How did a major corporation manage to turn itself around while Wall Street and others continued to predict its slow death? The answer may surprise you, and it provides a model for corporate transformation for any company or government agency operating in a world of accelerating change. The company is General Motors, and this book tells how it was able to change the way important decisions were made, leading to resurgence in business across its many product lines. At the beginning of the 1990s, GM was perceived by nearly everyone as falling behind its competitors at an alarming rate. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, though, the company had come storming back with successful new automobiles and new business concepts that captured new markets, while simultaneously holding on to many of its existing customers. What GM did is not just the story of a single automaker, but rather a compelling insight into an approach for any business organization that is faced with the
need for a true transformation. As many companies have discovered, efforts at transformation too often fail. GM's successful transformation illustrates the importance of management's ability to change its mindset and make the tough decisions that revitalize business with bold new products and business concepts. At the heart of successful transformation is the imagination, courage and leadership required to visualize the kind of company an organization wants to become and then work toward that goal. With the destination set and understood by those who will need to implement the changes, decision-makers find it less difficult to overcome impediments to achieving their goal while finding creative ways of doing what may seem impossible. The lessons from GMs turnaround can help any business organization change and keep pace with today's turbulent marketplace.
Industry Reviews
"This book makes clear the successful journey to transformation does not start with the departure, it starts with the destination."--Peter Drucker
"Surviving Transformation is an excellent study of the real issues associated with transforming organizations. Standing on the shoulders of his mentors-Russ Ackoff and Peter Drucker-Barabba takes us to new heights in understanding how to successfully lead business transformation. Surviving Transformation elegantly weaves theory with the practical examples of GM's successful transformation as it prepared to compete in the 21st century." --J. Bruce
Harreld, Senior Vice President of Strategy, IBM
"Barabba provides an in-depth examination of General Motors's transformation under challenging conditions, but the lessons are universal and will be recognized by every business executive competing in today's global markets." --Gary Bridge, Vice President, Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco
"Vince Barabba's masterful book destroys the facile distinction 'academic vs. practitioner.' He is more theoretical and reflective than most academics, and more practical and thoughtful than most practitioners. Surviving Transformation is the best blend of theory and practice that I have encountered. It should be read by every business manager and executive. It might just revolutionize the concept of management." --Ian Mitroff, Harold Quinton
Distinguished Professor of Business Policy, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
"I saw GM from 30,000 feet, and never understood enough about what was happening under the hood. Surviving Transformation explains for me how it came back from the brink. It was not easy to turn a battleship in a narrow stream of molasses." --Ira M. Millstein, Senior Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Corporate Governance
"This book is about transformation. It tackles transformation from a unique angle. It is not about restructuring and performance evaluation or training programs: it demonstrates that by changing selectively how we do business-by changing our interactions with customers, by changing the way we formulate problems internally, and by changing the ways we imagine a future-we can make a difference."--C.K. Prahalad, Foreword to Surviving Transformation
"This book makes clear the successful journey to transformation does not start with the departure, it starts with the destination."--Peter Drucker
"Surviving Transformation is an excellent study of the real issues associated with transforming organizations. Standing on the shoulders of his mentors-Russ Ackoff and Peter Drucker-Barabba takes us to new heights in understanding how to successfully lead business transformation. Surviving Transformation elegantly weaves theory with the practical examples of GM's successful transformation as it prepared to compete in the 21st century." --J. Bruce
Harreld, Senior Vice President of Strategy, IBM
"Barabba provides an in-depth examination of General Motors's transformation under challenging conditions, but the lessons are universal and will be recognized by every business executive competing in today's global markets." --Gary Bridge, Vice President, Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco
"Vince Barabba's masterful book destroys the facile distinction 'academic vs. practitioner.' He is more theoretical and reflective than most academics, and more practical and thoughtful than most practitioners. Surviving Transformation is the best blend of theory and practice that I have encountered. It should be read by every business manager and executive. It might just revolutionize the concept of management." --Ian Mitroff, Harold Quinton
Distinguished Professor of Business Policy, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
"I saw GM from 30,000 feet, and never understood enough about what was happening under the hood. Surviving Transformation explains for me how it came back from the brink. It was not easy to turn a battleship in a narrow stream of molasses." --Ira M. Millstein, Senior Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Corporate Governance
"This book is about transformation. It tackles transformation from a unique angle. It is not about restructuring and performance evaluation or training programs: it demonstrates that by changing selectively how we do business-by changing our interactions with customers, by changing the way we formulate problems internally, and by changing the ways we imagine a future-we can make a difference." --C.K. Prahalad, Foreword to Surviving Transformation
