On Jan. 21, 1988, a General Motors executive named Elmer Johnson wrote a brave and prophetic memo. Its main point was contained in this sentence: \u201cWe have vastly underestimated how deeply ingrained are the organizational and cultural rigidities that hamper our ability to execute.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
On Jan. 26, 2009, Rob Kleinbaum, a former G.M. employee and consultant, wrote his own memo. Kleinbaum\u2019s argument was eerily similar: \u201cIt is apparent that unless G.M.\u2019s culture is fundamentally changed, especially in North America, its true heart, G.M. will likely be back at the public trough again and again.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
These two memos, written by men devoted to the company, get to the heart of G.M.\u2019s problems. Bureaucratic restructuring won\u2019t fix the company. Clever financing schemes won\u2019t fix the company. G.M.\u2019s core problem is its corporate and workplace culture \u201d\u201d the unquantifiable but essential attitudes, mind-sets and relationship patterns that are passed down, year after year.<\/p>\n