A classic car, an outlaw motorhead, and 57 years of the american dream. The car guys held sway, and gm dominated with bold, creative leadership and iconic brands like cadillac, buick. Crash course by paul ingrassia and patrick lawlor audiobook. Icons and idiots is a collection of shocking and often hilarious true stories and the lessons lutz drew from them. Icons and idiots is a collection of shocking and often hilarious true stories and the lessons lutz. If anyone wants to know exactly how the us auto industry got into trouble, here is your guide. Mixed into lutzs flow of blarney and halfbaked pontificating is one of the most acute books about management and how companies work in practice that i have read in a long time. Like in successful leadership, it isnt just education and intellect that matter. The battle for the soul of american business mp3 cd by bob.
Jul 07, 2011 now comes an encore in the lutz on lutz genrecar guys vs. Rbdigital audio pub library childrensyoung adult collection. This is the epic saga of the american automobile industrys rise and demise, a compelling story of hubris, denial, missed opportunities, and selfinflicted wounds that culminates with the president of the united states ushering two of detroits big three car companiesonce proud symbols of prosperitythrough bankruptcy. Listen to sam walton made in america by sam walton available from rakuten kobo. Norman dietz is a writer, an actor, and a solo performer. What made the experience of listening to car guys vs. Meet a genuine american folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of americas heartland. Its the power of will, focus, selfsacrifice, and dedication to a higher goal that can not only make scared teenagers perform brilliantly in combat but also. In his book, car guys versus bean counters, he chronicles the very wary gm. Bean counters makes the point that gm was doing fine until in the mid 1970s the mbatrained finance guys took control of product development from the. Bean counters makes the point that gm was doing fine until in the mid 1970s the mbatrained finance. Lutzs commonsense lessons with a generous helping of fascinating anecdotes will inspire readers at any company facing the bean counter analysisparalysis menace. Ceos knew that if you captured the publics imagination with great cars, the money would follow.
Most successful leaders are mentally and emotionally askew. Additionally, audiofile named norman one of the best voices of the century. Nytimes extended best seller list since publication in june. Very interesting book as bob lutz is well, bob good to know editor and he goes through the car business getting squeezed for profitability and how that ruined the soul of the car. But the most interesting revelation from anderssons interview was a direct repudiation of bob lutzs entire car guys vs bean counters narrative. One of the nations most eloquent and impassioned car nuts, paul. In 2001, general motors hired bob lutz out of retirement with a mandate to save the company by making great cars again. Icons and idiots audiobook by bob lutz rakuten kobo. Bob lutz wants to screw the bean counters who screwed the u.
The firstever romance fiction title presented on, chase around the world takes you on a wild ride alongside emerald harrison, an australian beauty who, after meeting the frenchaccented, intriguing and adventurous ace black, wakes up to realise that the life she has worked so hard for holds no interest see more. Bean counters is the best book written by an auto industry insider since iacocca in 1984 and deserves to be shelved alongside alfred pl sloans management classic, my years with general motors. Engines of change by paul ingrassia and sean runnette. From the assembly lines of henry ford to the open roads of route 66 and jack kerouac, americas history is a vehicular historyan idea brought brilliantly to life in this major work by the acclaimed author of crash course. In his book, car guys versus bean counters, he chronicles the very wary gm of 2001 through its first stillborn turnaround, its acquisition by the american and canadian governments and its new born success since 2009. He has also performed frequently on radio and television, and he has recorded over 150 audiobooks, many of which have earned him awards from audiofile magazine, the ala, and publishers weekly. Listen to unlimited audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. He launched a war against penny pinching, office politics, turf wars, and risk av. Jul 20, 2011 bob lutz in his recent book car guys vs. Bean counters by bob lutz, norman dietz for free with a 30 day free trial. Listen to icons and idiots straight talk on leadership by bob lutz available from rakuten kobo. Automotive leaders knew if you captured the publics imagination with innovative car design and top quality craftsmanship, the money would follow. Jul 26, 2011 in his book, car guys versus bean counters, he chronicles the very wary gm of 2001 through its first stillborn turnaround, its acquisition by the american and canadian governments and its new born success since 2009.
Bean counters is really supposed to be about is the ignominious descent of one of americas great corporations into chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and status as a. Last actual for fun book and not technology or programming related is probably car guys vs bean counters. The battle for the soul of american business reprint by bob lutz isbn. It might seem that a book written by a businessman about how to turn around a business would have little to say about design. The worlds largest library of business book summaries. The bean counters, with their metricsbased costcutting corporate culture approach, are left scratching their heads as customers run screaming from the shoddy gm cars theyve produced. Our rbdigital platform distributes the broadest array of. Now comes an encore in the lutz on lutz genrecar guys vs. Bob lutz author, norman dietz narrator, tantor audio publisher try audible free. Lutz built a career as a staunch opponent of bureaucracy and by placing the utmost importance on knowing the product as well as the customer. Download audiobooks written by bob lutz to your device. What was the most interesting aspect of this story.
Wh en bob lutz got into the auto business in the early 1960s, things were simpler. Our rbdigital platform distributes the broadest array of digital content typesincluding audiobooks, video, magazines, ebooks, education, and entertainmentall in one powerful app. Bob should keep his politics out and stop quoting the conservative republican sound bytes about how all. Theres often also a downside that makes them hard to understand or difficult to work for. Bean counters is the best book written by an auto industry insider since. He launched a war against penny pinching, office politics, turf wars, and. Bob lutz has written an important diagnostic book on the demise of general motors. Mg10again, this doesnt sound like lean to talk about things forever and not make a.
Its precisely that they are impatient, stubborn, opinionated, unsatisfied, and domineering that. Car guys versus bean counters general discussion car talk. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. He launched a war against penny pinching, office politics, turf wars, and risk. This was all competently taught by the nations business schools for decadesuntil they discovered what ill call the sense of academic inferiority and in successful leadership, it isnt just education and intellect that matter. Bob lutz held senior leadership positions at general motors, ford, chrysler, and bmw over nearly a halfcentury in the auto industry, culminating with his vice chairmanship of gm from 2001 to 2010. Audible provides the highest quality audio and narration. Sloans management classic, my years with general motors. With the bean counters firmly in charge, carmakers and much of american industry lost their singleminded focus on product excellence. Bean counters the battle for the soul of american business. From enduring the sadism of a marine corps drill instructor, to working with a washedup alcoholic.
Spanning a fortysevenyear career with the big three and bmw, and after retiring from chrysler in 1998, he was asked back into gm, serving as vice chairman from 2001 to 2010, during which time it had filed for bankruptcy. Aug 23, 2011 have mba bean counters destroyed american business. The battle for the soul of american business audible audio edition. Expand your business knowledge with summaries you can read in 10 minutes or less. When bob lutz retired from general motors in 2010 after an unparalleled fortysevenyear career in the auto industry, he was one of the most respected leaders in american business. A legend in the car industry reveals the philosophy thats starting to turn general motors around. Car guys vs bean counters by bob lutz ft business book.
I was very interested to learn bob lutzs point of view on events at general motors back to the sixties. Bean counters is the best book written by an auto industry insider since iacocca in 1984, and deserves to be shelved alongside alfred p. Dec 02, 2012 bob lutz has written an important diagnostic book on the demise of general motors. Ann arbor, mi robert lutz, general motors, car guys vs. Bean counters is a thoughtprovoking commentary from auto industry maven bob lutz. An excerpt from bob lutzs book car guys vs bean counters.
Bean counters succeeds in the moments that are focused on the dichotomy between the two main characters in this story. Bean counters contains all the pearls of wisdom i would expect to see from bob lutz. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Listen to thousands of best sellers and new releases on your iphone, ipad, or android. The battle for the soul of american business, and talk quickly turned to his role as it related to product development and highlevel decision making at gm. Bean counters is really supposed to be about is the ignominious descent of one of americas great corporations into chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and status as a ward of the. Center for automotive research from the precipitous demise of an american icon through decades of infighting and selfdestructive management to a turnaround not only financial but. The car guys held sway, and gm dominated with bold, creative leadership and iconic brands like cadillac, buick, pontiac, oldsmobile, gmc, and chevrolet. Car guys versus bean counters general discussion car. Autoline detroit recently played host to bob lutz, and, as is always the case, the former general motors vice chairman dished out some great commentary. Mitchell told the engineers, thats how the car should sound. Recorded books is the largest independent producer of audiobooks in the world. Bob lutzs unabashed perception of the auto industry were very inspiring and informative.
Mixed into lutzs flow of blarney and halfbaked pontificating is one of the most acute books about management. He had survived all kinds of managers over those decades. The battle for the soul of american business audiobook by bob lutz. Bean counters by bob lutz, 9781452652931, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.