A Golden Opportunity for Ford and GM

George, B. (2010). A golden opportunity for ford and GM. Retrieved March 1, 2010 from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6379.html

This article, written by Harvard Business School professor Bill George, gives advice to Ford and GM in how they can benefit in the long run because of the crisis Toyota is going through. In the short term, it is be easy for Ford and GM to sell more cars because Toyota has lost the confidence of the consumer and the company has a lot of work to do fix the problems they have before they can rebuild the consumer confidence that has been lost. The author states that the long-run gain in market share is what Ford and GM need to set their sights on. Ford and GM need to invest this windfall of new revenue into developing vehicles that will move them into the future. To become more competitive in the long run, they need invest more into fuel-efficient vehicle development as well as in improved quality and better customer value. This article discusses an important lesson in business because many leaders are reactive as situation come their way and not proactive in making things happen. It is a lot easier for manager to react to an opportunity like Ford and GM face by making the best of the short-term gains. But proactive steps are also important and can make a big difference in the long run. This lesson is true in most business environments.