Gibson troubles mount . . . big article . . .

[tbonesullivan]

Maybe they should take the company public. Then we can all own a piece of Gibson. There really needs to be an independent board to oversee what the CEO is doing.

[duane v]

Maybe they should take the company public. .

 

I would like you to explain why

[MojoRedFoot]

You hear that, Henry? huh? You are one of the most (if not THE) hated men in the musical instrument industry. You are single handedly destroying an American icon. You egotistical, greedy, dirty piece of rat sh!t.

[Witmer]

Maybe they should take the company public. Then we can all own a piece of Gibson. There really needs to be an independent board to oversee what the CEO is doing.

 

 

I doubt this is in the cards, mostly because of what we've heard about Henry disliking oversight, but I"ll bet they could raise a bunch of capital quickly that way. I'd love to own a few shares of Gibson, especially since having a board could only help things.

 

Someone else touched on this, but it's documented that entrepreneur - types (the kind that do what Henry did in taking a young or dying company and resuscitating it) are the least well suited for managing and running a company well. Entrepreneurs have great strengths, but they tend to have corresponding weaknesses right where operations guys need to be strong. Henry should have gotten Gibson back on its feet and then handed management over to someone equally gifted, but in other ways. He could still have innovated as head of R&D, subject to the final decision of the board...

 

well, anyway. I love my guitar, and it would be a shame if others like it get harder to find.

[Witmer]

I would like you to explain why

 

 

 

Well, I wrote my post above before I saw this, but... just my $0.02

[albertjohn]

I suspect one of the questions on Henry's top 5 list of things to do before whatever, is:

 

"When do I exit?"

 

This will be top of most entrepreneurs list.

 

If he does not have an exit strategy then he's more bonkers than many of us think.

[freak show]

Maybe they should take the company public. Then we can all own a piece of Gibson. There really needs to be an independent board to oversee what the CEO is doing.

 

I would like you to explain why

 

He did. You failed to quote the second half of his statement.

 

If Gibson were a publicly traded company, the decision making process would be conducted by more than one person. There would be a board of directors, and major stockholders would also have a say as to how the company is run.

 

At this point Gibson is a dictatorship. Henry is the dictator.

 

And from the look of things he's playing the flute while everything burns...

[Riffster]

IMO

 

It would be unlikely for Herny to give up control of the company he owns. He may have to one day.

 

Getting capital does not have to come from a public share offering, private investors could co-own the company with Henry still in charge. Doesn't that Dutch company own part of Gibson now?

 

A board may be beneficial, we do not know that. Maybe the board would suggest making Gibsons in Mexico.

 

Henry could outright sell the company, lets see how that goes but I assure you you would not keep everybody happy.

[Riffster]

At this point Gibson is a dictatorship. Henry is the dictator.

 

Well, he is the owner.

[freak show]

Well' date=' he is the owner.[/quote']

 

Very true.

 

However, I'm not questioning his right to do as he pleases.

 

I'm simply pointing out that everything being decided by one individual can be detrimental.

 

That's why a system of "checks and balances" is often better.

 

But even that doesn't guarantee good results. Just look at what Jürgen Schrempp did to Daimler -- a publicly traded company with a board of directors...

[Riffster]

Think of this,

 

Lets say you are a bad driver and you owe some money on your car,

 

I want to correct your driving and also tell you where to drive so I ask you to sell me a share of your car so I can ride in it and tell you how to drive. You can then use the money to help with the car payments.

 

You could also sell this privilege to 2 more guys that will ride in the back seat and then we can all tell you how to drive. We can all tell you how to drive your own car.

 

yada, yada, yada you'd be surprised to find out that 1 in 5 people know how a 4-way stop intersection actually works.

[freak show]

Think of this' date='

 

Lets say you are a bad driver and you owe some money on your car,

 

I want to correct your driving and also tell you where to drive so I ask you to sell me a share of your car so I can ride in it and tell you how to drive. You can then use the money to help with the car payments.

 

You could also sell this privilege to 2 more guys that will ride in the back seat and then we can all tell you how to drive. We can all tell you how to drive your own car.

 

yada, yada, yada you'd be surprised to find out that 1 in 5 people know how a 4-way stop intersection actually works.[/quote']

 

Are you saying Henry is a "bad driver"? If so, I'm sure some would agree.

 

To continue your analogy: I think that ultimately Henry will end up driving into a wall, and someone will make him an offer for the wreck. History repeats itself, right?

 

All he's worried about is "enjoying the ride", until the "accident" occurs. In other words: He's stuffing his pockets.

 

BTW: Congrats on your R8. That would be my pick as well. Just don't forget the pics...

[djroge1]

So I have to ask????

 

Have you seen some of the Norlin guitars that manage to come out of that plant????? Everyone seems to forget' date=' or is completely unaware of some of questionable instruments that left the Kalamazoo plant.

 

Certainly there is a ton of Gibson history associated with that plant, but it had its list of horrors as well.

 

Yes I happen to own one and it's one of the best playing Les Pauls I've ever played. It is true that they did produce some items that failed the QC but that is really no different than today. Yes they even did some innovative things that some don't like - such as a 3 piece maple neck.

 

The question I have to ask is have you ever played a Heritage guitar? They are pretty sweet.

 

Some seem to have forgotten or never knew that part of buisiness is to review lessons learned. So to assume that because the workers did what they were told 30 years ago would be standard operating procedures today from the Heritage guys.

[Riffster]

Are you saying Henry is a "bad driver"? If so' date=' I'm sure some would agree.[/quote']

 

More like an offensive driver.

 

Some people from my office have dealt with him in the past given the line of business I work in. They say he is a tough cookie and a hard negotiator. This was 8 - 10 years ago.

 

It looks like all the troubles have started in the last couple of years when the economy hit the crapper.

 

I dunno, I hope things work out for Gibson. While I am not sure new management is the solution the current course of doing business is not going to work in the long run so change is needed.

[duane v]

Yes I happen to own one and it's one of the best playing Les Pauls I've ever played. It is true that they did produce some items that failed the QC but that is really no different than today. Yes they even did some innovative things that some don't like - such as a 3 piece maple neck.

 

The question I have to ask is have you ever played a Heritage guitar? They are pretty sweet.

 

Some seem to have forgotten or never knew that part of buisiness is to review lessons learned. So to assume that because the workers did what they were told 30 years ago would be standard operating procedures today from the Heritage guys.

 

Never have played a Heritage' date=' but I'm sure they are wonderful instruments[cool'] .... But there is no way that Kalamazoo Plant of today could handle 1/2 the production demand the Tennessee plant produces.

 

I'm sure the business climate for most private businesses is difficult.

[tbonesullivan]

with the financing required to run Gibson, Henry is hardly the owner anymore. If he defaults on the loans, and they get pulled, the company will go under. He IS responsible to his creditors. He could easily take the company public and still maintain 51% of the stock. but still, that would mean giving up a significant amount of control, which it does not seem he would ever want to do.

[djroge1]

Never have played a Heritage' date=' but I'm sure they are wonderful instruments[cool'] .... But there is no way that Kalamazoo Plant of today could handle 1/2 the production demand the Tennessee plant produces.

 

I'm sure the business climate for most private businesses is difficult.

 

 

I agree that you are spot on with this.

 

I'm sure Heritage doesn't have the buying power to even take over gibby. However, if they did I don't think moving production back to MI would be in the plan. That would cost more money to move it back. The better buisness model would be to continue production where it is. The big change would be in their buiseness plan and leadership and not necessarily just Henry.

 

A good leader recognizes his/her strenghts AND weaknesses and then surrounds themselves with people to fill the gaps in their weak areas and also empowers those people to be able to make and execute decisions.

[mooseguy]

THE PERFECT SOLUTION

 

 

ESTEBAN TO THE RESCUE

 

 

MOOSE

[duane v]

I agree that you are spot on with this.

 

I'm sure Heritage doesn't have the buying power to even take over gibby. However' date=' if they did I don't think moving production back to MI would be in the plan. That would cost more money to move it back. The better business model would be to continue production where it is. The big change would be in their business plan and leadership and not necessarily just Henry.

 

A good leader recognizes his/her strengths AND weaknesses and then surrounds themselves with people to fill the gaps in their weak areas and also empowers those people to be able to make and execute decisions. [/quote']

 

Certainly some great points touched upon[cool]

 

But as we enter a completely new business climate, the MO is to accomplish more with less personnel. Even at the management level, the old days of sitting in your office and delegating everything is becoming a thing of the past and quickly, and a large number of companies are suffering through the growing pains.

 

Just two years ago I had an assistant that would do my monthly expense reports, book my travel arrangements, and I had a QA Testing Verifying team that would verify designs.......... No such thing anymore[blink]

[NeoConMan]

Maybe they should take the company public. Then we can all own a piece of Gibson. There really needs to be an independent board to oversee what the CEO is doing.

 

 

I would like you to explain why

You can't build sh!t with a committee calling the shots.

 

Henry already has people to answer to - the investors putting their money in the company.

He has to please them FIRST - same as he would have to do with shareholders if it were publicly traded.

If they don't like what he's doing' date=' they'll figure a way to sell out their stake of the company.

 

What happens between Henry and those "rich fat cats" is anybody's guess, but it's [i']their[/i] business.

We can b!tch, we can cry and shout out, we can hope public sentiment reaches them, but it's still their show.

 

 

Oh, and Heritage went broke and shut down last year.

They had a White Knight in Shining Armor ride in and save the day with an injection of cash.

Last I heard they are still producing guitars, and fine ones at that, but they won't be buying much....