"Made in Crisis" Leader, Akio Tyodo - Toyota Turnaround Story

Leaders are born… But better leaders are made on Conditions. If somebody says his business is going smooth, I am worried.. because his business is not growing. That’s why Organizations are measured on their longevity since they go through various economic cycles to survive and grow. If I come across organizations going through crisis, that entices me more since the ability of the organization to overcome such crisis, gives us a free of cost learning on the leadership.

New Toyota chief Akio Toyoda finds feet, company set for big profits

It was August 28, 2009, two months after new Toyota Chief Mr Akio Toyoda took over. "We're in a Lexus," said a man calling 911. "Our accelerator is stuck. We're in trouble, there's no brakes." The panic mounted as the car neared an intersection. "Pray, pray," someone said, before the car flipped over, killing all four passengers.

The minute-long recording played over and over on the news all over America, Toyota's biggest market. More than 10 million cars were recalled globally to fix floor mats that caught on accelerator pedals and other issues. As Toyota's reputation crumbled, Akio all but disappeared.

A summons from US Congress finally drew Akio out. Over one gruelling day on February 24, 2010, he testified for three hours. Akio told US lawmakers: "My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers." Later, Akio choked back tears as he thanked dealers for their support.

Akio had to weather an extraordinary run of bad news. He took over at the height of the global financial crisis, after Toyota posted its first annual loss in 59 years. Then came the vehicle recalls and 2011's earthquake and tsunami in Japan. To top it off, the yen surged close to a post-World War II record, squeezing profits on every car sold abroad.

Akio has since made a convincing case for himself as head of the world's biggest automaker. As this year's Tokyo Motor Show gets under way, Toyota is on track for a record profit, its Lexus luxury unit predicts the best-ever year of sales and industry surveys show public questions over deteriorating quality are fading.

"And the numbers speak for themselves." Toyota earned $4.4 billion last quarter, more than the combined profits of GM and Volkswagen, the second- and third-largest carmakers. Analysts estimate Toyota will rack up $18.3 billion in profit in the 12 months through March, beating the previous record set in 2008 by more than $1 billion.