Ford. Found On Road Dead?

Growing up I heard the occasional Chevy fan claim that FORD stood for Found On Road Dead.
Juvenile? Yes.
True? Today, sadly, it seems as if it might be.

So what happened at Ford? I'll leave the gory details and possible post-mortem for the analysts but I think it boils down to a fundamental unwillingness to change - coupled with an inbred fear of unions.

Unions served their purpose decades ago (see Norma Rae), but over the years they became tools of the union bosses to gain power and line their pockets. If you care to argue the point, take a look at the non-union US auto makers who are eating FORD's lunch. I'd be willing to bet that workers at the non-union Toyota plant are generally a pretty happy lot.

A bigger issue is the unwillingness to change. Would taking a stand against the unions years ago have hurt? Oh yes. Big time. Would it have hurt as much as what is about to come for FORD and it's rank and file - I doubt it.

The poor performance from 5 years ago didn't get any better by continuing to do the same things, the same way with the same business model. Expecting different results from the same behavior is the definition of insanity.

So, has anything changed in your industry in the last five years?
Of course. What industry hasn't.
Now, what have you done differently in response?

Gotcha there, huh.
Go ahead. Shake things up.

Regards,
Chief Show Officer
www.ShowOffCards.com
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Tags Unique Business Cards, FORD, Labor Unions, Change