The days for Saturn are over. The once bright light for GM to “get it right” turned into another costly failure. There are many reasons, which authors, bloggers, academia and industry analysts will discuss for years to come. However, the role of silent problems, especially as relates to GM’s culture, is an essential component to the story. For instance, in a recent Wharton article titled “Saturn: A Wealth Of Lessons From Failure” had this to say.
Hrebiniak says that “Saturn fell prey to the culture of GM…. It was buried in GM’s old culture of inertia. Saturn had made innovation a corporate strategy. But what happened over time? GM diminished Saturn’s standing as a separate entity and all the benefits that came from that.”
Saturn was possibly the most agressive and innovative idea that emerged from the GM mothership ever. However, the gravitational pull of that mothership never let it totally escape its cultural wrath. It’s too bad, because it had a chance of being something special.
