What GM Should Learn From Wal-Mart
Should the new GM start with a new name, an AP story asked over the weekend.
It’s a surprisingly bland story, characterized by this even more colorless quote by a University of Chicago marketing prof: “I’m not sure there’d be that much harm in rebranding.”
The real answer, if GM is listening: Change your culture, not your name.
Stop talking about yourself, as you do in this predictable reinvention ad. And start letting your actions speak for themselves through real change.
A good example: Look at how Wal-Mart has transformed itself and its reputation over the past three years, without a name change, through its commitment to sustainability.
Listen to Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard praise Wal-Mart in the video above, if you need further convincing. Don’t change the GM name. Make it stand for something again.
Frank J. Oswald
“IT’S GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO HATE WAL-MART.” Want to learn more about Wal-Mart’s “sustainability index” initiative? Here’s a great article, via TreeHugger.
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Frank,
Nice post (as usual). I loved the last line: "Don’t change the GM name. Make it stand for something again." Made me think that this idea should be the rallying challenge for any organization that has lost it's way: What do we need to do to take this tarnished name, and make it stand for something bigger than it was before, and something we're more proud of?