Re: [Vo]:GM VP reveals his true feelings
A few tangential thoughts on the Lutz controversy. I would caution us all from arriving at too many stead-fast opinions as to the real motivations behind any individual without first questioning them face-to-face. We're all guilty of performing pop-psyche analysis on the motivations of others and, subsequently, performing extrapolations on that analysis as to how their underlying motivations are likely affecting the machinations of multi-million/billion dollar corporations for which they are in charge of running. I'm just as guilty as the rest for having performed these very transgressions. I don't know Lutz. I've never talked to him. I'm not in a position to analyze his motivations publicly. One of the few bits of wisdom I've seem to have acquired as I've gotten older is a realization that the vast majority personal opinions I've stuffed into my wet-wear are just that: personal opinions. I think I became slightly wiser one fateful day (a day that unfortunately only seems to have been recently) when I came to the astonishing revelation as to what do any of my personal opinions have anything to do with what's really going on in the world. All I really know is what's going on in my little world, and even then, I'm not so sure about that. But that's ok. Having personal opinions about this and that subject did not seem to make me any more of a productive intelligent human being. Possessing opinions inevitably caused me to consume huge amounts of personal resources and energy in the task of defending all those personal opinions I had acquired because sooner or later I would come up against some dumb jerk who didn't agree with my personal opinions, and then it was off to the races again. Granted, there are many of us who live for the thrill of the race, and the stadiums always seem to be full of spectators. But for me, all it seemed to do was make me more opinionated. OTOH, has anyone spoken to Mrs. Lutz recently? ;-) Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.Zazzoe.com/orionworks
Re: [Vo]:GM VP reveals his true feelings
OrionWorks wrote: A few tangential thoughts on the Lutz controversy. I would caution us all from arriving at too many stead-fast opinions as to the real motivations behind any individual without first questioning them face-to-face. I don't need to question the man. I can read his blog. I assume he means what he says, and it seems clear to me that his beliefs explain why GM is in such a mess. The other managers there must agree with him, or they would fire him. Plus I have read a great deal about the industry, such as the book High and Mighty. Plus anyone can see that GM is not serious about hybrid cars. The Prius has been sold for 10 years, and it took 5 or 10 years to develop. GM is ~20 years behind, they have not sold a single hybrid car. Obviously they have no interest in them! No corporation that wants to develop a product sits on the sidelines doing nothing for 20 years. We're all guilty of performing pop-psyche analysis on the motivations of others and, subsequently, performing extrapolations on that analysis as to how their underlying motivations are likely affecting the machinations of multi-million/billion dollar corporations for which they are in charge of running. I do not think I engaged in pop-psyche analysis. Assertions that concept cars are mainly intended as public-relations stunts can be found in many books and articles about the auto industry. It is common knowledge. Anyone can see that GM is on the verge of extinction, and management is at fault. Look at their stock price, and the fact that they have offered a buy out to every single remaining employee. This is de facto liquidation. You can see from the statements in Lutz's blog and in the history described in High and Mighty how they got into this pickle. It is no mystery, and not an unusual occurrence. IBM almost self-destructed in the 1980s for reasons similar to GM: the managers did not know much about the computer business and had no idea what the customers wanted. This is described in many books, such as P. Carroll, Big Blues. Large, dysfunctional, overconfident institutions often destroy themselves. That is why only a handful of corporations are older than a century, and why political parties that remain in power too long become rife with corruption and incompetence. The reasons and dynamics of destruction are described in the book Parkinson's Law which is a 140-page gem. Along the same lines, it is no mystery how and why organizations such as the DoE, Nature and the APS got themselves out on a limb in opposition to cold fusion. Every step of the process is well documented. There is no chance they will change course as long as the people who made the original mistakes and jumped to the wrong conclusion remain in power. History has many examples of large armies being defeated by small ones, such as the American Revolution and the Vietnam war. These and other examples are described in the book March of Folly. It shows how big institutions tend to make drastic errors that are apparent to many people at the time, and yet they continue to make them until they self destruct. - Jed
RE: [Vo]:GM VP reveals his true feelings
Anyone can see that GM is on the verge of extinction, and management is at fault. Look at their stock price, and the fact that they have offered a buy out to every single remaining employee. This is de facto liquidation. GM and Detroit in general cannot build small fuel efficient cars at a profit. Toyota and others are smart enough to build assembly plants in conservative, white - and often Southern communities, away from urban problems and hire YOUNG MEN to work, so as to avoid health care and pension costs. Even Lee Iacocca groused about this situation. Competition has forced native automakers to offer buyouts to shed expensive workers. I can't blame unions for wanting benefits, nor management for trying to survive. We need a better health care and pension system to remove a huge competitive disadvantage. New ideas alone are a waste of time because such can be easily copied by foreign companies - and sadly, at less cost.
Re: [Vo]:GM VP reveals his true feelings
Jed I learned some time ago that when I go to the races it's a good betting strategy to wager that your opinions will make a place. PS: Some interesting thoughts from Chris as well Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
Re: [Vo]:GM VP reveals his true feelings
OrionWorks wrote: I learned some time ago that when I go to the races it's a good betting strategy to wager that your opinions will make a place. These are not my opinions. That's why I cited all those books. These are facts, teh opinions of experts, and observations such as the fact that GM sells no hybrid cars, even though their arch-rival Toyota has sold a million of them. That is an extraordinary fact, nearly unprecedented in the annals of commerce. Historians often wonder how the early 19th century gap between industrialized England and the undeveloped U.S. came about. The two countries had the same language and traditions, but for a long time the U.S. lagged, and purchased technology from England. It seems puzzling. Yet that gap was not 20-years wide. Serious steam railroad construction began in the 1830s and 40s. (1829, Liverpool Manchester RR.) In 1830 there were no railroads in the U.S., but the boom was beginning. The first rails and locomotives were imported from Britain. U.S. manufacturers such as Rogers began building locomotives, and quickly surpassed the British. By August 1860 Rogers had shipped 946 locomotives, and competing firms had shipped hundreds more. The U.S. had more railroad track then the rest of the world combined. What has happened with GM today is analogous to an imaginary situation in which, by 1850, 20 years into the railroad revolution, the U.S. had imported thousands of locomotives and not manufactured a single one. - Jed
[Vo]:Nuke causes massive power outage
This is unusual. These things are highly reliable. Nuclear Plant Shutdown Causes Massive Florida Power Outages February 26, 2008: 05:23 PM EST MIAMI (AP)--A problem with the electrical grid in Florida caused power outages stretching from Miami up almost to Jacksonville that affected as many as 3 million people Tuesday and caused a nuclear plant to automatically shut down, officials with the state's largest utility said. . . .
Re: [Vo]:GM VP reveals his true feelings
Historical facts concerning the birth pangs of our country's railroad system, and the comparisons alluded to in the current auto industrial situation are indeed interesting. These are facts worth knowing and pondering over since we may soon witness history repeating itself on a similar issue - regrettably. With that said, describing Mr. Lutz's at the beginning of this particular discussion thread as an individual who does not seem to know when he should have apologized for previous statements made, and then not shutting up is: an opinion. Stating that Lutz Co. really haven't the slightest interest in the environmental cause is an expressed opinion as well, even if a lot of the facts given to back up that opinion are, to say the least, damning. That is why I stated previously if Lutz Co. continue to do what he claims GM is planning on doing, I personally don't care what his personal opinions might be. Perhaps the real question we should be asking ourselves is: Will Lutz Co. keep their word in spite of what their true opinions might be. Or will they allow their real opinion of the situation to continue driving a stake into their coffins. The cited facts were far more interesting. thanks for sharing them Jed. I learn a lot from your historical knowledge. With that said, I suspect I'm in general agreement with many of the opinions that have been expressed in this thread. But that's just my opinion. ;-) Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
Re: [Vo]:Nuke causes massive power outage
Jed, you got this wrong. The power outage was caused by a fault at a substation, which disturbed the network and pieces of it disconnected to prevent damage to eqluipment. The nuclear plant connected to the grid was also vulnerable, so it disonnected and shut down it reactor for safety. The nuclear plant *did not cause the shutdown*. The power grid is a huge amount of alternating current surging back and forth. Every connected generator has to operate in synchrony or risk spectacular destruction. Thus disconect or die. This is inherent in the system and is carefully managed. Someday there may be coordinated distributed generators, but that is decades away. Mike Carrell - Original Message - From: Jed Rothwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: vortex-L@eskimo.com Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 6:21 PM Subject: [Vo]:Nuke causes massive power outage This is unusual. These things are highly reliable. Nuclear Plant Shutdown Causes Massive Florida Power Outages February 26, 2008: 05:23 PM EST MIAMI (AP)--A problem with the electrical grid in Florida caused power outages stretching from Miami up almost to Jacksonville that affected as many as 3 million people Tuesday and caused a nuclear plant to automatically shut down, officials with the state's largest utility said. . . . This Email has been scanned for all viruses by Medford Leas I.T. Department.
