Alain Jemain

"The entire organization from one end of the hierarchy to the other is imbued with a somewhat sordid penny-pinching spirit that contributes to Bibendum’s thriving health. Boulanger grants full authority to a spending control body—the dreaded “service des économes”—composed of about twenty inquisitors who constantly clash with the “spendthrift” initiatives of department heads in all areas. Despite the occasional bouts of bad temper caused by the pettiness of these rule-obsessed fanatics, no one would think of challenging the authority of the “Boss”—always capitalized as in Clermont—put in place by the mysterious and distant head office. Nor that of his two deputies, Antoine Brueder, who handles organization and personnel selection, and Pierre Bercot, who is in charge of the firm’s general secretariat, production planning, and financial and commercial management."

"Each collaborator is specialized, compartmentalized. They know very little about a mixture, a process, or a knack. Those who have seen the manufacturing process from A to Z can be counted on one hand. When engineers or managers become friends, they are transferred to distant and opposing locations to separate them. The internal promotion path never allows one to know an entire manufacturing cycle. Michelin hires sons, brothers, or cousins of workers. Rarely the children or close relatives of its managers and engineers. Almost never the cousins or great-nephews of the founders. Whether close or distant, descendants forbid themselves from talking about what they know about the history of the House and the great ancestors. Spouses agree before marriage to have their mail read by the heirs of the direct line."

"The philosopher-manager believes only in technology and, as in Clermont, “in fact-finding investigations.” Not in marketing. “Instead of exhausting oneself following tastes and fashions,” he will tell the weekly magazine Entreprise, “we must seek to satisfy the deep and often ignored needs of the public.” In short, making his customers happy without them, even against them. The automobile is a supply market, not a demand market. “A good product, as taught at Quai de Javel and in Clermont-Ferrand, will always find buyers.”"

"The Auvergnats, they sneer, are getting cheap publicity! The requested performance is impossible. “It will not be before fifty years that such a feat will be realized,” estimates part of the press. Michelin sends the “aviators” to their deaths, accuse the aviation people."

"Among the major technical milestones, the removable tire, the detachable rim (1906), the twin wheel (1908), the pilot tire in 1937, the X tire in 1948."

"Since the early twenties, factories have been organized in the American way, based on a fundamental principle: task timing. Michelin has become an ardent advocate of Taylorism among French employers. “So that the worker tires less, earns more, produces more, and the price of manufactured goods decreases.” Leading by example, it has shown its peers how to construct, with minimal effort and maximum profit, a brick wall or install a faucet."

"As often as possible, the company prefers to integrate rather than jeopardize its independence. It has its own plantations, cable factories, and machine manufacturing workshops. When it cannot produce its equipment itself, it disperses its suppliers and subcontractors to the four corners of France by assigning each of them a fragmentary task and obliging them, in writing, to maintain secrecy. But in return, it pays them cash on the first day of the month following delivery, grants them low-interest or even interest-free loans."

"If the Administration, the two brothers believe, is clogged with men who prefer adherence to regulations over common sense, it is because the State is a bad employer. “When an employee in a private enterprise is inadequate or commits a serious error, the sanction is clear: it’s the door. “And this sanction has a triple advantage: “It serves as an example to the mediocre. “It prevents recurrences. “It makes room for advancing the man of value. “The State does nothing similar: it keeps the incompetent, it preserves their seniority-based advancement, and even better, it decorates them! Hence, it discourages the good ones.”"

"Here is a book that reveals the inner and secret aspect of a French and global company. It began in Clermont-Ferrand around 1884 with the manufacture of brake blocks lined with rubber for horse-drawn vehicles. Today, it constitutes the second largest tire group worldwide and is on its way to becoming the number one, thanks to the spirit of the House: tenacity, creativity, secrecy in design and manufacturing, rigor in management, and a sense, often humorous, of advertising: the now-legendary Bibendum; the red-covered guide with its stars; road signs."

"Most importantly, for the first time, with the “Métallic” and the “Pilote,” a tire company achieves perfect adhesion between rubber and metal. Through direct bonding, it seems, after a surface treatment of the steel wire. It is the “secret of secrets” of the House."

"No yachts, lavish receptions, hunting reserves, or gambling tables. In his view, you cannot exhort thousands of people to save money, accelerate their work pace, or expand their responsibilities without the boss — Primus inter pares — himself adhering to the community’s Spartan disciplines."

"The only one to content itself, like an early-century SME, with two pillars, central planning and personnel service, around which is organized a vague and shifting constellation of about thirty departments, generally left to the discretion of its leaders."

"The doctrine is to trust those who have responsibilities and can change them “as long as they have not failed.” Among the executives, and especially among the house engineers, one would have to have committed the gravest offenses to be dismissed. However, using familiar terms is frowned upon: it risks conspiracy against the boss! Naturally, there is no budget forecast, no cost accounting, no management control, no internal information. However, in production, technology, or research, there are ultra-competent teams who are given great freedom of action and in whom there is absolute trust."

"7° The requirement of economy. There should be a focus on eliminating waste “that benefits no one.” Since the resources of the House are limited, only what can be useful and help it progress should be considered: essentially, research. “The profit of the House goes first to the House. In this way, everyone works for their future.”"