Jason Rines (iThinkBig)

The Ford Debt Disaster Continues

Great comments ICANDOIT and I agree 100%. The problem is in management. Also, this is the last American car I buy for a long time. The service is LOUSY. The idea of making money on parts and servicing is not the same as it once was in this industry, the environment has changed.

One of the biggest failures of management often occurs when the company stops conducting consumer research. The book Innovator's Dilema speaks into this. My company is a data company and conducts consumer sentiment, purchase intent, economic feasibility research continuously because it IS the business. Watching the emerging trends and the shifts trends makes it vastly easier to make decisions. In these days in America, it also pays to watch Washington which requires a lot more then just consumer research and survey/analytics. Washington drives everything beneath it so call Washington cause and Consumer Research effect.

Yes Unions and globalization effect have had there part but conducting research is pennies on the dollar in investment to the long-term returns. It's laziness at management and such research often needs to be spearheaded by C level executives responsible for a company's performance. Such is the way of things when a nation's economy in a liquid environment when things became easy for top level executives. That critical hour a day on conducting primary research often went toward an extra hour at the yacht club.