http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070204/OPINION03/702040301/1382

He lays out what he expects from the governor's State of the State speech tomorrow, and like most of us, he doesn't expect much.  

Lopez raises one interesting point that often gets overlooked.  We don't have to look far for examples of CEOs in tough spots doing what needs to be done to solve their problems.

Lets remember that the Governor is the CEO of the state of Michigan.  It's a $42 billion business. Michigan is also home to several other multi-billion dollar companies in perilous economic times.  Who'd have thought we might be able to learn something from them...

Lopez writes:

"I inherited these problems," isn't an acceptable phrase for the state's chief executive. Granholm knew what she was getting into when she took office in 2003.
Alan Mullaly hasn't dwelled on or blamed Bill Ford or any of the other former executives for the poor business decisions that led the Ford Motor Co. to a $12.7 billion loss last year. He acknowledged the problems, and made tough, but necessary, decisions to turn things around. Rick Wagoner did the same thing at General Motors Corp. and has all but extinguished the bankruptcy talk that threatened his job last year.
And these are guys who take real heat from investors, analysts and activists from around the world, not just a few critics in Michigan."

The whole leadership discussion has sort of been done to death this past year.  And until the governor steps up and shows a little herself, its likely to be done again.  Often.  But more than just talking about it in abstracts, look at GM and Ford for tangible examples.  Not only didn't Wagoner and Mullaly blame their predecessors, they made excrutiating changes to the way they did business.  And it wasn't because they're mean guys.  They did it to save their companies!  They made tough decisions.  Unpopular decisions.  That's what leaders do.

And here's the kicker.  The governor's been so freaking slow to adapt that there are still some easy fixes out there.  You don't believe me?  One word.  MESSA.  $200 million just by changing the way our public school teachers get their insurance sourced!!!  Not touching benefits.  That's bookkeeping people.  But its real life savings!  

So what's the difference between the auto CEOs and our CEO?  Only one of them's in bed with the unions.  And until her focus is more on taking care of us than taking care of the special interests, we're going to continue to swirl around the bowl.

As Lopez concluded:

"We can't wait "five (more) years" to be "blown away." A nine-year turnaround plan isn't leadership, it's a dereliction of duty and we deserve better."