Second Shift: The Inside Story of the Keep GM Movement

The dynamic, collaborative management model that saved a U.S. manufacturing city

When car-making giant General Motors decided to close its plant in Lansing, Michigan, in 1996, one person—the city’s newly elected mayor—stood up and said “no.” Initially, it was the cry of a man in the wilderness. Not once in its century-long history had GM reversed a decision to close a plant. But Mayor David Hollister quietly went to work building the Lansing Works! Keep GM! movement and succeeded in defying all the odds. Lansing remains GM’s Oldsmobile headquarters.

Hollister’s collaborative problem-solving approach—the Second Shift model—succeeded in bringing together state and regional politicians, economic developers, private sector firms, labor unions, educators, and residents of the region. Powerful, persuasive, and well-organized, this coalition implemented a strategic, six-dimensional framework to achieve the seemingly impossible:

• Identifying: Name the challenge and its impact
• Partnering: Develop meaningful relationships
• Building: Construct your strategy as you go
• Solving: Engage in constant problem solving
• Celebrating: Mark successful milestones
• Persevering: Adapt and endure

The Lansing Works! Keep GM! movement was a victory of people over bureaucracy, of a can-do attitude over cynicism—a story rarely told in today’s complex, technological, and often dehumanizing world of large business and out-of-control government. And the best part was that, in the end, both sides came away winners. It’s proof positive that when the public and private sectors work together as equal partners, amazing things can happen.

One of the great business sagas of modern times, Second Shift provides a proven, practical design for problem solving that anyone can apply in any business, large or small.

David J. Closs is the John H. McConnell Chair Emeritus of Business Administration and former Chairperson in the Department of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University. He received his Ph.D. in marketing and logistics from Michigan State. Dr. Closs is the author and coauthor of many books and publications in journals, proceedings, and industry reports. He was also a principal researcher for World Class Logistics: The Challenge of Managing Continuous Change and 21st Century Logistics: Making Supply Chain Integration a Reality. Dr. Closs is a frequent speaker at industry and academic conferences and presenter at executive education programs throughout the world. Dr. Closs formerly served as the editor of the Journal of Business Logistics and was designated as a Distinguished Fellow by CSCMP.

G. Tomas M. Hult is the John W. Byington Endowed Chair, professor of marketing and international business, and director of the International Business Center in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. The Broad College has a Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), one of only 17 funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and is consistently ranked as a Top-25 business school. Learn more about Professor Hult at broad.msu.edu/facultystaff/hultA native of Sweden, Professor Hult received a mechanical engineer degree in Sweden before obtaining a PhD at The University of Memphis. In addition to Michigan State University, he has served on the faculties of Florida State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Dr. Hult holds visiting professorships in the International Business group of his native Uppsala University, Sweden (since 2013) and the International Business division of Leeds University, UK (since 2010). Michigan State, Uppsala, and Leeds are all ranked in the top 10 in the world in international business research.Several studies have ranked Professor Hult as one of the most cited scholars in the world in business and management. He served as editor of Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, a Financial Times Top-50 business journal, and has published more than 70 articles in premier business journals, including Journal of International Business Studies, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Operations Management, Decision Sciences, and IEEE. He has also published several textbooks including International Business (McGraw Hill, LLC) and Global Business Today (McGraw Hill, LLC). Dr. Hult's other books include Second Shift: The Inside Story of the Keep GM Movement, Global Supply Chain Management, Total Global Strategy, and Extending the Supply Chain. He is a regular contributor of op-ed and articles in the popular press (e.g., Time, Fortune, World Economic Forum, The Conversation).Professor Hult is a well-known keynote speaker on international business, international marketing, global supply chain management, global strategy, and marketing strategy. He teaches in doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate programs at Michigan State University. He also teaches frequently in executive development programs and has developed a large clientele of the world’s top multinational corporations (e.g., ABB, Albertsons, Avon, BG, Bechtel, Bosch, BP, Defense Logistics Agency, Domino’s, FedEx, Ford, FreshDirect, General Motors, GroceryGateway, HSBC, IBM, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Masco, NASA, Raytheon, Shell, Siemens, State Farm, Steelcase, Tech Data, and Xerox).Tomas Hult is an elected Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB), one of only about 90 scholars worldwide receiving this honor, and serves as the executive director and foundation president of AIB. He also serves on the U.S. District Export Council and holds board member positions on the International Trade Center of Mid-Michigan and the Sheth Foundation.Tomas enjoys tennis, golf, and traveling as his favorite recreational activities.