BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

It’s one of the most often misquoted comments in American business history. In 1953, when then General Motors President Charles Erwin Wilson faced Senate confirmation before becoming President Eisenhower’s Secretary of Defense, he was asked if he could make a decision on behalf of the country that was harmful to the company he loved – which by that time had become the largest corporation in the United States.

Of course he could, Wilson answered, but he quickly added that he could not conceive of such a dilemma, because, as he supposedly said, “What’s good for General Motors is good for the country.” Those who’ve checked the record know that Wilson’s actual quote is, “For years, I thought that what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.”

Some 56 years later, GM CEO Fredrick “Fritz” Henderson found out just how true Wilson’s comments have proven to be. This week, the GM board of directors – which was installed after the government took control of the company last spring and is on the hook for seeing that GM repays $50 billion in taxpayer assistance – announced that Henderson’s turbulent, short-lived tenure is over. Chairman of the Board Ed Whitacre, Jr. will serve as interim CEO until he and the board can find a suitable successor.

What does this action mean for GM, its customers, shareholders, government overseers, and other stakeholders in terms of brand reputation and corporate image? On the whole, it’s a step in the right direction. While no one doubts Henderson’s business acumen, he was a veteran “company man” and a consistent reminder of the GM of old. He had been the company’s COO and CFO before taking over from CEO Rick Wagoner, who left as part of the government takeover of the company. GM has a history of elevating executives to top spots from within. Bringing in an outsider – and a “turnaround artist” who some speculate may lose the “interim” tag before long at that – signals a significant cultural change. Change is precisely what GM stakeholders who run the gamut are clamoring for.

While GM may never be the bastion of American free enterprise it once was, this move has demonstrated keen understanding of how every decision made from here on out will send a powerful message about its prospects for a comeback. It may only be a start, but if GM continues to send the right messages – in deed and in word – then it might not be too much longer before resurgence that once seemed impossible is within the company’s – and the country’s – grasp.

Michael Konczal is a Senior Vice President of Levick Strategic Communications, the nation’s top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with Levick on Twitter: @Levick.