What is wrong with the Detroit automakers?
I believe that the US auto makers have been stuck in active inertia for years. There problem is that management has lacked the courage to lead a successful transformation. That reluctance is easy to understand. Transforming an organization is a messy and complicated, that takes place in three stages. In the first step, a leader selects an anchor. The anchor is what the manager commits to-a new strategic frame, process improvement, renewing the company’s resource base, stretching relationships with external parties, or novel values. Different anchors have advantages and limitations as levers to pull an organization from active inertia. Anchors provide and overarching objective to prioritize actions that keep managers from trying to change everything all at once. In the second step, a manager secures the anchor with transforming commitments-actions such as capital spending, public promises, or personnel decisions. In the final step, the manager realigns the organization’s remaining frame
