??? 當下，來自汽車行業的CEO幾乎都是聲名遠揚。但是，業內人士擔心，當代企業領袖正在形成一種個人崇拜。通用汽車（General Motors）的丹?阿克森發現，每次他參與慈善活動，總能上報紙；因為讓吉普車得以神奇復蘇，菲亞特-克萊斯勒（Fiat-Chrysler）的塞爾吉奧?馬爾奇奧尼成了業內最新的奇跡創造者；因為給汽車制造商帶來了歷史性轉變而獲得肯定，福特汽車（Ford）的艾倫?穆拉利幾乎被視為神一樣的人物。

??? 只要贊揚能促使美好事物的出現，個人崇拜就是有效的。但是形勢的逆轉也是殘忍的。由于未能實現對電動汽車的預期，雷諾日產（Renault-Nissan）卡洛斯?卡恩的聲譽大打折扣。制定接班人計劃時，把企業領袖當作神話會產生不良影響。誰想追隨一個英雄？正面回答的人寥寥無幾。表現優異的CEO常常得益于經濟周期的幸運轉變，而在他們離職時經濟周期往往朝相反的方向發展。

??? 雖然高級管理層中擁有一名大牌CEO看似不錯，可一旦CEO表現糟糕，后果就是傷不起。在所有行業中，汽車行業管理層犯錯后導致的后果最為嚴重。巨額的資本投資意味著損失輕易就能達到數十億美元，而產品周期長意味著一個錯誤的轉變就會讓公司陷入長達數年的困境。

??? 根據以上分析，筆者列出了史上十大最差的車企CEO。

??? There are no faceless CEOs in the auto industry today. On the contrary: People in the car business worry about a cult of personality developing around the current generation of company leaders. General Motors' Dan Akerson finds himself in the newspaper whenever he supports a charity; Fiat-Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne has become the industry's latest miracle worker due to his surprising revival at the home of Jeep; and Ford's Alan Mulally has been accorded near God-like status in recognition of his automaker's historic turnaround.

??? Personality cults work as long as good things keep happening for the object of adulation, but downturns can be brutal. Look at what's happened to the reputation of Renault-Nissan's Carlos Ghosn since his EV forecast fell short. Mythologizing a leader can also take a toll when it comes to developing a succession plan. Who wants to follow a hero? There isn't much room on the upside. High-performing CEOs often have the benefit of fortunate turns in the economic cycle that twist in the opposite direction once they leave office.

??? But having a big guy at the top is scant price to pay when you consider the wreckage that a bad CEO can inflict. Management mistakes in the auto industry are more painful than almost anywhere else. Enormous capital investments mean that losses can easily reach billions of dollars, and long product cycles mean that a wrong turn can hobble a company for a number of years.

??? With that in mind, here's my list of the worst CEOs in the history of the auto industry:

1. 亨利?福特

福特汽車公司總裁

1903－1918年，1943－1945年

??? 福特是一位聰明的發明家，但同時也是一位可怕的CEO。他從不相信會計人員，所以他始終不清楚公司具體的贏利或損失金額。他過于固執，雖然T型車的銷售在20世紀20年代已經開始下降，但他仍然拒絕改變T型車的款式。最后，當他同意引入A型車時，公司停產了17個月才做好準備。通用汽車（《財富》500強企業）每年對設計進行更新，而且年銷售額超過福特（《財富》500強企業），此后也很少失去領先地位。1943年，福特的兒子艾德索過世后，他重掌公司總裁職位。但是在公司狀況日益不穩定的情況下，為了支持他的孫子亨利二世，他最終被迫下臺。

1. Henry Ford

President, Ford Motor Co.

1903-1918, 1943-1945

??? A brilliant inventor, Ford was a terrible CEO. He never believed in accountants, so he never knew how much his company was making -- or losing. Stubborn to a fault, he refused to make styling changes in the Model T as its sales wound down in the mid-'20s. When he finally agreed to introduce the Model A, he shut down production for 17 months to get ready.General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), which had already started annual design updates, passed Ford (F, Fortune 500) in annual sales and has seldom relinquished its lead since then. After the death of his son, Edsel, in 1943, Ford reclaimed the title of president, but increasingly unstable, he was forced from office in favor his grandson, Henry II.