通用汽车女掌门的当务之急

    商界和汽车业界对即将上任的通用汽车（GM）新任首席执行官玛丽•芭拉女性身份的热议将很快降温，随之而来的，是对其她在重振通用汽车辉煌的道路上所需要展现的领导才能。

    成长于密歇根州东南部的玛丽•芭拉是通用汽车公司一手培养起来的人才，资历颇深，作为公司高管的她还展现出了出色的管理技能和履历。这种经历不但对她出任首席执行官来说至关重要，而且也成为了一种优势。她清楚地知道，通用汽车公司过于墨守成规，不思进取地固守着过往成功经验：至少到上世纪90年代，通用汽车公司还是全球最大也是最有影响力的公司。如若此，她或许也给通用汽车公司带来必要的改革。

    玛丽•芭拉入职通用汽车之初，这家公司几乎没有犯错，但也因此过于盲目自信于以往的成功，结果直接导致后来陷入经营困顿，最终在2009年宣布破产。可以佐证的一个例子是，上世纪80年代，通用汽车的高管们对一家名为丰田汽车（Toyota）的日本小公司不屑一顾，而当丰田宣布推出一款名为雷克萨斯的豪华品牌时，他们更是对此极尽嘲笑之能事。如今，丹•埃克森则明智地要求公司管理层不可小视埃隆•穆斯克和他旗下的特斯拉汽车（Tesla）。

    另一个不思进取的例子是，通用汽车当年还会时不时地与全美汽车工人联合会交恶，因此付出了经营业务受损的惨痛代价。

    玛丽•芭拉绝对不能忽视劳工关系问题。的确，通用汽车在2008年的破产倒闭和美国政府的援助一度缓和了工会的要求并平息了罢工潮。但到2015年新一轮劳资谈判开始之时，工会是否还会考虑通用汽车公司的长远利益？玛丽•芭拉必须想办法解决通用汽车公司背负的高达700亿美元的养老金成本，这个包袱比通用汽车的市值还要高出200亿美元。

    欧洲市场将会成为通用汽车公司的利润增长点，因此玛丽•芭拉必须在欧洲实施新的策略。毫无疑问，芭拉已经意识到，任何闪失——比如过去15年累计亏损180亿美元的失误——都会给整个公司带来致命的打击。通用汽车是否应该像破产之后所盘算的那样，卖掉欧宝品牌？是否应该找一个比标致汽车公司（Peugeot）更靠谱的合作伙伴？如今的标致汽车疲软不振，极度需要现金。通用汽车曾在2006年拒绝了雷诺汽车（Renault）伸出的合作橄榄枝，或许应该算是明智之举。芭拉也许应该在欧洲物色一个更为稳健出色的合作伙伴，帮助通用汽车在欧洲市场上站稳脚跟。

    出色的领导力可以力挽企业于狂澜之中。艾伦•穆拉利执掌福特汽车（Ford）8年，成功地把这家公司带出了危局，走上了正轨，如今已经被奉为经典案例。当时，穆拉利意识到福特公司高管之间出现内讧，他设法将之平息，还阻止了争强好胜的福特高管们将公司旗下知名的品牌——福特金牛座束之高阁。自1999年起，卡洛斯•戈恩带领日产汽车公司（Nissan）取得了令人瞩目的复兴，在公司中率先打破了被日本企业奉为金科玉律的“按资历晋升”的传统。在这两个案例中，新的领导者都是通过新颖且大胆的方式解决了似乎无解的企业难题。

    毫无疑问，芭拉处处都能感知到通用汽车辉煌的传统、历史以及传承。但如果她要为通用汽车脚踏实地地制定新的战略、方案以及人才规划，则需要将过去的一切辉煌都抛诸脑后。

    曾经有些人忧虑女性受到了不公平地对待、无法进入董事会。玛丽•芭拉的女性身份对这些人来说意义重大。但涉及到能否在通用汽车公司首席执行官的新岗位上展现出出色的领导才能这个问题，性别就变得无关紧要了。（财富中文网）

    译者：唐昕昕

    The business world and auto industry will soon get over their fascination with incoming GM CEO Mary Barra's gender and pay attention to the leadership she must impart on General Motors and its efforts at revitalization.

    The fact that Barra is a GM (GM) lifer who grew up in southeast Michigan, the product of a GM family, is a critically important part of her resume, along with her obvious skills and record as an executive. That aspect could be an advantage, provided she recognizes that GM has been a hidebound place, too reliant on the habits that made it, until the 1990s, the world's biggest and most impressive company. If so, she could deliver necessary change.

    The GM of her youth could do very little wrong and thus was blinded by its success, which led to an acceptance of the status quo and ultimately, in 2009, to its failure. An example: GM executives of the 1980s snickered at a little outfit from Japan named Toyota (TM). They were stricken with hilarity when Toyota announced it would sell luxury vehicles under the Lexus brand. Dan Akerson correctly showed his fellow executives that they better not take Elon Musk or Tesla (TSLA) lightly.

    Another example of status quo thinking: GM more or less has accepted occasional flare-ups with the United Auto Workers union as the price of doing business.

    Barra can't afford to ignore labor relations. True, the financial collapse of 2008 and the bailout by the U.S. served to moderate union demands and quieted calls for work stoppages. Will the union worry about GM's long-term health in the next labor negotiations in 2015? Specifically, Barra must find a way to resolve GM's current pension obligation to the UAW, which is about $70 billion, $20 billion more than GM's market capitalization.

    GM needs a new strategy in Europe, one that will turn a profit. No doubt, Barra realizes that another streak like the $18 billion in losses over the past 15 years could sink the company. Should GM consider selling Opel, as it had planned after the bankruptcy? Should it find a better partner than Peugeot, which is weak and starved of capital? GM turned down a chance in 2006 to join forces with Renault, probably for reasons of pride. Maybe Barra can find a brilliant partnership in Europe that will help GM gain a sustainable foothold there.

    Turnarounds can happen under brilliant leadership. Alan Mulally's stewardship of Ford (F) over nearly eight years has become a model for how to heal a troubled organization and get it back on track. He recognized that Ford executives were undermining one another and put a stop to it. He prevented overachieving Ford execs from shelving Taurus, one of the company's most recognized brands. And Carlos Ghosn led a spectacularly successful resurgence at Nissan, starting in 1999. Ghosn had to put an end to corporate practices such as promotion by seniority, which was sacrosanct in Japan. In both cases, the new leaders applied a fresh, bold perspective to address seemingly intractable business problems.

    No doubt, Barra is reminded at every turn of the wonderful traditions, history, and heritage of GM. She will have to try to put them out of her mind as she searches for strategies and solutions -- as well as talented individuals -- to put GM on a solid footing.

    Her gender will matter a great deal to those who worry about women being unfairly excluded from the corporate suite. Her gender will matter little as it relates to the leadership chops she displays in her new job.