Time for Spring Cleaning at Your Company?

I love my GMC Yukon XL. Easy to drive, roomy, the dog loves it, and pound for pound, not bad on fuel mileage either. I also love my ‘57 Chevrolet Bel Air – and I hope I can get it put back together some day. Check it out…

I’d love to own one of those new 2010 Chevrolet Camaros…might help extend my midlife crisis. And the Cadillac CTS – what a great car! But don’t ask me to buy a Chevrolet Cobalt. Not going to happen. If I need a small car (and I do), I will probably buy a Honda Accord or Civic.  Honda really knows how to build a great small car.  They last forever, and rarely break.  Nothing against people who have purchased a Chevrolet Cobalt – but it just isn’t the first small car that I would consider buying.  I just know that Honda builds a high quality, fuel efficient small car.

What does this have to do with Productivity?  A lot.  I think it is very important to do what you are very good at, and keep getting better at it.  Forget the rest.  Why are we forcing GM to build small, fuel efficient cars?  Can’t we let them build the big cars and trucks, and leave the smaller cars to the experienced like Honda, or the new upcomers like Tata Motors in China?  GM actually makes money selling those big cars and trucks, and loses money on the small ones.

Consider that we are a global market, and that so much of the components and technology is made right here in the USA anyway.  What I’m suggesting does not mean our auto industry will shrink any.  It just means that Toyota or Tata or Honda might sell more units than GM, since they are making cars for the masses.  But GM can own a very big share of the truck and luxury vehicles market – where they actually know how to make money.

So, what is it that your company is really good at?  Got any losers you need to unload?  This is a great time to do just that – a little spring cleaning will improve your bottom line.