Ford Motor Headquarters, Dearborn, Michigan, USA

"Williams, I want you to give me a clear explanation of why there is a lot of rumors in the market that Ford is going to get involved in the triangular relationship between General Electric, General Motors and Saab Sweden, as the vice president of the PR and media division, I think your work has made the board of directors suspicious, of course, this is just a private conversation now, I need you to give me a reasonable reason!"

Sitting on the leather single sofa in the small conference room, the 68-year-old president and chairman of the board of directors Harold Arthur Perling looked very stern, as a Michigan native Harold graduated from Montmont Academy and received an MBA from Indiana University at the age of 26, and then entered Ford Motor all the way to the struggle as an automotive man, from engineer, test manager, engine development supervisor to Ford President of Ford Motor Company, and then vice chairman of the board of directors, At the age of 65, he became chairman and president of Ford Motor Co., Ltd., and his prestige in the company can be described in a word.

"Harold, this is pure nonsense, in fact, I don't think GE will buy the shares of Swedish Saab owned by GM at all, Sweden Saab takes the route of high-end racing cars and sports cars, and belongs to the niche brands in the European auto market, and is under the double attack of Ferrari and Porsche, and even BMW and Mercedes-Benz can affect the high-end market share of Swedish Saab, and there are rumors that GE wants to be involved in the automobile manufacturing industry every year, but everyone basically won't believe it, and this time I think it's the same, It's just that someone in the stock market is fishing in troubled waters by using rumors! ”

The eloquent Serena Crane Ford name has a Jr in front of it, which means that he inherited the name of his father William Sr. and his father is still alive, in fact, his father William Crane Ford Sr is the same age as Harold Arthur Perling, of course, William Crane Ford, who was born with the Ford family's golden key, has a much smoother development in the company, and at the age of 22, he served as the chairman of the Ford Motor Design Committee until he was 57 years old. William Sr. is also chairman of Ford's various luxury resorts, and also oversees the Edison Institute and the NFL's Detroit Lions.

It can be said that William Sr. Crane Ford SR is a playboy born to enjoy a good life, although the name of the Edison Institute and the chairman of the Ford Design Committee, but this is more of a symbol of power and honor, not that he is a Ford car technology expert, and he had high hopes that after graduating from Ford University and entering Ford Motor, he really took the route of technology research and development, and climbed step by step from the grassroots level in the past 12 years, and has not yet been truly recognized. At the age of 36, he served as the company's vice president, but he was in charge of the PR and media division, and more of a Ford image spokesperson.

"William, are you sure that no one in the company is involved in this acquisition? Why does the report in the Wall Street Journal have a nose and an eye, saying that our Ford car has always been a short board in the high-end luxury market, although the Lincoln brand is the only choice for the previous American presidents, but the United States can be the president of the only one, Lincoln car sales in the North American market are not only far from GM's Cadillac, seeing that Volkswagen, BMW and even Toyota are already threatening Ford's market share, so the acquisition of Swedish Saab cars, which is known for its luxury and high price and high quality, is a surprising winning strategy! ”

The chairman of the board of directors threw the "Wall Street Journal" published that day on the coffee table in front of Serena William, although he knew that as the director of the public relations and media division, I am afraid that the newspapers that Serena William reads every morning are the "New York Times" and "The Wall Street Journal", Ford's sales in the North American market have never caught up with General Motors, and in recent years, Ford's position as the second car leader is in jeopardy, and Chrysler is chasing after his ass to bring great pressure to Ford. The Ford pickup, one of the company's flagship models, has a bit of a follow-up force under the pressure of the Dodge pickup.

Henry Ford founded Ford Motors, and although Ford Motor is now a publicly traded joint stock company, unlike other family bosses, the Ford family still holds Class B preferred shares in Ford Motor with a voting interest of more than 40%, which means that the Ford family is still the de facto largest shareholder and controls the board of directors, although the chairmanship of Ford has been held by non-Ford family members since Henry Ford II stepped down seven years ago.

Henry Ford II, as the uncle of Serena William, is a very outstanding talent among the successors of Ford Motors, he is the eldest grandson of Henry Ford, and the eldest brother of William Sr., and is the idol of the young people of the Ford family, of course, the death of Henry Ford II at the age of 70 brought inevitable turmoil to Ford Motors, this Henry Ford II from 1945 to 1979 as the CEO of Ford Motor is a witness of the times, and also a reputable example among the rich second generation, Although the position of CEO was handed over to Philip Cardwell in 1979, Henry Ford II remained the backbone of Ford until his death.

"Well, I have to admit it, Harold, when I saw this report in the Wall Street Journal this morning, I had the same doubts in my heart as you. Although the acquisition of Sweden's Saab was a personal proposal that I had proposed earlier, since it was rejected at an internal meeting of the board of directors, I don't know where the Wall Street Journal news came from......"

Serena William, of course, hopes that he can be like Henry Ford II, become the glorious successor of the Ford family, his own father is a playboy, squandered his youth and years, and did not assume the necessary responsibility for the development of Ford Motors, it can even be said that the enterprises and earnings under the command of the Ford family are equivalent to the profligate ATMs of his own father, and Serena William is different, he is young and energetic and technical, for Ford Motors, Serena felt he should at least be able to play a role like Henry Ford III.

"William, you know, the last time the board of directors was nominated for your vice president of media, I, the chairman of the board, was under a lot of pressure, challenges are everywhere, you should understand what I mean, as a Michigan, I have dedicated my whole body to Ford Motor, I, the chairman of the board of directors, did not climb up by conspiracy, in fact, I can retire at any time, but Ford Motor is facing huge challenges from competitors, do you think I can rest assured?!"

Harold's words were serious, and Serena William was also solemn when he heard this, and nodded gently, in fact, he knew that the reason why the chairman of the board of directors supported and promoted himself so much was nothing more than to create obstacles for his cousin, Odyssey Ford II, the eldest son of Henry Ford II, Odyssey Ford II was 9 years older than Serena William, inherited the name of his grandfather Odyssey Ford, and was the eldest son of Henry Ford II, Odyssey Ford II is the leader of the fourth generation of the Ford family, He is now at the helm of Ford's largest revenue and profit company, Ford Motor Credit, the No. 1 auto credit company in the United States, providing a full range of credit services to individual consumers, dealers and parts manufacturers.

"Harold, what I can guarantee is that the Wall Street Journal article and content are definitely not leaked from my side, in fact, the spokesperson of the PR and Media Division also clarified last week that Ford Motor is focused on tapping its own potential and development, and there are no large-scale mergers and acquisitions in the near future, the company is very satisfied with the current Ford Motor stock price table, and expects Ford's performance in '93 to meet the growth rate predicted in the annual report......"

"Could it be, your cousin is restless and wants to toss some moth out?" Harold finally asked his doubts, Odyssey Ford II is the chosen successor of Henry Ford II, of course, for the sake of the stability and transition of Ford's senior management, Odyssey Ford II is only a board of directors for the time being and took over the Ford Motor Credit Company, to become the chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Ford Motor, I am afraid it will have to wait a little longer...... At least a group of old Ford ministers who are not part of the Ford family always try to show their skills after the death of old Henry, which is also an honor that everyone deserves, right?

William...... This week, Ford's stock price fluctuated very much, from $52 to $51, and now it has rushed to $55, if these rumors can boost the company's stock price and investor confidence, it is a good thing for the board of directors to sit back and enjoy the success, but as the chairman of the board of directors, I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and you know that I plan to retire at the end of this year, I don't want Ford's stock price to fluctuate this year and let people with ulterior motives take advantage of it...... Is the acquisition of Sweden's Saab Cars worth re-examining?! ”

Harold's annual salary as chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Ford is $1.2 million, in addition to 300,000 stock options at the end of each year, and the subscription price of this year's options is $25.75, with the current stock price of Ford more than $50, Harold Arthur Berlin's annual income is close to $9 million, which is definitely the world's first-class annual income in 93 years.

Harold's philosophy in the workplace is that if I can't do a good job, then no one else can do it well, and if someone has to do a bad thing, I'd rather do it than ask someone else to do it.