Retain Top Talent: The Essence of Human-Centered Management

Author: Tong Desi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: In his book "My Years Working at Toyota," Katsuyuki Kato of Toyota Motor Corporation discussed the process of the Toyota Crown model car entering the U.S. market. From this, one can see the immense drive demonstrated in the battle of turning defeat into victory, as reflected in the challenging goals set by an outstanding leader. At that time, the challenging goal of "must enter the U.S. market" had become a belief for Toyota. Kato's superior saw the Volkswagen Beetle, manufactured by Germany's Volkswagen, cruising effortlessly on highways and streets in the U.S. He believed that if the Beetle could enter the U.S. market, there was no reason to prevent other brands from doing so. Therefore, "entering the U.S. market" became the primary goal of Toyota's production and sales departments. Many people felt uncertain at the time. Was this goal too difficult? Could the craftsmanship of the Crown car meet U.S. standards? Indeed, it was very challenging for Toyota Crown to enter the U.S. market. The engine of the Crown was designed for Japan's narrow roads and low-speed driving at the time, and it was far from meeting the demands of Americans for car performance and durability. As expected, when Toyota's Crown car was tested on U.S. highways at 80 miles per hour, it soon emitted loud noises, and the car's power dropped sharply. Kato said, "Our ideal was like a boat with a big hole at the bottom, sinking. We wrote back to Japan, suggesting we just give up. What deserves eternal praise is that Toyota headquarters said, 'We cannot give up. Even if we sell only 50 to 200 Crown cars per year, that's fine.'" Later, technical problems piled up, and Toyota had to ship the cars back to Japan from the U.S. Even so, Toyota still held firm.
Toyota refused to retreat from the U.S. market. Its persistent pursuit was simply: "Enter the U.S. market." Finally, after 19 years, Toyota defeated Volkswagen and allowed Toyota cars in the U.S. to proudly say, "Where there's a will, there's a way—where there's a road, there's a Toyota." A challenging goal set by a super leader will make people invest a lot, but it is like a North Star, guiding people forward. P32-33