Krannert
Krannert Graduate School of Management
Winter 1977
Purdue University
Cafiero Delivers 1977 Distinguished Executive Lecture
Eugene A. Cafiero, president of Chrys¬ ler Corporation, delivered the third annual Distinguished Executive Lecture to students entering Krannert's profes¬ sional management programs.
Cafiero, speaking asa successful lead¬ er of a major American corporation, advised students that risk was an im¬ portant aspect of successful manage¬ ment.
'"The decisions that you have to make involve very intricate tradeoffs — and there's no way to avoid taking risks. So, if you're going to play it safe in an organization and not rock the boat, I think you're going to limit your prog¬ ress," he said.
Among Cafiero's other tips to the stu¬ dents: Out perform your peers if you want to be promoted; objectively evaluateyour own strengths and weak¬ nesses and work on them to make yourself the most logical candidate for the next job; and continue to educate yourself.
"'Your education will not end when you leave here(Purdue)," he said. ""The things I do now are very different from what I did two years ago.
"If you stop learning you will severely limit the progress that you are going to make, " he added.
Cafiero, 51, is in the midst of his third year as president of Chrysler. During a press conference following his address to students Cafiero fielded questions about the auto mdustry and his corporation.
"Cars will be smaller but will retain many of the attributes we find today," he said. "Anything that will result in more miles to the gallon is being care¬ fully considered. Remember, we are working on improvements measured in tenths of miles per gallon.
'"It is doubtful if the eight-cylinder en¬ gine will survive to 1985," Cafiero forecasted, adding that it would "take an enormous sum of money" to put the entire automobile industry into four-cylinder production. "Any addition to the cost of a car is not inconsequential. For Chrysler to de¬ sign and manufacture new engines of four cylinders, it will cost us in the area of $1 billion and I don't know where profits of this magnitude would come from."
He said newlubricants, some of which are already on the market, light¬ weight materials and low-profile tires, both now in the developmental stage, will modify considerably the automo¬ bile in use today and will result in in¬ creased mileage per unit of fuel. Asked about mandatory air bags, Cafiero said it boils down to whose re¬ sponsibility it is to protect the individual.
""I think there are some things the mar¬ ket won't take care of, " he said, re¬ ferring to the effort Ford Motor Com¬ pany made several years ago to sell seat belts. The public refused to buy and use them, he recalled. "However, cars on the road today have them and I think there is an obliga¬ tion to the industry to install seat belts and shoulder harnesses, although I wonder about the advisibility of hav¬ ing thefederal government step in and say you have to wear them," he said. Air bags are a passive protection sys¬ tem; seat belts and shoulder harnesses are still required and are much better than air bags, he said. "But the politicians don't want to make the decision. They have this idea they have to protect everybody but they don't wanttopassan unpopular law. So they toss it into the lap of a govern¬ mental agency to make the decision for them, " he concluded.