Learning from leaders - Eiji Toyoda
In 1950 a young engineer called Eiji Toyoda visited Ford's massive car plant at River Rouge near Detroit. At the time, the plant was churning out 8000 vehicles every day – more than three times the number that his cousin's Japanese auto plant had produced in its entire 13 year history. So why is Toyota now the world's most successful car company and Ford on the edge of bankruptcy?
Toyoda wasn't dismayed by Ford's then overwhelming domination of the auto business. Instead he determined to learn from this crucible and rise to the challenge of beating Ford – and indeed all the American manufacturers.
Toyoda was in business for the long term. He knew he couldn't beat Ford that year, but with a philosophy of continuous improvement he knew he could beat Ford eventually.
Long term thinking also lead Toyota to develop the worlds' first commercially successful hybrid car, the Prius, when the 'big three' American manufacturers failed to see that the writing was on the wall for oil.
Great leaders understand the importance of thinking long term.
Leadership trivia: why Toyota for the company when the guys were called Toyoda? Toyoda in Japanese means abundant rice farm. Employees suggested the word Toyota, which means nothing at all in Japanese (except for a very successful company)