Opinion: GM Chairman Pick Is Pure Politics

This opinion piece was written by Scott McKain, vice chairman of Obsidian Enterprises, co-founder of The Value Added Institute and author of "Collapse of Distinction - Stand Out and Move Up While Your Competition Fails". McKain also blogs at McKainViewPoint.com

If my very future depended upon selecting a single person to sink just one basketball shot, I'm picking Michael Jordan. If my life hung in the balance, and one individual from our history had to present an oration that would determine my survival, I would beg Martin Luther King to speak on my behalf.

So, why in the moment of its greatest trial would General Motors (GMGMQ Quote)-- described by now-CEO Fritz Henderson as desperately needing to succeed in two areas: "product and customers" -- turn in its time of crisis to someone with 43 years experience at the phone company? Don't get me wrong, Edward Whitacre, Jr. changed the landscape of that great American institution, AT&T (T Quote), reshaping it from a monopolistic giant into a diversified, competitive enterprise. He took the smallest of the so-called "Baby Bells" -- SBC -- and created a global powerhouse.

The problem is that what Whitacre foresaw for his company then -- colossal technological change and rapid consolidation -- is not the immediate future of the automotive industry.

It was never the case that customers didn't want to buy a phone; instead it is that we wanted more of the communication services they had to offer in new and exciting ways. On the other hand, few of us are thrilled by what we have to endure to purchase an automobile. GM has become so disconnected from its customers, that we will do just about anything to avoid interaction with the company.

AT&T grew because of the technological advances in their industry -- not because it was so customer-centric that it took existing market share from competitors. That is, of course, the very aspect that GM needs to execute to survive.