Chairing his first general meeting in three years, how did Akio Toyoda respond to questions from Toyota's shareholders?
Early on the morning of June 17, many shareholders had already begun gathering outside Honkan Hall at Toyota Motor Corporation’s head office in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, the main venue for the company’s General Shareholders’ Meeting.
As shareholders waited for the doors to open, Chairman Akio Toyoda appeared among them, posing for photos and greeting them. To some shareholders, it has become something of a familiar scene. This year again, Chairman Toyoda spent time interacting directly with shareholders, including handing out specially made stickers.
What shareholders’ meetings mean to Akio Toyoda
According to one shareholder, "Under Chairman Toyoda, the general meetings have become a place to share laughter and tears." So how does the Chairman himself view these annual gatherings?
Reflecting on his own journey, Akio spoke about the meetings as a forum for "frank and honest dialogue" between the company and its shareholders.
Chairman Toyoda
I am sure you have sensed many changes to these shareholders’ meetings during my 14 years as president, as well as the three years under our previous president, Vice Chairman Koji Sato.
Whereas during the pandemic 300 shareholders were here in person, today we currently have 8,922 attending this general meeting. (Note: the final figure was a record-high 9,040).
Knowing that we have the support of so many shareholders, I have nothing but the deepest gratitude. Thank you very much.
The change in our shareholders’ meetings is, if I may say so, also part of our “revolution” of ever-better carmaking. However, the reason I undertook these changes comes down to two factors: the fact that I am not an engineer, and that I took over the reins with the company in the red.
If I had to add one more, it would be representing Toyota at the U.S. public hearings. For me, these three things were the starting point for everything.
At the time we fell into the red, Toyota tended to be praised for making money. In such circumstances, my role was, in a sense, to serve as the rearguard, someone who takes absolute responsibility to protect the company. People were waiting for me to accept responsibility for those losses by stepping down. When I took over as president of Toyota Motor Corporation, I felt tremendous pressure, and frankly, I had no idea how I should proceed.
The only thing I had to offer was my love for Toyota. And my love of driving.
And so, I figured that the only way to change Toyota’s direction was for people to see me with our cars, risking my life at the Nürburgring.
At the time, people both inside and outside the company criticized me harshly for getting behind the wheel, claiming I was just racing for my own amusement. These days, I am energized by the encouragement I receive wherever I go, and what brings me the greatest joy is hearing people say that our cars have really changed.
Another big change occurred on the day that I took the stand at the U.S. public hearings, which I regard as a turning point.
I realized that, when faced with a crisis threatening the company’s survival, my role as someone bearing the founding family name is to fight not only for Toyota’s present, but also its past and future, while also taking responsibility for our group companies, dealerships, and suppliers. Day after day, I have continued to take up that fight.
Thanks to the support of our shareholders and many colleagues, I now find myself back in this seat, this time as chairman. The biggest difference between then and now is that I have colleagues devoted to carmaking.
I don’t have people working under me, but I do have colleagues. Together, we'll keep making ever-better cars, and I hope you’ll continue to be excited about Toyota.
Shareholders are the owners of a company. For a time, I used to view these shareholders’ meetings as an opportunity, once a year, to look at ourselves in the mirror. Going forward, however, I would like to see Toyota’s general meetings serve as a forum—at least here in Japan—where you, the company’s owners, and our leadership team can engage in frank and honest dialogue.
I have returned to the role of chairperson after some time away, and now I can call on people to provide responses rather than being called upon. And I must say, this is a nice place to be. When you’re being called upon it’s always nerve-wracking, but here I’m the one in control.
Apologies to the rest of the team, but I wouldn’t mind doing this a little longer, if I may. Of course, that’s up to the company.
(Laughter and approving applause from the attendees)
These general meetings are created together with all of you, our shareholders. We want to create something we can proudly show the world, so I hope you will continue to offer your kind yet candid input. I believe that is your role as the owners.
In response to your question, I would like to ask that you take on this role as the company’s owners.
The real work of recurrence prevention
In our previous article on this year’s shareholders’ meeting, President Kenta Kon borrowed Chairman Toyoda’s words in describing the role of a company leader as “making decisions and taking responsibility.” During the meeting, Chairman Toyoda himself made a similar remark about the duties of those at the top.
Referring to Toyota’s certification issue press conference two years earlier, he made the following comments:
Chairman Toyoda
Firstly, the reason I spoke at the press conference is that, when such incidents happen, public interest inevitably focuses on preventing a repeat.
All sorts of things happen in the genba every day. Things don’t always go to plan. In such cases, we make sure to take the proper initial response, to stop immediately if something goes wrong, and correct it. Over many years, that’s how Toyota has consistently delivered on our promise of quality.
When we talk about preventing recurrence, in the public eye it becomes about finding a culprit. I believe the role of those at the top is to make decisions and take responsibility.
During that press conference, in responding to a question from the media Chairman Toyoda also stated, “I don’t think it’s possible to completely eliminate (such issues).” At the shareholders’ meeting, he went on to explain the real intention behind these words.
Chairman Toyoda
In a global company as large as Toyota, issues are not caused by individuals. Many different people are involved in making our cars.
If you’re looking for a culprit in that context, I think the most appropriate person to point the finger at is me. By stepping forward and saying, “I'm responsible,” I think that led the genba to settle down and get on with the real work of preventing a recurrence.
With any manufactured product, there are inevitable inconsistencies. When we’re selling 10 million cars, there is a possibility that such things will happen, even though we don’t intend them.
If I were to respond by publicly stating that "this will never happen again," in such a big company some people might try to conceal issues because they might think, "We cannot bring shame on the chairman." Covering things up is the biggest problem of all.
Once you acknowledge that issues will occur, the person responsible must act appropriately. By doing so, they allow the genba to settle down and get on with their work.
Starting from the very beginning of the process, we used material and information flow diagrams to track down the root causes of the irregularities.
In saying that mistakes will never entirely disappear, Chairman Toyoda was not trying to justify the situation. He was once again emphasizing that, to ensure employees immediately stop to correct problems rather than covering them up, those responsible must step forward and do their part.