里克?瓦格納

2000年至2009年任通用CEO

????盧茨說：“從教育、背景、氣質、身體狀況來說，他幾乎是個理想的CEO。那些誹謗他的人都不了解他做的所有好事。”

盧茨的打分：239

????與我在職業生涯中認識的其他企業領導不同的是，里克?瓦格納很少表現出什么“怪癖”。他總是很有禮貌，很友好，而且樂于傾聽反對的意見。他沒有高管的架子，甚至有點過于低調。他相信自己只是一個為股東服務的人，只是被雇來打工的。他擅于說服人，頭腦聰敏，而且非常擅于溝通。

????里克是一個標準的愛惜下屬的領導。他相信下屬的直接報告，很少對瑣碎事務進行微觀管理，有時甚至到了過分的地步。有些高管可能看起來、聽起來都干得不錯，但事實上干得很少，或是發揮不了決定性作用，但是里克有時卻看不出來。簡而言之，他容忍了那些庸才的表現。

????但是當全世界經濟開始出問題時，他的領導風格就不能很好地適應公司了。里克不擅長下達艱難的命令，比如減少經銷商或是砍掉一些品牌。盡管他經常談起這樣做的重要性，但是他從來沒有把他的意愿強加給持反對意見的人，甚至包括我在內。他是一個非常好的人，但是他太善良，太喜歡自省，在很多事上想得太多，沒有幫他的公司挺過2008到2009年的動蕩。他是一個完美的“盛世”CEO。他的戰略無懈可擊，他本來可以更成功，可惜時運不濟。而且通用“一刀未砍”的成本負擔和文化特性也證明了他的失敗。（財富中文網）

????本文改編自鮑伯盧茨的新書《偶像與傻瓜》，本書由Portfolio出版社于2013年6月4日出版。版權所有。

????譯者：樸成奎

Rick Wagoner

GM CEO 2000-09

????Lutz says: "By education, background, temperament, physical stature, an almost ideal CEO. Those who malign him fail to comprehend all the good he did."

Lutz Grade: 239

????In contrast to other executives I've known in my career, Rick Wagoner showed little in the way of "peculiarities." He was always polite, kind, and ready to hear opposing views. His style was modest: He eschewed executive trappings and even excessive compensation, believing, correctly that he was a servant of the shareholders and thus simply a hired hand. He was persuasive, mentally agile, and an excellent communicator.

????Rick was the very picture of a leader who genuinely cared about his people. He trusted his direct reports and rarely micromanaged, sometimes to a fault. He was slow to see the weakness or ineffectiveness of some senior executives who looked good, sounded good, and actually did little or were indecisive. In short, he tolerated less-than-stellar performance.

????It didn't serve the company well when the world began to unravel. Rick found it difficult to order tough calls, like downsizing dealers or cutting brands. He frequently talked about the desirability of the latter yet never imposed his will against resistance, including my own. A magnificent human being, Rick was simply too nice, too introspective, and too thoughtful in many of his actions to see the company through the turbulence of 2008-2009. He was the perfect "peacetime" CEO. His strategy was impeccable and he should have been more successful, but bad timing, bad luck, and the weight of still-unexpurgated GM (GM, Fortune 500) costs and cultural traits proved his undoing.

????This article is adapted from Icons and Idiots by Bob Lutz, published by Portfolio on June 4, 2013. All rights reserved.