Other Editorials

Ghost of GM Past

Jim Dollinger
Sunday, November 27, 2005

How many times did Edison fail before he saw light? What do we remember...that he succeeded.

Years ago, a banking organization named Morgan thankfully had enough experience in building railroads and steel companies that when this auto industry came along, they saw the wisdom of a good plan. It was called "The Organization Study". It had been prepared by Alfred Sloan and presented to Billy Durant, our great founder, who was otherwise preoccupied. When Durant lost control for the second time in 1920, Pierre duPont, who had invested heavily in GM, read Sloan's plan, and together with JPM, decided to put Sloan's study into effect. The rest is history (See "My Years With General Motors).

Luck is preparation meeting opportunity.