This morning, thanks to my Google Reader, I landed on an editorial story by Ed Wallace of Business Week Online. You can read the story HERE. Ed writes from an insider’s perspective about the reasons for the fall of General Motors. His insight is of a company who faced problems of arrogance and indifference, failing to meet the changing needs of its consumers. He saw a company that allowed the quality of their product to suffer while refusing to listen to concerns of insiders who were suggesting improvements.
I obviously have no personal insight into General Motors and their demise. Mr. Wallace is one man with an opinion, although certainly far closer to the issue than most of us, with his 10 years working for the company. I wonder, however, if there are lessons for all organizations in his story and General Motor’s current predicament. Is there something here from which we can learn?
Could there be similarities in Wallace’s description of GM’s major problems from his perspective, with other organizations in trouble, such as maybe some churches and denominations today? Could arrogance, failure to accept change and failure to recognize the needs of their constituents be causing injury to the organization of the church? Is there room for improvement in the quality of the product churches use to tell the world about the unchanging message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
I think we must ask ourselves tough questions, unless we are too proud to admit our own mistakes.
What are your thoughts? Do you see common lessons to be learned from General Motors with your organization?
