Writing in the Wall Street Journal, James Stewart captured the unique loss of focus brought on by a lack of consensus among the key stakeholders (dare I say “stewards”) of GM over the past few decades.

He says, “It has been long in coming, this slow death of what was once the greatest and biggest corporation in the world. The myriad causes of its demise have been thoroughly chronicled, but to my mind one stands out: The custodians of GM simply gave up trying to build the best cars in the world. To accommodate a host of competing interests, from shareholders and bondholders to labor, they repeatedly compromised on excellence. Once sacrificed, that reputation has proved impossible to recapture.”

As Stewart said, GM’s downfall has been thoroughly chronicled. But years from now, with the perspective of history, I have little doubt that the company will be viewed as the perfect poster child for the principles I present in When Growth Stalls. If this can happen to what was once the world’s most dominant corporation, it can happen to yours and mine as well. We should continually take heed.