This photo from the FT Monday exemplifies the state of the US Auto industry today.  The smiles, the protruding jaw, the “in your face” defiance in face of adversity – says it all – supported by the sub-headline “carmakers in drive for more government support”.

Where is the quiet thoughtful strategy to re-invent themselves and accept that the opportunity that crystalised 34 years ago with the oil crisis has been woefully lost.  Instead of magically rolling out electric cars all of a suddden as if they were always on the plan, lets hear the overall plan to change, and describe what the company will look like even 10 years from now.

Related example:  Abu Dhabi have made a significant investment in the non-oil future, and noted a clear vision of their future that is surprising a lot of people, including UK and US political leaders.

Gulf Oil States Seeking a Lead in Clean Energy | NY Times

“Abu Dhabi is an oil-exporting country, and we want to become an energy-exporting country, and to do that we need to excel at the newer forms of energy,” said Khaled Awad, a director of Masdar, a futuristic zero-carbon city and a research park that has an affiliation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that is rising from the desert on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

Relevance to Bankwatch:

It seems to me this is precisely not the moment for bravado, and while bankers are less flashy, many tend to suffer closed thinking, and that is being perpetuated with all the other problems that abound in banking today.

I would suggest this is the time for Banks to learn the lessons of other industries such as the Auto industry, and bring out those quiet people in the back that have been thinking about this for years, by pooling knowledge and views from across the organisation.  Consider implementation of a Brainpark type tool to co-ordinate and democratise knowledge and thinking.  As Google notes their best ideas appear from the least likely sources.  The best ideas do not have to be formed within traditional hierarchies, and in fact are highly unlikely to appear there.

PS …  any snappy captions for the above photo 🙂  ?  Feel free to leave in comments – link at top of post.