Comments on: Akio Toyoda Steps Down as Toyota CEO

By: Claas Christian Wuttke

Claas Christian Wuttke — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 19:37:09 +0000

Very Interesting! Thanks

By: Christoph Roser

Christoph Roser — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:45:23 +0000

Hello Jeffrey, many thanks for your input. Toyota had a string of very good CEO’s. People I know in particular praised Fujio Cho. Unfortunately, Akio Toyoda breaks this string. As I am writing these lines, I am in Japan again, having talked to more people, including an Japanese University professor, a local consultant, and the director of the Japanese branch of an international company that supplies Toyota. They all agree with the assessment in this blog, and are worried that Akio damages the corporate culture of Toyota. I even got some more examples and anecdotes on him along the same lines. He may have managed some crises (besides these you mentioned also the break pedal issue and airbag recall), but overall I believe he hurt Toyota more than he helped.

By: Jeffrey Liker

Jeffrey Liker — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 12:29:22 +0000

As a student of The Toyota Way over the last 40 years I have been repeatedly impressed at how magically the right leader for the right times is selected as president. Like Okuda disrupted a lot of things being somewhat aggressive and pushing hard on the projects he believed in, though one was the Prius which worked out great. He seemed to disrupt the culture of respect for people. Then Fujio Cho comes in and brings the Toyota Way 2001 and Toyota Business Practices and more focusing on building the culture. I personally was excited when Akio Toyoda came in. A close colleague, Gary Convis, knew him well at NUMMI, and raved about his sincerity and humbleness, like putting a cot on the floor when there was a big breakdown of a stamping press. He could not do anything but he wanted to be there to support the team member. My optimism was exceeded when I saw first hand the wonderful job Akio did as president when time and time again he took a major crisis (recalls, Fujushima disaster, Thailand flooding, chip shortage) and masterfully managed through it, always trusting in the team members. I recall in the parts shortage following Fukushima he ordered his lieutentants to not ask questions of the people managing the recover. “If you want to know go to the obeya and see for yourself.” After the recall crisis he ordered every Toyota location to create their own quality center with the sources of information most critical of Toyota, pulling no punches, that everyone understands what happens when quality and communication slips. I can go on and on about his great leadership, humble leadership, respect for suppliers, respect for team members. He will be a very hard act to follow.

By: panupong prasert

panupong prasert — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 07:28:47 +0000

Thank for your insight christoph! , as normal car & motorcycle guy ,too bad that public always rewards marketing and publicity more than engineering and integrity even first two will definitely get you killed , Tesla delivers products with questionable quality and bad customer support yet many people worship them as the great way forward , VW till this day still greenwashing themselves long after dieselgate hoax yet people praise them as EV savior.
I want to hear your opinion about present Honda , it seem like since post covid they tried to lean heavily towards engineering oriented again after two decades of being ruled by accountants , their current ceo toshihiro mibe is seem look opposite to akio and koiji.

By: Christoph Roser

Christoph Roser — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 04:19:16 +0000

Hi Jay, the problem lies with the freedom of the press in japan, or lack thereof. Japan press freedom is ranked 71st in the world out of 180, quite behind of most other democracies. The problem are the “press clubs”. To join any kind of press conference, the journalist/publication needs to be a member in an industry press club. Anyone writing undesired news gets kicked out…hence there are few undesired news. I source this article on two independent journalists, once I have met a few times myself, but even in Japan you have to look for such news. Critical voices rarely make it into english, either. If a company is not part of a press club, however, the gloves are off (e.g. Nintendo is not in a press club, hence the news is much harsher on them than the press club insider Sony).

By: Jay Bitsack

Jay Bitsack — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 17:09:54 +0000

Hi Christoph,
This write-up is definitely not good news… It certainly sounds as though you’re plugged into what’s happening within Toyota. Interestingly, this sort of negative news has not crossed my radar prior to reading your article. As such, the question arises as to what factor(s) might have precluded this sort of news leaking out elsewhere and earlier?

Based on what you’ve written, it seems clear that a company’s way of THINKING AND BEHAVING can be and is greatly influenced by the manifest ways of THINKING AND BEHAVING at the very top of the organization. That fact has been evidenced perennially – for many decades now – throughout the US auto manufacturers. It seems rare to encounter a CEO who is willing buck the demands of the financial markets and focus on meeting/exceeding customer needs and expectations. And, up until now, I believed that Toyota’s past would continue to define its future. BUT, it now seems that the PAST is only as robust as those in the PRESENT choose to make it.

Bottom line: Operational Excellence – on a worldwide stage – and the sort of persistent THINKING AND BEHAVING required to sustain it are actually pretty fragile. And one of the forces that seems to make OE more susceptible to decline is a mindset that favors short-term financial performance over serving CUSTOMERS in both the present and the foreseeable future.

By: John Allen

John Allen — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:35:15 +0000

Having worked inside of Toyota at Georgetown, I believe that mutual trust and respect is the key process for progress. From what i have read it is being dismanteled. It is to Toyota’s disadvantage. Trust is very fragile

By: Vico Strozzi

Vico Strozzi — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:10:40 +0000

Wow interesting and insightful post. Thank you 🙂