Wagoner Was the Wrong CEO
Apologia. Today the term "apologist" is colloquially applied in a general manner to include groups and individuals systematically promoting causes, justifying orthodoxies, or denying certain events, even of crimes. Apologists have been characterized as being deceptive, or "whitewashing" their cause, primarily through omission of negative facts (selective perception) and exaggeration of positive ones, techniques of classical rhetoric. When used in this context, the term generally has a pejorative meaning (Wikipedia).
That word pejorative at the end the definition says it all. Holstein's book is an apologia about Wagoner's management of General Motors. Dumped as CEO as part of the bail-out process leading up to the recent bankruptcy, the book makes a case that he was the right man for the job and should have been allowed to finish the task of righting the GM ship. Well, it took to long, Mr. Wagoner. It was in fact time to move on to new management. From a strategic point of view, Wagoner had one neat win, the OnStar system. GM broke company rules big time early in the creation of the system. The strategy wasn't dictated in advance; it was allowed to become apparent over time. They didn't spend a lot of money; the initial investment for the alpha system they bought from General Magic was $15 million. The strategy for OnStar wasn't an automotive strategy; it mimicked the electronics world more closely with its continual improvement and continued innovation. Customers had complained about any remote control of their auto; OnStar began that control in a benign way that customers didn't complain about. It saved lives, after all (Holstein, 157-168). Benighted by Clayton Christensen in a Harvard case study, the OnStar success is a good example of a disruptive strategy that worked (Holstein, 169). The keys to a good strategy? Initial management wasn't told what to do; they figured it out as they went along. It wasn't top-down at all. Secondly, Wagoner ran interference between the traditionalists at GM and the new technologists. Finally, and maybe most importantly, OnStar stood alone. It wasn't assigned to any division. Yes, Cadillac was the first installation. However, over time, OnStar was rolled into most of the autos at GM. Wagoner proved he was a good manager when he championed a new technology. It was his championing old technology, namely, the "way things are done at GM" that proved his ultimate downfall.
Holstein, William J. Why GM Matters. Inside the Race to Transform an American Icon. Walker & Company. 2009.