Business & Professional
The health of our patients is our top priority.
Maple Cardiology & Internal Medicine I Harvey Sabbota, DO.
5799 W Maple Rd. Ste 159 1 West Bloomfield, MI 48322 1248-737-0091
Into The Fire from page 37
Dr. Harvey Sabbota of Maple Cardiology and Randy Kart of Professional Practice Resources.
July 1st will be Dr. Sabbota's 33rd year practicing medicine,
providing his patients with the best health care possible.
Maple Cardiology & Internal Medicine is now
offering the convenience of in-office:
Stress Tests I Stress Echocardiograms
Stress Nuclear I Resting Echocardiograms
The health of our doctor's practice is our top priority.
Professional Practice Resources
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Harris had a "non-religious"
upbringing in Van Nuys, Calif. "I
didn't have a bar mitzvah; in fact, it
was really hard to even find a temple
in the San Fernando Valley in those
days."
He received a journalism degree
from the University of Southern
California in 1967 and got a job with
GM almost as soon as he graduated.
He came to the Detroit area in 1979
to join the former American Motors
Corp. in product communications.
When Chrysler Corp. acquired AMC
in 1987, he was appointed director of
communications, then communica-
tions vice president.
"Then came the famous 'merger
of equals' between Chrysler and
Mercedes in 1998 and I stayed on for
a year:' said Harris, "but I felt I had no
autonomy over my staff. Everything
was run from Germany. It was pretty
much one sided."
Then, "GM sought me out to return
as senior vice president of communi-
cations and I took it — and it was a
good decision — I had a great staff,
and the industry was relatively quiet
then."
But after four years back at GM,
retirement finally beckoned. Harris
and Roddie had selected Santa Fe
for their dream home. They traveled,
indulged in their passion for collect-
ing art glass, delighted in many social
activities, and he played a lot of golf.
They also spent more time with their
daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and
Mark Meneck of Birmingham, and
their two grandchildren.
But retirement wasn't all play. "I
served as a consultant in crisis man-
agement for several companies, and
stayed busy:' said Harris, a member
of the Public Relations Society of
America Hall of Fame.
"I guess it's a good thing I kept
working because it helped prepare me
for what was coming up in my return
to GM."
Harris now is normally at his office
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., comes home
and eats dinner, then hits the com-
puter until about midnight. He travels
somewhere in the U.S. or the rest of
the world at least once a week.
With 550 employees working for
him worldwide, "calls come in all
hours of the night and weekend here
he said. "If GM does something that
affects China, we hear from the news
media there within five minutes.
"One time, Rick Wagoner and I flew
to Moscow where he gave a speech,
and we returned home the same day."
As part of its turnaround effort,
GM is cutting costs everywhere, clos-
ing plants, eliminating about 25,000
hourly jobs, and reducing health-
care benefits for many of its 327,000
employees.
The company lost $10.6 billion in
2005, although it earned $445 million
in the first quarter of 2006. There's
continued industry speculation about
GM possibly filing for bankruptcy •
and ousting Wagoner.
GM's biggest supplier, parts maker
Delphi Corp., is in bankruptcy, and
GM has allocated billions to help
bail out the firm, including buyouts
for thousands of employees. Delphi
workers have threatened a strike that
could disrupt GM production.
And there's even more on Harris'
plate. GM's market share has dropped
from 45 percent in the 1970s to about
24 percent now, and the stock price
has dipped. While product quality has
improved on many GM vehicles, it has
declined on several others, according
to the J.D. Power & Associates.
"I face questions and inquiries on
all of these subjects every day:' said
Harris. "For example, the Wall Street
Journal has 14 different reporters
working on various forms of these
stories right now. And there are a
great deal of misconceptions to clear
up.
"Car buyers seem to perceive that
Toyota's quality is better than GM's,
but recent J.D. Power studies show
the Chevy Malibu beating the Toyota
Camry in quality."
Harris said increased globalization
and new communications, like the
Internet and cable television news,
have given "even an old war horse like
me" a technological rebirth. He has
implemented a network of computer
bloggers to preview GM products and
exchange views with consumers on
vehicle design and engineering.
He also launched a TV and radio
grassroots effort to tell GM's story by
asking influential leaders like former
U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich,
high-volume local car dealers and
others to give their thoughts about
GM and its turnaround.
"There's a lot of difficult work
ahead," said Harris, "and it will be with
us for some time." He cites the words
on the cover of GM's 2005 Annual
Report to stockholders: "We will suc-
ceed." ❑