Good for GM: The Concept of the Corporation Chapt 1

At this point, Drucker knows nothing about the classic quote from Charlie Wilson. That quote comes from a Senate hearing on January 15, 1953. Wilson, then President of General, is being questioned by senators about his fitness to be Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower Administration. A Republican senator from new Jersey asked Wilson if he could make a decision that would be beneficial to the U.S. but harmful to GM. “Yes, sir,” said Wilson, “I could. I cannot conceive of one because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.”

This quote soon gests twisted into the phrase “What is good for General Motors is good for the nation. At this point, GM is the nation’s largest defense contractor. Drucker also argues that it best represents the leading corporations of America. That is why it is a good subject for his book. Better than Bell Teleophone. Better than Dupont.