Rebuilding trust, one conversation at a time

This is Fritz Henderson, the President and CEO of General Motors. Despite having to deal with an enormous ‘to do’ list, he is smart enough to recognise that reconnecting with GM customers is probably his most important task.  He made a commitment last week to “being closer and more available to consumers than ever before” and next week will see the launch of a ‘Tell Fritz’ website, providing his customers with the opportunity to ’share ideas and concerns’ with the person at the top of the organisation.  Henderson has committed to finding the time to review and respond to customers personally, rather than farming the job out to some GM minion. He also intends to host ‘web chats’ every week and to go on the road each month to talk directly with customers.

Henderson has already proven to be an avid user of corporate blogs  and social media to connect with customers and other stakeholders, although these have involved a reasonably high level of corporate control.  ‘T’ell Fritz’ potentially takes him into real crowd surfing territory … dealing with real people (including the occasional lunatic) and having to answer sometimes difficult questions, without the ‘air cover’ provided by the GM PR machine.  For the sake of all of us who believe in the importance of corporate transparency and openness and the accessibility of our business leaders, I hope his initiative proves to be a success.