Eyes, Ears, Heart, Mind & Soul

“With Chrysler LLC losing money and its market share plunging in the U.S., Chief Executive Robert Nardelli is tackling what he sees as the root cause of most of the auto maker's problems: its Old Detroit mind-set…

“‘The traditional way of running the company got us where we are now,’ Mr. Nardelli said in an interview last week. ‘So we're trying to break some of the old paradigms.’ …

“Mr. Nardelli has taken charge of re-evaluating some of Chrysler's traditional ways of doing business. The campaign for cultural change is ‘a big focus for Bob,’ said Nancy Rae, Chrysler's head of human resources...

“Mr. Nardelli doesn't have much time for his new ideas to sink in. Although he says Chrysler is hitting its financial targets, he acknowledges the company is chalking up losses and burning through cash...

“Nardelli's campaign started earlier this year with detailed assessments of the company's 300 leading executives, many done by Mr. Nardelli himself...

“One possible impediment to the campaign's success is Mr. Nardelli's brusque style, which hasn't always gone over well with Chrysler employees. While some embrace his new ideas, others brush them off as consultant-speak. Others say his determination to do away with established methods rubs some people the wrong way…

“Chrysler [recently] got a reminder of how much farther it still needs to go. J.D. Power & Associates… [released] a closely watched quality survey in which the company's three brands -- Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep -- all ranked below the industry average, and Jeep was dead last.

“Just before the survey was made public, Mr. Nardelli wrote a memo reminding employees to confront the company's problems. ‘Do not let anything override the priority to satisfy the customer,’ he wrote. ‘To win in a competitive market, We need to install a mind-set of never being satisfied with good enough.’”

(“Nardelli Tries to Shift Chrysler's Culture.” Neal E. Boudette. Wall Street Journal: June 18, 2008. pg. B.1)

MORE THAN A GENERATION has passed since the world changed with the first wave of the Japanese invasion. It took forty years in the wilderness for a generation of the children of Israel to pass in preparation to enter the Promised Land.

Can we change our selves, fight off our fears, and walk with new vision? Or will we continue to cling to the old dying comforts?

What is your choice?