This jump has seen GM emerge as the second-largest seller of EVs in the U.S., narrowly behind Tesla. The role of an incumbent in Tesla: Jon McNeil is one of the significant factors in this metamorphosis.
Tesla’s Influence on GM Strategies Due to Their Culture:
One of the major contributors to Tesla was Jon McNeil, who is now a member of the GM board of directors and served at the company at a critical stage of development.
As the previous president of Tesla, he managed to develop and introduce the Model 3. McNeil noted an unexpected lesson, referring to a recent presentation in Boston, during which the company Tesla managed to stay ahead: an examination of actual products, rather than presentations. The rule was not to have any slides, said McNeil. You have to be reviewing the actual product.
This habit implied that executives would look at the glorified product weekly: not a mockup or a slideshow, but the actual stuff. This procedure kept everybody concentrated and ensured that the group remained on the exact track.
How Steve Jobs advises Elon Musk:
McNeil also disclosed that in part such attention to the product was triggered by a brief but strong piece of advice Elon Musk got from Steve Jobs. During the initial days of Tesla, one of the things that Musk requested of Jobs was to offer a single piece of advice. Jobs told him that he must have an impeccable product and when the product is simply beautiful then it will sell itself.
Musk has considered this advice at Tesla and turned their attention to the search for products that would not only be useful but also beautiful and entertaining. The approach was never to wow the customer.
One of the more light-hearted or humorous examples McNeil provided was the so-called fart button in Tesla cars that processes the speaker to sound like a fart, albeit something smaller but unforgettable that demonstrated the innovative power of the company.
Fast, Fresh and Easy:
The design of Tesla was minimalistic and user-oriented. The features were required to be less than two taps on the screen. When something was confusing or took too long to locate it did not pass the test.
Once the functionality was tested the same thing always followed: Now make it beautiful, reminisced McNeil, quoting lead designer Franz von Holzhausen, the person responsible. This vigilance on the detail-maintained Tesla on its track.
The quick beat of innovation was established in weekly product review meetings. Everybody understood that they had to deliver their best at such meetings, particularly in the presence of Elon Musk.
McNeil replied, saying, you cannot show your B game to the CEO, due to the fact that he is going to dismiss you.
Introduction of the Method to GM:
In 2022, McNeil was appointed to the GM board after swapping Tesla and becoming a business advisor in 2018. Among many things, he was advocating the adoption of the same real-product review style.
In his estimation, the leaders of GM, including CEO Mary Barra and President Mark Reuss, now convene weekly meetings without using any slides. The product is there and has been tested to determine whether it is software or hardware. This practical work has had a helpful effect.
This approach has led to the rapid development of GM into an electric vehicle organization. Teams no longer have to wait months before seeing progress and that has been dropped in favor of a weekly review. This maintains the pace and enables speedy adjustments where necessary.
It is literal: Real Products, Real Results:
The success of GM demonstrates that the process of innovative driving can be quite effective through the review of actual products rather than ideas or presentations. This is the case Tesla demonstrated with Model 3 and others on the same track GM is now experiencing good results.
The last several years have been marked by the growth of one EV to 17. This was not something that made a miracle change; instead, this was something that changed due to the choice of the leadership to remain committed to the product, week in and week out that level of discipline could be the difference between a fast-moving industry such as EVs.
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