GM + Opel

Sell Opel. Keep Opel. Overcapacity in the auto sector. For years now. Sell or keep. Either way, jobs will have to go. Complex. Paychecks, families, fears. The financial and economic crisis. Crisis for some, opportunity for others, a chance to exploit for again others. Some profess to understand, few do. Then elections. 2008. On both sides of the Atlantic. Germans. Collectivists. First the state, then the individual. Government is responsible for jobs. And the U.S.? What‘s it gonna be? Still rugged individualists? Maybe.
For now the presses are printing the cash. And giving it to financial institutions. Is America going continental European? “Socialism” as the bogeyman. But wait. Look at Germany. The place works. More than quite well. Stability. Not for us, Americans, though. We believe the government (“We the people”) sets the rules, strives for fairness and opportunity. Equality. We‘re still striving for it. Equality in opportunity, not results, though. Your product or service should be chosen freely. If not, do something else. Plenty of problems out there to be solved. So GM kept its options open. To keep Opel. Who doesn‘t keep their options open?

And the Germans were surprised, irritated, angry. Politicians, folks at Opel, the public, the media. But, were they truly surprised? Why? Did the Americans deceive? Employ dirty tricks? Were they unethical, unprofessional? Don‘t wanna get cute, am not an insider, was not involved, have little time to follow the news. How penetrating is the press, anyway? Let‘s consider this. An agreement in America is not the same as an agreement in Germany. Ask any German or American who works closely with the other culture. You go into the room, discuss, decide, document, then leave. Later you‘re surprised. Decided apparently is not decided. Executed is clearly not executed. Why do we think „high level“ folks in business and government understand, thus anticipate, these cultural differences? Merkel, Koch, Ruettgers, Franz. All Germans. All deeply involved. Do these people understand America and Americans, American hard-wiring?

How about the Americans in Detroit? Whitacre & Co. Ever been to Germany? Speak German? Understand German hard-wiring? For Americans a deal is a deal when the ink hits the paper. A contract. Not so in Germany. A deal is a deal when your word is given, when hands are shaken, when the fundamentals are agreed on, the spirit of the understanding. The assistants, staffers, technical folks jump into action in order to clarify the details. German anger legitimate. So Detroit drops the bomb – GM to keep Opel – on the day of Merkel‘s speech before the United States Congress. Intentional? An oversight? Were they surprised, the Germans? Certainly by the timing of the announcement. But by the decision? Partly, partly not. Perhaps too dishonest, too fearful, to communicate their reading of the situation. Elections in both countries. Americans, many at least, feel GM needs to be saved. Why? Do companies not fail? The fear of the negative impact on Main Street? Well, like any other company failure. So? Adapt. Work hard. Live well under your means. Compete. Face reality directly Why is the GM or Opel job any more sacred than those at Ford, Chrysler, VW, BMW or at the corner drugstore?

We‘re hurting ourselves. We Germans and Americans. False expectations are raised. Unfocused thinking. People then feel cheated. These same people vote. Others want those votes, at any cost, desperately. Scapegoats are sought out. Don‘t wanna be dramatic here, but there were times when Germans and Americans were not friends. Not so long ago. We aimed and shot at each other. Many shots. We can get angry at each other at the flip of a switch. Reject each other. We gotta be careful. Relationships are brittle, can deteriorate rapidly. Happens all the time. Within families, in neighborhoods, between ethnic groups. And, between countries. Nation states are simply larger versions of families, neighborhoods, communities. So, let‘s move slowly, carefully, listening, understanding, honestly. This is about more than jobs.