I wrote a column for Inside Line called "Target: Toyota" that suggested Toyota is now everyone's target as Toyota marches to No. 1 in global sales. Do you feel Toyota is wearing a target?
Hats off to you for being the first journalist to actually bring out that the responsibility and role we have now puts us in a very different light. As opposed to a target, I'd say we're operating more under a microscope or magnifying glass. The things we are doing have more meaning or more interest in the media than before. We established our reputation on quality so now if we have a minor quality issue, it is a major story.
We realize and actually relish in a way having that target on our back because it is a great motivator to make sure we continue moving forward, continue growing and doing the things that made us successful and not becoming complacent and not get arrogant. As we grow, we have to fight the big-company disease. One of my goals in my new job at TMA is to have TMA help police and assure that the target doesn't get hit. We have to learn from that experience [the sexual harassment case] and make sure we become the steward of our reputation.
Many so-called experts have listed Toyota's challenges. What do you think Toyota's biggest challenges are?
That we believe our own headlines. We're not as good as people say when we're doing well, nor are the other companies as bad as they say they are when they're not doing well. We may be in 3rd place or 2nd place ? who knows or who cares? But we have to think like we're in 4th place and focus on what we can do better. I got some sage advice from a wise old grandmother. She said green tomatoes always know their futures are still ahead of them, while red tomatoes quit growing. So we want to be a green tomato.
It gets harder as you grow and have some level of accomplishment. The reality is a lot of our [upward sales] movement and [increased market] share are not just about what we've done, but what other companies have done [the drop in share by Ford and General Motors]. Our biggest issue is to make sure as we grow that we remember what got us here. As we do grow, we don't lose the attributes of what made us a success and don't let attributes that made us a success become attributes of failure. The things that got us here can't be the things that take us down.
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