Do you know who Brian Deese is? I didn’t have a clue until Monday when I read a very disconcerting New York Times article entitled: “The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling GM.” Well, Brian Deese is in fact the 31-year old staffer for President Obama referenced in the aforementioned article, and who also happens to be the primary influencer/driver behind the policy decisions now guiding GM. This is normally where my late father-in-law would have said, “no wonder the Russians are ahead.”
When you read the resume of Mr. Deese it is clear that he is a bright young man. It is also clear that he certainly has no executive level experience in the manufacturing sector, much less the automobile industry. Even more scary is that he has never really held a private sector job of any consequence. Mr. Deese is by any fair analysis nothing more than a very young, very inexperienced, campaign staffer who now finds himself way in over his head (see a previous post entitled: “Operating Outside of Competency“).
Regardless of how bright and talented Mr. Deese may be, there are nevertheless certain challenges and obstacles he will face for the first time that more seasoned executives have encountered numerous times over the course of their careers. Individuals who operate outside of experiential boundaries are met with frustration, if not failure, by having what appear to be great ideas eventually unwound by unforeseen factors that were only unforeseen to them due to their inexperience or lack of discernment. It doesn’t matter that Mr. Deese has an Ivy League education, or that he’s worked on a few political campaigns…he is still sailing in uncharted territory which is dangerous for even the most seasoned operating officers.
Bottom line…if this is the best our administration has to offer the stakeholders of GM and the American public (oops…I forgot we’re one in the same now), then I would submit that this is merely a sign of more ominous things to come…
