实话实说：车界老兵点评六大CEO

埃伯哈德•冯•金海姆

1970年至1993年任宝马公司董事长

卢茨说：“在他手下工作并不总是很愉快，他把宝马变成了一个成功的全球豪车品牌。”

卢茨的打分：297

    一天，公司高层开会，冯•金海姆问，公司库存还有多少没卖出去的轿车。我说我最近没有查过，但是我相信具体数字应该在200辆左右。冯•金海姆说：“我很震惊，你居然不知道具体数字。卢茨先生，我告诉你，到今天早上为止，我们的存货有不多不少207辆轿车。”作为一个老板，打听到下属职责范围内的某个不起眼的信息，然后在其他人面前询问这个下属具体的数据或情况，来让下属们感到害怕，是一种非常不公平的伎俩。大家应该是共同努力促进收入和利润，老板这样做无益于健康的合作。

    这件事几乎立即引发了我与冯•金海姆的第一次不合。随着我和他的关系越来越紧张，我的反应也帮了倒忙。由于我觉得我没办法与他真诚地探讨我们的工作关系，我就把我的感受、焦虑和失望向我的下属和同事们倾诉。他们可能表面上对我表示同情，但是很可能我私下里对老板的很多负面评价最后都传到了冯•金海姆的耳朵里。毫无疑问，这些话让他感到担忧，可能甚至担心我在图谋搞“政变”。因此我们的关系进入了恶性循环，直到最后我接到了来自福特公司（Ford）的工作邀请。

    我本来决定恨他一辈子的，但是许多年过去了，我们倒是经常在一起吃饭。我竟然情不自禁地喜欢上了这个年纪更大、更睿智、更自信的冯•金海姆。以前的老同事告诉我，他变得更坦率，更喜欢分享，也不那么爱玩权术了。他是一个多好的CEO呢？一句话：不可思议。在他的任期内，宝马公司变成了全球三大豪车品牌之一。鉴于他为股东们创造的财富，这个集贵族和流氓气质于一身，靠秘密、恐惧、耍手腕和缺乏信任感统治团队的老板必须被列为汽车史上最成功的CEO之一。

BMW chairman 1970-93

    Lutz says: "Not always a delight to work under, he transformed BMW into a global luxury-car powerhouse."

Lutz grade: 297

    One day, in an executive meeting, von Kuenheim asked how many unsold coupes were still in company inventory. I said I hadn't checked recently but believed the number to be around 200. "I'm shocked that you don't know the exact number, Mr. Lutz," von Kuenheim said. "As of this morning we had precisely 207 in our stock." The technique of fishing some arcane bit of information out of a subordinate's area of responsibility and then, in front of others, asking him for precisely that number or fact, is a grossly unfair tactic used by bosses to keep their direct reports fearful. It does nothing for healthy cooperation among the individuals who are supposed to be collectively driving revenue and profit.

    My first disagreement with von Kuenheim surfaced almost immediately and, as tensions mounted, my reaction was counterproductive. Feeling frustrated by my inability to connect with him to honestly discuss our work relationship problems, I took to expressing my feelings and anxiety and frustration to my subordinates and colleagues. While they were sympathetic on the surface, it has to be assumed that much of my negative assessment of his leadership style went right back to von Kuenheim. It no doubt worried him, perhaps even caused him to fear that I was plotting to unseat him. Thus, our relationship was trapped in a circularly interactive downward spiral until I accepted an offer from Ford.

    I was determined to hate von Kuenheim for the rest of my life, but as the years passed, we often had dinner. I couldn't help liking the older, wiser, more self-confident von Kuenheim. Former colleagues told me he had become more open, more sharing, and less Machiavellian. How good a CEO was he? In a word: miraculous. During his tenure, BMW became one of the world's top three luxury brands. Thus, ruling by secrecy, fear, deft maneuvering, and a sorry lack of trust in his team, the aristocrat-cum-street fighter has to go down as one of the most successful automotive CEOs of all time, based on the wealth he created for shareholders."