to Saturday, February 19th at HBS. The annual conference attracted close to 700 MBA students, professionals, and executives, who are interested in where Asia is headed. This year, the theme was “Adding Value in Asia: From Outsourcing to Innovation.” The conference examined [...]
Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win?
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Oct 182004
Business, according to The Boston Consulting Group Senior Vice President George Stalk (HBS ’78), is not about “playing nice” or being “soft.” Rather, Stalk claimed in a talk about his new book Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? with the HBS Management Consulting Club, business is about erecting an “unassailable” and [...]
Focus on the Core
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Apr 222003
On March 7, 2000 Procter & Gamble announced that it will miss its earnings forecast for the quarter. The stock fell from $87 to $61 in one day. The company had lost $85 billion in market capitalization since the beginning of the year. The company suffered from its high cost structure, inappropriate pricing levels, overinvestment, [...]
Humor: They Said What?
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Oct 212002
Professor Edward Riedl is becoming a frequent guest of this column, possibly indicating that RC students are having too much fun learning accounting. It is hard to compare anyone, however, to Professor Richard Tedlow, who continues to bestow upon us his pearls of wisdom like it is his appointed duty. Anyone who has an interesting [...]
Memoirs from the Year 2013
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Jan 222002
I am currently the general manager of the hybrid/electric car division at General Motors. I enjoyed my time at Procter & Gamble pushing toothpaste around the world. I then took that marketing experience to GM, and eventually moved from marketing to general management. I have a political agenda: I think if the US depended less [...]
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