By:Christina Rogers
Source:http://detnews.com
Mary Barra, General Motors Co.'s product chief, has little patience for needless impediments.
Her first week on the job, she took one look at all the layers of security doors standing between her office and the engineering staff, and knew immediately they had to go.
"We were creating a barrier that didn't need to be there," said Barra, sitting in her ground-floor office at GM's Technical Center in Warren.
"To me, getting rid of the extra card swipes was like 'Hey, we're part of a team, we should all be accessible.'"
The security doors are now gone, but Barra — named head of global product development at GM in February — continues to knock down barriers and subvert convention in efforts to shake up GM's staid corporate culture in the place where it counts most: the company's laboratory for new cars and trucks.
Less than a year on the job, she's eliminated an entire layer of engineering management, brought marketing execs into the product design fold and is working to liven up GM's in-car entertainment. "The back seat is a whole new ballgame," Barra said, on this last point.
She's working to simplify GM's vast global operations, as well as get GM leaders to make decisions quickly and then stick with them.
"We're not going to do this up-and-down investment," Barra said, in an hour-long interview with The Detroit News.
"We're going to say 'These are the key products'" she said.
"Let's set up the organization to execute them."
As product chief, Barra's job is among the most important at GM.
She manages 36,000 engineers and designers worldwide. The cars and trucks designed under her watch — those likely to hit showrooms over the next three to four years — will largely determine whether GM sustains its still fragile turnaround.
"They have to keep the hits coming," said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with Edmunds.com.
"Because the competition isn't letting up, the company with the best product wins."
The world's largest automaker faces other challenges as well. It's about a year behind on its timetable for new car and truck launches, meaning some models are starting to look dated on dealer lots.
The company is trying to bring consistency to its engineering budget and insulate it against market swings. Prior to bankruptcy, GM was losing about $1 billion annually by starting new vehicle projects in good times, only to stop them when the market turned bad. It's an approach Barra likened to a "roller coaster."
Adding to this challenge are new federal fuel regulations, which could require automakers to boost fuel economy of their lineups to an average of 54.4 mpg. That's about double what it is now.
Given this, Barra has no time for the old GM's plodding culture.
"I'm not tolerating it," she said tersely.
Under her leadership, 50-page PowerPoint presentations are banished and engineers are expected to arrive at meetings having reviewed the necessary material.
Source:: http://detnews.com/article/20111115/AUTO01/111150325/GM-product-chief-knocks-down-barriers#ixzz1dlKaZZz1
Source:http://detnews.com
Mary Barra, General Motors Co.'s product chief, has little patience for needless impediments.
Her first week on the job, she took one look at all the layers of security doors standing between her office and the engineering staff, and knew immediately they had to go.
"We were creating a barrier that didn't need to be there," said Barra, sitting in her ground-floor office at GM's Technical Center in Warren.
"To me, getting rid of the extra card swipes was like 'Hey, we're part of a team, we should all be accessible.'"
The security doors are now gone, but Barra — named head of global product development at GM in February — continues to knock down barriers and subvert convention in efforts to shake up GM's staid corporate culture in the place where it counts most: the company's laboratory for new cars and trucks.
Less than a year on the job, she's eliminated an entire layer of engineering management, brought marketing execs into the product design fold and is working to liven up GM's in-car entertainment. "The back seat is a whole new ballgame," Barra said, on this last point.
She's working to simplify GM's vast global operations, as well as get GM leaders to make decisions quickly and then stick with them.
"We're not going to do this up-and-down investment," Barra said, in an hour-long interview with The Detroit News.
"We're going to say 'These are the key products'" she said.
"Let's set up the organization to execute them."
As product chief, Barra's job is among the most important at GM.
She manages 36,000 engineers and designers worldwide. The cars and trucks designed under her watch — those likely to hit showrooms over the next three to four years — will largely determine whether GM sustains its still fragile turnaround.
"They have to keep the hits coming," said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with Edmunds.com.
"Because the competition isn't letting up, the company with the best product wins."
The world's largest automaker faces other challenges as well. It's about a year behind on its timetable for new car and truck launches, meaning some models are starting to look dated on dealer lots.
The company is trying to bring consistency to its engineering budget and insulate it against market swings. Prior to bankruptcy, GM was losing about $1 billion annually by starting new vehicle projects in good times, only to stop them when the market turned bad. It's an approach Barra likened to a "roller coaster."
Adding to this challenge are new federal fuel regulations, which could require automakers to boost fuel economy of their lineups to an average of 54.4 mpg. That's about double what it is now.
Given this, Barra has no time for the old GM's plodding culture.
"I'm not tolerating it," she said tersely.
Under her leadership, 50-page PowerPoint presentations are banished and engineers are expected to arrive at meetings having reviewed the necessary material.
Source:: http://detnews.com/article/20111115/AUTO01/111150325/GM-product-chief-knocks-down-barriers#ixzz1dlKaZZz1
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