The Blue-Collar CEO

摘要

For a carmaker, choreo-graphing an elaborate new model show for its dealers can be as routine as an oil change. But at a rehearsal last month for a Chrysler extravaganza inside an enormous Las Vegas arena, the carmaker's past and future leaders struggled to pass the baton. The script called for the UNLV marching band to blare "Viva Las Vegas" while high-stepping through a crowd of 7,000 car dealers to deliver a baton to the stage, where former Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche was to hand it to the new guy, Tom LaSorda. But the day before the show, as the execs rehearsed without the band, it was clear the new model is nothing like the old one. Zetsche, with his vaudevillian mustache, is a natural, mugging for the imaginary crowd while grabbing for a baton twirled by a lone UNLV majorette. LaSorda, a former factory boss, was awkward under the hot lights. He stepped on Zetsche's lines, stood in the wrong spot and struggled to read the tele-prompter. Finally, the big moment arrived: Zetsche snatched the baton from the majorette, handed it to his protege and exited. LaSorda, suddenly looking lost, shielded his eyes and yelled out: "Now what the hell do I do with this baton?"