"Anything is fine, so please speak up." Chairman Toyoda began the Q&A with these words, and questions were raised one after another. How did he respond to the anxious and distressed genba leaders?
“Let’s invent our path forward together with the whole Toyota Group.”
At the end of January, Chairman Akio Toyoda expressed a new vision as the top representative of the Group. The previous episode of Toyota Times News featured a Q&A with Chairman Toyoda and the top leaders of each Group company.
How did the genba employees feel hearing Chairman Toyoda’s vision, and what were their thoughts?
Two weeks from the briefing, the genba leaders of Toyota Group companies gathered with Chairman Toyoda at KIZUNA, the Toyota Group training facility, in Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture. Their honest conversations are the subject of today’s video.
Participants wanted to know how the chairman developed his mind, how to respond to issues when they arise, ways to engage with young employees and colleagues at work, and many real concerns from the genba.
Chairman Toyoda took each question seriously and responded while also depicting the sort of leader and workstyle he expects from them.
One member of the audience was Akira Miura, the winner of the Dakar Rally, who is a company driver for Toyota Auto Body and a recent guest on Toyota Times Sports. What was Chairman Toyoda’s response to his question about dealing with the sense of isolation?
Next, the chairman and participants left the classroom. Where did they go?
Chairman Toyoda took all the Group company’s anxieties and distress from the genba and faced them with sincerity. Don’t miss a minute of these ideas put into words.