  Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 5009 Registered: 10-2003 |
This can be a Detroit-issues thread... http://money.cnn.com/news/news feeds/articles/newstex/IBD-000 1-20044164.htm General Motors' Alfred Sloan Was Driven To Succeed October 04, 2007: 08:05 PM EST Oct. 4, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) -- Even in the middle of a great expansion at General Motors (NYSE:GM) GM, Alfred Sloan looked beyond the results. Sloan joined the company as a vice president in 1918. In 1919-20, GM almost doubled its production of cars and trucks from the level of 1917-18. "I had been struck by the disparity between substance and form: plenty of substance and little form. I became convinced that the corporation could not continue to grow and survive unless it was better organized," Sloan wrote in "My Years With General Motors." Financial controls were lacking. In October 1920, purchases of raw and semifinished materials exceeded the budget for them by $59 million. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1702 Registered: 08-2006 |
Sloan is spinning madly in his grave seeing what GM has withered to. The only thing that will be said of Wagoner in the future will be: "He was Driven to lower costs" Or "He sacrificed everything, so India could have a middle class" | ||
Jelk Member Username: Jelk Post Number: 4655 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yeah I'm sure the man who once said that "the business of business is business" would be shocked and appalled by cost cutting efforts of the Big Three. Who could forget Sloan's legendary battles with that miserly bean-counter Billy Durant. | ||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 1820 Registered: 12-2005 |
Uhhhh........Billy Durant was the "man of vision" who lacked the financial acumen control the company's finances when times turned hard--he could spend like a drunken sailor but was only successful during times when sales were strong and credit was available. Sloan brought control to GM's finances and structured the company so that it could (then) weather a recession and still survive. He also instilled a system of accession to groom top managers, I think he started spinning in his grave about the time Roger Smith took over. Oh how the mighty have fallen! | ||
Jelk Member Username: Jelk Post Number: 4656 Registered: 10-2003 |
56packman is apparently unable to recognize obvious sarcasm. | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 5012 Registered: 10-2003 |
The way I understood it, Sloan never really "battled" Durant. I thought he more or less tolerated him. They were to totally different personalities. hell, Sloan never saved any of his records, while Billy had literally 35 phones on his desk at one time. | ||
Xd_brklyn Member Username: Xd_brklyn Post Number: 320 Registered: 10-2003 |
From what I've heard, GM kept this Sloan/Durant -- finance/engineering combination at the top until the Roger Smith era. With Smith alone at the helm, finance dominated GM, ending the finance/engineering chemistry. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 450 Registered: 05-2004 |
And the product suffered. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1773 Registered: 04-2006 |
Isn't he the one who engineered the Great American Streetcar Scandal? | ||
Kjwick Member Username: Kjwick Post Number: 47 Registered: 11-2003 |
where did Alfred Sloan live? grosse pointe? | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 5013 Registered: 10-2003 |
No, he lived in NYC and travelled to Detroit by rail twice a month. He lived on the 14th floor of the GM building in a custom apartment. | ||
Yelloweyes Member Username: Yelloweyes Post Number: 195 Registered: 02-2007 |
There is the Sloan museum in Flint. Went there on a field trip a few times. It's Flint's version of The Henry Ford Museum. | ||
Jerome81 Member Username: Jerome81 Post Number: 1627 Registered: 11-2003 |
If anything, GM today is a direct descendent of the controls Sloan implemented. Whereas he took a messy company and made some sense out of the maddness, later GM executives took that to the extreme. Essentially neutering the creative side and exhibiting extreme financial control over everything. to the point where they have nearly killed the company. Controls are good. But they got way too carried away. Of course the auto market was a completely different animal back then too.... | ||
Kjwick Member Username: Kjwick Post Number: 48 Registered: 11-2003 |
Patrick, That's interesting about the apartment. Do you know if it still exists? Have you ever seen any photos? I would love to see the finishings on that apartment. | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 5028 Registered: 10-2003 |
I always wondered as well...I know jenny G has an office up there now. | ||
Kjwick Member Username: Kjwick Post Number: 49 Registered: 11-2003 |
Sweet. I'll stop in sometime and let you know how it goes | ||
Jrvass Member Username: Jrvass Post Number: 250 Registered: 01-2007 |
Semon "Bunky" Knudson (inventor of the electric starter and other things), lives in the "E" block of Christ Church Cranbrook's Columbarium on the N. side of the Church. It's a short block of 4 niches. In front of a bench, N. of the bell tower. Can't miss it. Parking is free. Right on Church Rd. If you are nice to the church secretary, she'll let the sextant take you up on top of the 10-story bell tower to take pix of Bloomfield Hills and the fall colors during the week. I went on a day that started out sunny and then clouded over, a few years ago. Still nice colors of the trees. And the sextant pointed out houses of sports stars & coach's. (Houses? Freaking mansions!) Today would have been beautiful! They also did the tours on the weekends after a concert. Not sure if they still do. Check it out! As George Booth of the Det. News knows... No matter whether you are rich are poor... It's nice to have money! James | ||
Kjwick Member Username: Kjwick Post Number: 52 Registered: 11-2003 |
I talked to my brother who used to work in the GM building before the company moved to the RenCen. He said lots of exec's had apartments up on the 14th floor. He tried to get a tour, but never was able. |
