ICONS AND IDIOTS

The book offers profiles of and lessons from the many bosses who helped shape Bob Lutz’s extraordinary career as a giant of the auto industry.

When Bob Lutz retired from General Motors, closing out a 47-year career in the car industry, he was one of the most revered leaders in his field. His previous book, Car Guys vs Bean Counters, recounted his work to revitalize GM and restore drive and passion to the industry.

Now Lutz profiles the leaders—the good, bad, and ugly—who made the strongest impression on him throughout his career. With a collection of shocking and sometimes hilarious anecdotes, he creates an entertaining manual of do’s and don’t’s for the aspiring leader. The bizarre foibles and rank stupidity of many of his bosses were hardly unique to the car business. Lutz summarizes the positive leadership principles demonstrated or ignored by his bosses, and shows what the rest of us can learn from them.

For instance, here’s Lutz on legendary Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca: “I find it hard to comprehend a leader who feels threatened by subordinates who offer an honest opinion, who aren’t (dangerous) yes-men, who will steer the boss in the right direction. But beneath the commanding stage presence, the brilliant performances on TV, the boldness of his public statements, there was a side to Lee that was vulnerable and insecure.”

This book will help leaders in any industry emulate the icons and avoid themistakes of the idiots. Bob Lutz had a legendary career as one of the most respected “car guys” in history. He held senior leadership positions at four of the world’s leading automakers—GM, Ford, Chrysler, and BMW. He was most recently the vice chairman of GM from 2001 to 2010. He is the bestselling author of Guts: 8 Laws of Business from One of the Most Innovative Business Leaders of Our Time and Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business.