GM Must Fail to Survive

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson Is Not a Car Guy

The new boss of GM has no auto industry experience and a knack for telling employees what they don’t want to hear. Does that make him the right leader to save the carmaker?

Akerson behind the wheel of a classic at the Chevrolet Centennial Parade in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Andrew Hetherington

Daniel F. Akerson, the chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors (GM), gave a speech to about 400 engineers and designers at the company’s technical center north of Detroit. It was a boilerplate, morale-boosting speech, generous with exhortations about work ethics and staying vigilant. Then came the Q&A session. One employee wanted to know: What kind of hours did Akerson expect them to put in at the office? Akerson answered with a family parable. He told the crowd he’d called his son’s office at 6:30 that morning and found him at his desk. Akerson informed his son, who does not work at GM, that he would call again in 12 hours and that he expected him to still be at work. The moral, as if anyone in the room needed an explanation: “Generous Motors” is gone, so get busy. Next question.