An Open Letter to Toyota President Akio Toyoda
To: Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Co.
From: Steve Tobak, The Corner Office blog, BNET
Re: Your upcoming visit to the U.S. Congress
Dear Mr. Toyoda,
You've been Toyota's chief for all of eight months and already you're facing the biggest crisis in the company's history. I guess what they say is true: timing really is everything. Anyway, you're stepping up to the plate and confronting U.S. congressional leaders this coming Wednesday. A loaded situation if there ever was one.
Say the right stuff that resonates with the American people, and you can stop worrying about "perception" and focus on Toyota's internal issues. Everyone wins. Say the wrong stuff, and you could conceivably make matters worse -- if that's even possible.
While I'm sure you have an army of capable advisors and crisis management people, I wonder if any of them are willing to hit you right between the eyes with the truth, unfiltered and unrefined. That's one of the problems with leadership -- it's sometimes hard to get the straight story out of people who are always trying to impress you.
Well, you don't have that problem with me. I'm not out to impress anybody.
Speaking of which, I realize you don't know beans about me. I'm a management consultant who sometimes advises companies on matters concerning strategy and crises. I'm also a former senior executive of the technology industry who's done a lot of business in Japan.
My motivation is simple. I'm a fan of great business stories. And Toyota is a great business story, having risen to the top of a large, brutally competitive market. Personally, I don't want to see it fall. And certainly not like this.
Now let's get down to business. I liked your letter in the Washington Post. It was a bit late for a crisis of this magnitude, but better late than never. Also, instead of "Toyota's plan to repair its public image," I would have called it "Toyota's plan to repair Toyota." It's more accurate.
In any case, you talked about launching a top-to-bottom review of global operations to ensure this kind of thing never happens again; convening a blue-ribbon safety advisory group; and the need to more aggressively investigate complaints and move more quickly to address safety issues. You covered what Toyota has to do going forward rather nicely, I think. But you missed something.
Indeed, you apologized, but you never really explained what you were apologizing for. You sort of put the cart before the horse, because you still haven't told American consumers what actually happened. And the sooner you do that -- tell folks the truth about what happened -- the sooner we can all move on. That's just how this sort of thing works.
Specifically, there are three things about the "acceleration problem" that American consumers need to know, and they need to hear it from you:
1. Your company's complete and total understanding of the problem. First it was the floor mat, then it was the accelerator pedal, then a software problem. You need to clear all that up. What really was the problem -- or problems?
2. The chain of events. Who (among Toyota's executives) knew what (about the problem)? When exactly did they know it? How did they come to know it (internally, from customers, from a U.S. agency, for example)? And why did they choose to do nothing for so long?
3. What action you've taken at the top. We need to hear that you've identified and terminated the executives responsible -- not for the problem's occurrence but, much more importantly, for not addressing it aggressively and immediately, especially if there was a cover up. Not that I'm implying there was.
It's a lot, I know. But you know what? The customers who made Toyota the top-selling brand in America, not to mention billions in profits, have also been through a lot lately. All things considered, this doesn't seem like too much to ask.
Best of luck on Wednesday.
Sincerely,
Steve Tobak
The Corner Office blog, BNET