Let's face it, the "world of business" is a pretty strange place. And, like it or not, a lot of engineers are going to wind up there.

How, exactly, are you going to cope? Certainly, good looks alone won't be enough. For starters, you are going to need to know the difference between engineering and re-engineering. The former has something to do with what you learned in school; the latter, with the sometimes-inscrutable alchemy that separates successful enterprises from unsuccessful ones.

What makes some enterprises successful and other not so? It isn't alchemy really; it's thinking. Engineers, of course, tend to be left-brained thinkers--linear, quantitative, and rational. The problem is, customers and markets are not always rational (despite what they teach in Economics 101). That's why a healthy dose of right-brained thinking (basically, informed intuition) is needed as well--yes, even among engineers.

As we move into the 21st century, successful enterprises are those that think with their whole brain--the "irrational" right, as well as the linear left. And understanding this and other fundamental (though not always obvious) "laws" of business will play a huge role in determining who are the winners and the losers in the future.

Robert A. Lutz was named Vice Chairman of Chrysler Corporation on December 5, 1996. Lutz is a director of the Company and focuses primarily on Chrysler's product development activities. As a member of the Office of the Chairman, he is involved in all major decisions and acts as coach and advisor.

Prior to this position, Lutz was President and Chief Operating Officer for Chrysler's car and truck operations, including International Operations. He led all of Chrysler's automotive activities including Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Manufacturing, and Procurement and Supply. He had been President of Chrysler since January 1991.

Lutz joined Chrysler in June 1986 as Executive Vice President of Chrysler Motors Corporation, and was elected to the Chrysler Corporation Board of Directors in June 1986. He was named President-Operations in January 1988, and President-Chrysler Motors in November 1988. Prior to Chrysler, Lutz spent twelve years at Ford Motor Company, where he was Executive Vice President of Truck Operations. Before that, he served as chairman of Ford of Europe and Executive Vice President of Ford's International Operations. Lutz started his automotive career at General Motors Corporation, where he held a variety of senior positions in Europe. Later, he served three years as Executive Vice President of Sales at BMW.

Lutz is a member of the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman, ASCOM (a Swiss telecommunications and electronics company), and Silicon Graphics, Inc. He is also a member (and former chairman) of the American Highway Users Alliance. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Lutz received his B.S. in 1961 (he was a Phi Beta Kappa) and an M.B.A. in 1962 (with highest honors), both from the University of California, Berkeley. He served as an aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1954-1959 and attained the rank of Captain. He was born February 12, 1932 in Zurich, Switzerland.

Georgia Institute of Technology
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Atlanta, GA 30332-0405
404/894-3200
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