It may be premature to know whether we are in the midst of an economic revolution. But if American industries are to not only survive, but grow and prosper, a revolution in management is what is required.
We saw what may be a reflection of revolutionary change with the creation of Dell's new website. Now, Ford weighs in with their own.
The Ford site seems to have as one of its goals a slicker, more polished look than Dell or the prototypical MSDN Channel9. But the concept is the same. That is, pull back the corporate curtains and begin a conversation with your customers. When they respond, and they will if for no other reason that it will be novel to them, not only must the company listen, it must quickly act on what it hears.
Towards that end, Ford is using well edited videos (unfortunately, either our connection or their server is flaky because I'm having problems with downloading) and thoughtfully written opinion pieces.
The first video is titled "Change or Die" (if this sounds familiar it's because I used the same title for my post on Dell). Part of the opening segment are the following: "It's about innovation. It's about moving forward." The video tries to make the case that Ford began that way and such qualities, it infers, are part of its very DNA. So, don't give up on them. They "get" it. And yet. Do they?
I don't know. I do know I may never buy a Ford because the quality of design, manufacturer, and service does not appear to be up to Japanese standards. I drive a Toyota Corolla. This is not an expensive car. It is easy to build good expensive cars. Americans do it. Europeans do it. Asians do it. But to build a good inexpensive car takes the successful execution of the three things at the start of this paragraph. Each of these things are under the control of management. Does Ford's management understand this and, more importantly, put it into action?
Time will tell. But at least the conversation has started.
Aloha!
