In their New Year's greetings to employees, Chairman Akio Toyoda and President Koji Sato spoke of creating an environment where people come together to take on challenges, make mistakes, struggle, try again, and in the end, say "thank you" to one another.
Passing the baton
On the day, how did the employees receive the words spoken by Chairman Toyoda and President Sato? We spoke with several who were there in person.
“I felt that we should be more conscious of our starting point, ‘Good thinking, good products.’ Together, we need to work on developing people in the way Chairman Toyoda described.”
“Chairman Toyoda’s choice of ‘ba’ really resonated with me. I will strive to find and create opportunities through which I can contribute to Toyota. I want to give back to the company that has nurtured me.”
The task of passing the baton to the next generation does not rest only with President Sato and the leadership team. Across every genba, people are tackling the challenge of making ever-better cars and working to pass on the skills they have honed.