In this solo episode of the Automotive Leaders Podcast, Jan Griffiths takes on the silo mentality we inherited from Frederick Taylor in 1911. She explains why automotive leadership needs an enormous mindset shift to get people focused on the outcome instead of their own function.
Jan breaks down the new Stellantis plan to bring suppliers into its North American headquarters for 10 weeks, starting with the next-generation Ram 1500. She also names the two questions that will make or break it: trust on both sides and when the sourcing decision is actually made. Then she turns to China speed and a slide from Caresoft’s Terry Woychowski that shows how the Chinese OEMs work together on the parts customers never see.
AI won’t fix a broken process. Speed gets built in the room, and it’s time to make sure the right people are in it.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Collaboration is in every deck
01:35 Silos from 1911
02:56 Stellantis brings suppliers in for 10 weeks
03:42 The two questions that make or break it
05:38 Early supplier involvement and the PPV trap
07:16 China speed
07:52 Seven breather caps
09:28 The Reuters panel
11:30 One powertrain, many OEMs
12:34 Don’t put AI on a broken process
🎧 Listen to the full podcast: https://theautomotiveleaderspodcast.com/
📩 Send feedback or questions to Jan: Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com
#AutomotiveLeadership #AutomotiveIndustry #SupplyChain
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The Automotive Leaders Podcast is hosted by Jan Griffiths, the champion for culture change in the automotive industry. From a farm in Wales to the C-suite of a $3 billion Tier-1 supplier, Jan built her career inside this industry. Now she's out to transform it.
Her argument is blunt. The pressure on this industry isn't letting up. The survivors will be the ones who reinvent how they work. Speed wins. Everyone else gets left behind.
Every episode, Jan sits down with the leaders driving that change. Real conversations about tariffs, supply chain shocks, EV uncertainty, AI, and the shift from command-and-control to authentic, human-centered leadership.
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