????自從30年代前輪驅動時代到來后，通用汽車公司一直深受一個壞習慣所害，就是必須按時、按預算地進行新車型的設計制造工作。而芭拉作為產品研發部門的負責人也正在努力糾正這個缺點。在這一點上，通用遠遠地落在了競爭對手的后頭。大眾集團巧妙地將各個不同品牌的元件重新利用，福特公司則將統一的設計在多個市場銷售，而通用汽車的全球產品只有61%基于共同的核心架構生產。通用汽車總是努力想把成本擠壓在可控范圍內，在產品收關階段避免昂貴的變動，并且盡量從緊張的預算中壓榨出最大的價值。最近的例子是在芭拉到產品研發部門上任之前，由于通用公司急著把2013款邁瑞寶轎車提供給經銷商，因此通用汽車給這款新車配了一個老式的輕度混合動力系統，影響了這款車型的銷量。

????芭拉當前最重要的任務是消除重大意外因素，也就是變動、推遲、甚至取消發布新車型。芭拉指出，這些因素在2006年至2009年間導致通用汽車平均每年損失10億美元。不少新車項目要么被推遲，要么被叫停，有的甚至從頭再來——這是一種代價高昂而且破壞性很大的做法。材料和資本成本持續上升，設計工作量時常波動，造成了低效和返工。科技創新十分零散，進一步推高了成本。車型發布推遲意味著老款車型還要銷售更長的時間，導致必須推出更大的優惠才能刺激人們購車，同時也降低了出貨量。

????芭拉正在化繁為簡、灌輸紀律、提高總體效率等，希望通過這些方式降低重大意外因素的干擾。她努力在研發的早期階段就把決策做好，然后在后面一直堅持這些決策。她的格言是：“晚到的好點子不一定好，因為它讓顧客處于風險中。”最近她驚訝地發現，最該責備的恰恰是她的部門。近日她對一個員工團體說：“我本來深信，所有的意外因素都來自營銷部門，我本來都敢賭上一個月的薪水。后來我們做了一次審計，發現所有的變化都來自工藝部門，于是我們不得不面對這個難堪的事實。”對于面前還有多少工作要做，芭拉的回答也很坦誠：“按一到十分算，我們只做了三分。”

????過去的通用汽車公司通過那群來自中西部地區的中年工程師的眼睛看世界，而芭拉則是站在顧客的角度去看新車型。她非常仔細地檢查方向盤和換檔桿等駕駛員需要與汽車接觸的地方，以理解司機究竟是如何與汽車互動的。最近她發現，2013款別克維萊諾（Venrano）的座椅控制布置得太擠了，不易使用，甚至沒有足夠的空間拉安全帶和調節座椅。分析完問題后，她發現之所以出現這個問題，是因為工程師們一個個都在為自己負責的零件找最合適的位置，而沒有把他們的努力進行協調。她告訴工程師們這種做法是不正確的，她說：“我們要為顧客的利益對零件做出平衡。”

????芭拉把一生都奉獻給了通用汽車。她生長在底特律郊區，她父親在龐蒂克公司（Pontiac）當了39年的制模工。她第一次買車時，本來已經沖動地交了一輛火鳥牌轎車的訂金，但后來還是買了一輛實用的雪佛蘭克爾維特轎車。到了上大學的時候，她考上了位于弗林特的通用汽車學院【（General Motors Institute）現更名為凱特林大學（Kettering University）】，成了一名工讀生（通用公司替她支付學費，她每年在通用公司工作半年）。18歲時，她在龐蒂克汽車的一個裝配廠工作，負責檢查龐蒂克Grand Prix轎車的發動機罩和擋泥板的質量，那時她就第一次發現了后來導致通用汽車在2009年破產的問題。

????As head of product development,?Barra is trying to fix a process?that has bedeviled GM since the beginning of the front-wheel-drive era 30 years ago: designing and engineering appealing new models on time and on budget. GM is way behind competitors. While?Volkswagen skillfully reuses?components in different brands, and Ford (F) sells single designs in multiple markets, only 61% of GM's global production is made on common core architectures. It struggles to keep costs under control, eliminate expensive last-minute changes, and squeeze the most out of tight budgets. Latest example: In a rush to get its?2013 Malibu?to dealers,?and before Barra moved into product development,?GM equipped the new car with an older mild hybrid powertrain that has dampened sales.

????At the top of Barra's to do-list is eliminating churn -- the changes, delays, and cancellations that she figures cost GM $1 billion a year between 2006 and 2009. Vehicle engineering projects get delayed, or stopped and restarted -- a ruinously expensive practice. Material and capital costs creep up and engineering workload fluctuates, creating inefficiency and rework. Technology innovations are made piecemeal, driving up costs. Delays mean that outgoing models stay on sale longer, leading to higher incentives and lower volumes.

????Barra is attacking the interruptions by reducing complexity,?instilling discipline,?and improving overall efficiency. She tries hard to get decisions made early in the development process and then stick to them later on. Her mantra: "A great idea late is not necessarily great because it puts the customer at risk." She was surprised recently to discover that her closer associates were mostly to blame. "I was confident all the churn was coming from marketing," she told an employee group recently. "I would have bet a paycheck on it. So we did an audit and all the changes came from [engineering]. So we faced the ugly truth." Barra is candid about how much work lies ahead: "On a scale of one to ten, we're at a three."

????While old GM viewed the world through the prejudices of its middle-aged Midwestern engineers, Barra looks at new models through the eyes of the customer. She scrutinizes touch points like steering wheels and gearshifts to understand exactly how the driver interacts with the vehicle. She recently discovered that the seat controls on the?2013 Buick Verano, a compact sedan, were crowded and hard to use; there was no room to unspool the seat belt and adjust the seat. After analyzing the problem, she discovered the fault lay with individual engineers who each sought the best location for their particular part and didn't coordinate their efforts. Wrong call, she told them: "We compromise on our component for the benefit of the customer."

????Barra has been around GM all her life. She grew up in the Detroit suburbs, and her father was a die maker at Pontiac for 39 years. Her first car was a practical Chevy Chevette, bought after she impulsively put a deposit on a racier Firebird. When time came for college, she enrolled at the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in Flint as a co-op student (GM paid her annual tuition and, in exchange, she worked half of each year for the company). At 18, she found herself in a Pontiac plant, where she inspected poor-fitting hood and fender panels on the Grand Prix, and got her first hint of the problems that would drive GM into bankruptcy in 2009.