“Let me deal here with what General Motors includes and with the responsibility that rests on its management.”

—  Alfred P. Sloan

Alfred P. Sloan in The Turning Wheel, 1934

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Alfred P. Sloan 47
American businessman 1875–1966

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“But as president of General Motors, I realized our thinking affected the lives of hundreds of thousands directly and influenced the economic welfare of many important communities, in some of which we were almost the sole provider. In some way, visible or invisible, as we expanded, the economic welfare of millions was becoming linked with the welfare of General Motors. Previously, when industry was smaller, the absorbing problems of industrial management were largely limited to the fields of engineering, production and distribution. Out of its endeavors in these fields had come a continuous stream of new products, providing new comforts and making possible better ways of living. General Motors was becoming large through a, but only because it was rendering a service to community. As its volume of business expanded it became able to do more for workers, stockholders and customers.”

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“Naturally. I like to see General Motors stock register a good price on the market, but that is just a matter of pride… What has counted with me is the true value of the property as a business return on investment.”

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