We’ve been hearing rumblings for a while that board chairman Ed Whitacre was determined to change the culture at GM, and that everyone, including CEO Fritz Henderson, would be judged by a very high standard. BusinessWeek had an excellent report on this several months ago.

We learned today the Henderson has been fired by the board, and that Whitacre will take over an interim CEO. That’s quite a shake-up, and I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming days. It’s either a sign of disarray at the new GM, or perhaps a sign that the new board is determined to set a new standard and see results.

They will almost certainly look outside of the company for the next chief. Tapping an upcoming star from the Ford stable isn’t a bad idea. Mark Fields or Jim Farley would be interesting and aggressive moves by the new GM board. Let the speculation begin!