On the persistence of culture

A couple weeks ago, I was talking with my friend Ethan about how corporate cultures develop, and he pointed out the importance of origin mythology. For example, Microsoft’s origin story is of a shrewd Bill Gates buying DOS and rebranding it as a Microsoft product. Ever since then, Microsoft has had a culture of following and M&A; rather than true innovation. Google, on the other hand, has been about enabling clever people, and giving them an environment in which to assert their cleverness.

How, then, can the Detroit car makers reinvent themselves with cultures that will help them to attract and retain talent? The Ford origin story is the mythology of the assembly line; in other words, of Ford’s ability to mechanize and menialize human labor. Is there a way for them to transform that into a culture that respects the value of individual workers, something demanded by today’s graduates?