-I would see if I could get someone working inside Honda or Toyota just to take in what the corporate culture was. They've done lots of things right and now isn't the time to be arrogant.
-I would take the time to figure out what the average person wants to drive. Just because I make lots of cars doesn't mean people want to drive them.
-I would actually DRIVE what the average person wants to drive and travel how the average business person travels. Taking corporate jets right now just shows how far out of touch these guys are.
-When asking for money, be polite and courteous. The UAW has completely antagonized everyone whenever they talk. Yes it's the government giving the money but it's the taxpayer that's paying it. Being protectionistic and conceited at this point is the only thing killing them faster than making cars that have 10 mpg.
A business is simple. Find something that people really want and sell it for more than you pay for it. In order to do that, set a fair wage for the ground level worker (NOT $70 an hour) and keep bureaucracy to a minimum. Pay well but comparable. Making 35 million a year and having big payout bonusses when your competition is 100x more successful and making 10% what you make isn't going to work no matter what the business.
Time to move on North America. Yes, we will lose a lot of jobs and the economy will tank big time in the short term. But pouring 100 million into an industry that is doomed to fail is only going to make it worse. If the big 3 fail now, Toyota and Honda will buy these plants up and produce more here creating the jobs we're talking about. And it will invite others to come and do the same - built on a plan that lasts. In the long term, we have more jobs and an industry that needs to look forward and not backwards. It's a win/win for everyone - including the taxpayer that wants accountability for their hard earned tax dollars and the front line worker that really just wants some job security and not being laid off every other month.
I guess it isn't really EVERYONE that wins...the 10 executives that make in excess of 40 million a year might retire since they realize that for 99.999% of the population, they will never see in their lifetime what they make in a week. And the unions won't like it because they'll lose their ability to be entitled to everything just because they have a big membership.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
adversity
Whenever it snows, I get the incurable urge to go driving around on the roads. I'm not sure why - something to prove maybe - or just because it's a challenge that's kinda fun. Driving in the snow in our new 4WD made me especially eager this morning. When I was on the road, I observed a few things:
-people in Victoria don't know how to drive in the snow. This is well documented so I won't elaborate much but people - seriously - flooring the gas when you have no traction means nothing. You make ice under your tires if you're stopped and if you're moving, it means you'll lose control.
-a note to pedestrians - if you see a car spinning its tires, get the $%^$#$ out of the way! Don't stand there with a smile on your face looking up the hill to check it out. I saw at least two pedestrians stop dead in their tracks while checking out the spinning out car.
-shopping. Best day to shop by far, was today. I was actually walked around Walmart by two employees to help me find my stuff. When I was done, I had 5 empty cashiers willing to serve me. Snow at Christmas time = lots of employees, no shoppers.
What was kinda cool though was that I noticed how much friendlier people are when there's snow outside. Logic says we should be grumpier - we travel even slower than our usual road raging selves and there's no rhyme or reason to traffic patterns and the roads are not clearly marked AT ALL. On a sunny day, if any of those things happened, we'd be fuming. But on snowy days, we're okay with it. Not only that, people stop to help others. Most people stop if there's a car on the side of the road or stuck somewhere. People will lend shovels or lend a hand where needed.
I remember the big snowfall of 96. People in Victoria will forever remember and talk about that. It's as big of an event as Victoria will ever have. I had lived in the same house for 14 years and hardly knew my neighbors. But after that big snowfall, I'd met most of them - been invited for drinks and shared a laugh. And because of losing power for that full day and a bit, my family had to learn to play board games and talk again.
So it kinda makes me wonder. Why would any of us want sunny days?
-people in Victoria don't know how to drive in the snow. This is well documented so I won't elaborate much but people - seriously - flooring the gas when you have no traction means nothing. You make ice under your tires if you're stopped and if you're moving, it means you'll lose control.
-a note to pedestrians - if you see a car spinning its tires, get the $%^$#$ out of the way! Don't stand there with a smile on your face looking up the hill to check it out. I saw at least two pedestrians stop dead in their tracks while checking out the spinning out car.
-shopping. Best day to shop by far, was today. I was actually walked around Walmart by two employees to help me find my stuff. When I was done, I had 5 empty cashiers willing to serve me. Snow at Christmas time = lots of employees, no shoppers.
What was kinda cool though was that I noticed how much friendlier people are when there's snow outside. Logic says we should be grumpier - we travel even slower than our usual road raging selves and there's no rhyme or reason to traffic patterns and the roads are not clearly marked AT ALL. On a sunny day, if any of those things happened, we'd be fuming. But on snowy days, we're okay with it. Not only that, people stop to help others. Most people stop if there's a car on the side of the road or stuck somewhere. People will lend shovels or lend a hand where needed.
I remember the big snowfall of 96. People in Victoria will forever remember and talk about that. It's as big of an event as Victoria will ever have. I had lived in the same house for 14 years and hardly knew my neighbors. But after that big snowfall, I'd met most of them - been invited for drinks and shared a laugh. And because of losing power for that full day and a bit, my family had to learn to play board games and talk again.
So it kinda makes me wonder. Why would any of us want sunny days?
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