底特律双雄记

    背道而驰：通用掌门丹尼尔•阿克森与福特领袖艾伦•穆拉利

    通用汽车（General Motors Co.）首席执行官丹尼尔•阿克森正尝试领导公司实现转型。两周前，他解雇了通用汽车的首席营销官，并引入不少外部人士，震撼了整个公司。他提拔意料之外的人选充实顶级职务，还经常直言不讳地指出，“新”通用必须更快、更有创新精神，提高盈利能力。

    据报道，阿克森就快完成对通用汽车的改组了，他希望以此打碎该公司著名的“封地”，消除运营中的“烟囱”。可是，这位前海军军官的措施越有力，似乎也就越容易使该公司的失误暴露在聚光灯下，不得不为之一再辩解。比如通用汽车与曼联之间那份价值5.59亿美元的合同，据报道，乔尔•伊万尼克正是因此丢掉了首席营销官的饭碗。阿克森通过内部电话怒斥通用员工向媒体泄漏信息——结果没过多久，这通电话的内容也泄露了出去。

    密歇根州安娜堡汽车研究中心（Center for Automotive Research）名誉主席戴维•科尔称，阿克森“仍在学习汽车业务，大多数外部人士不知道它比几乎所有其他行业都更复杂。”科尔称，阿克森的履历与汽车行业没有关系，使他未能做好领导汽车厂商的准备。他曾经有一次公开预测雪佛兰沃蓝达（Chevrolet Volt）的销量，但实际业绩远远无法达到这一目标，此事正体现了他的经验匮乏。

    福特汽车（Ford Motor Co.）与通用汽车同处一市，对前者的首席执行官艾伦•穆拉利来说，汽车制造业同样复杂。穆拉利曾执掌波音（Boeing），作为喷气客机设计及生产巨头，波音面临的挑战也很多：产品交付周期极长，需要与工会不断斗争，并制造能同时满足各种偏好的客机，因为其产品行销全球。值得注意的是，除了出售沃尔沃之类的品牌外，穆拉利掌权六年来并没有正式重组福特。

    与阿克森一样，穆拉利认为自己的使命是领导底特律汽车厂商实现现代化，而扮演的角色与其说是舰队司令，还不如说是教练。穆拉利的领导风格与阿克森截然不同，他对福特公司及其车型与员工向来只有赞誉之词——至少在公开场合如此，他总是满脸笑容，还愿意花时间给粉丝签名，与他们闲聊、合影。

    穆拉利领导福特的战略很简单：“一个福特”（One Ford）。换句话说，他指挥员工们停止内部对抗与争执，在穆拉利的新世界秩序中，团队合作胜过帮派主义，通过恐惧进行管理的方式也不受欢迎。一些无法接受穆拉利新战略的高管和经理人最后离开了福特，但从来没有像通用汽车那样通过官方声明解雇的现象——伊万尼克离开通用汽车时，公司声明称他“未能达到公司的期望值”。

    当然，福特与穆拉利本人也极为幸运。就在信贷市场坍塌之前，穆拉利成功地将公司上下全部的资产抵押了出去——就连著名的蓝色椭圆标志也成了抵押品，籍此获得了巨额贷款。这个举措帮助福特避免了破产的命运，没有像克莱斯勒（Chrysler）和通用（GM）那样遭遇巨大冲击。阿克森没有这样的优势。

    阿克森说过，他认为重振通用汽车是个“爱国”义务，而不仅是职业生涯中的新一页。他的职业生涯为他赚得了不少财富，特别是领导私募股权巨头凯雷集团（the Carlyle Group）的经历。显然，他诚挚地希望给汽车城留下一个好印象，他已多次宣布为底特律地区的慈善事业慷慨解囊，比如为Cornerstone特许学校捐赠100万美元。上周他还宣布将拍卖自己收藏的名车1958款克尔维特（Corvette），拍卖所得将捐给国际仁人家园组织（Habitat for Humanity）。

    一位通用前高管认为，通用汽车的上上下下颇为自豪。许多通用人缔造了屡获好评的车型，而正是这些车型的上市使该汽车厂商过去五个季度里获得了近80亿美元净利润。“很多人对自己在通用的功绩感到自豪，为公司持续一个世纪的文化自豪，”这位前高管说。“就这么走进来，说他们以前所做的一切一文不值恐怕行不通。”

    译者：小宇

    Two roads diverged: GM's Dan Akerson and Ford's Alan Mulally.

    Daniel Akerson, CEO of General Motors Co., is struggling to lead the transformation of GM. Akerson, who fired GM's chief marketing officer two weeks ago, has shaken up the company by recruiting outsiders, promoting unexpected candidates to top posts and making it clear -- often in blunt language -- that the "new" GM must be faster, more entrepreneurial and profitable.

    Akerson is reportedly on the verge of restructuring GM (GM) to quash its famed "fiefdoms" and eradicate operational "silos." But the more the pugnacious former naval officer pushes, the more the company seems to find itself in the spotlight explaining missteps, such as the $559 million agreement between GM and the Manchester United soccer team that allegedly led to the Joel Ewanick's ouster as chief marketer. Akerson berated GM employees in an internal call for leaking information to the media -- and, in short order, the contents of the call leaked.

    David Cole, chairman emeritus for the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says Akerson "is still learning the automobile business. Most outsiders don't realize how complex it is compared to almost every other [business]." Cole says Akerson, who had little in his background that prepared him to lead an automaker, showed his inexperience when he made public sales forecasts for the Chevrolet Volt that didn't come close to being fulfilled.

    Automaking's complexity wasn't lost on Ford Motor Co.'s (F) Alan Mulally, CEO of GM's crosstown rival. Mulally had run Boeing (BA), which operates on long lead times for the design and manufacture of jetliners, contends with labor unions and must make its products amenable to global tastes as it markets to airlines the world over. Significantly, aside from selling off brands such as Volvo, he hasn't formally restructured Ford in his six years since taking over.

    Like Akerson, Mulally sees his role as leading the modernization of a Detroit-based automaker, perhaps more as a coach than as an admiral. Mulally's style is in stark contrast to Akerson's. Unlike Akerson, he speaks only positively about his company, its vehicles and personnel -- at least publicly. He smiles. Constantly. And, he takes time to sign autographs, chat with, or have pictures taken with fans.

    Mulally's Ford strategy is simple: "One Ford." In other words, he's directed employees to stop internal rivalries and bickering. Teamwork trumps factionalism in the Mulally world order. Management by fear is likewise discouraged. Executives and managers who can't embrace Mulally's strategy have left Ford, but never under the cloud of an official statement such as issued by GM when Ewanick left, stating that he "failed to meet the expectations" of GM.

    Ford and Mulally were extremely lucky, of course. He was able to mortgage the company to the hilt -- even tossing in its Blue Oval logo as collateral -- just before the credit markets fell apart. That allowed Ford to stay out of bankruptcy and void the major shocks that Chrysler and GM have both faced. Akerson had none of these advantages.

    Akerson has said he regards fixing GM as a "patriotic" duty, rather than a facet of a business career that already has brought him wealth, notably in his role at the Carlyle Group public equity firm. Clearly he's trying earnestly to make a good impression on Motor City. He has announced several personal donations to Detroit-area charitable causes, such as the $1 million to the Cornerstone charter school. Last week he said he would auction off his prized 1958 Corvette, the proceeds to benefit Habitat for Humanity.

    A former GM executive observed that the GM work force is proud. Many GMers are the same ones who created the highly rated vehicle models that are now reaching the marketplace and responsible for the automaker's nearly $8 billion in net income over the last five quarters. "A lot of people have pride in what they've done at GM, in the century of culture," said the former executive. "It's not going to work to come in and suggest that everything they've done is dog meat."