Ford: You’re Not Done Yet

FORTUNE — Last week, Ford Motor Company announced their first-quarter performance. Snipping costs and trimming the fat by streamlining operations allowed the auto manufacturer to swing a profit and beat analysts predictions. But the road is long. An article from Fortune discusses some of the reasons why it may not be the moment to stop and celebrate:

Auto companies don’t turn around in one year or even two. They can get a nice bump by reducing operating expenses – there is always plenty of fat to trim and operations to streamline – but making improvements in the top line means introducing new models that require a minimum of four years to make it from the idea stage to the showroom. Mulally has been on the job for just 20 months and has plenty of hard work ahead of him.

Regardless of what’s ahead (and the negative tone of the article), Ford has given investors an impressive quarter for the American auto industry. Read article.

How To: Eliminate the Need for Customer Service

Authors Bill Price and David Jaffe aim to flip the world of customer service with their new book, “The Best Service is No Service.”  An article from the LA Times writes:

If companies can get those things right in the first place, most customers neither want nor need so-called customer service.

Many executives may call the goal of eliminating the customer service department impossible; realistically, it is. The only saving grace that this book may provide a bit of insight comes from work experience. Price was the Vice President of Global Customer Services at Amazon.com. Read article.