What a difference 6-months can make in corporate positioning when someone knows everyone is watching you. Such appears to be the case surrounding Toyota. Six months ago, Toyota took a position of denial, avoidance and stonewalling when it came to quality issues relating to unintended acceleration. Since then, 8.5 million autos have been recalled. Toyota sales are being catapulted with hefty incentives that were unheard of a year ago. And Toyota is beginning to show some humility over the sitation.
What isn’t pretty however is the ongoing investigation into Toyota’s past. Now that the 100+ lawsuits have been rolled up into a single class action suit, much of Toyota’s dirty laundry will begin to surface. And from initial reports, a story that reveals a veil of secrecy and deception will unfold. For instance, the AP recently looked into Toyota’s evasive and deceptive legal tactics it has historically pursued when involved in a lawsuit. The story states:
Toyota has routinely engaged in questionable, evasive and deceptive legal tactics when sued, frequently claiming it does not have information it is required to turn over and sometimes even ignoring court orders to produce key documents, an Associated Press investigation shows.
In a review of lawsuits filed around the country involving a wide range of complaints — not just the sudden acceleration problems that have led to millions of Toyotas being recalled — the automaker has hidden the existence of tests that would be harmful to its legal position and claimed key material was difficult to get at its headquarters in Japan. It has withheld potentially damaging documents and refused to release data stored electronically in its vehicles.
However today, I’m begining to wonder if Toyota is truly ready to change its ways. The reason being, Toyota knows everyone is watching. And if they pursue questionable legal tactics, they know they could be called out on the carpet in every major news agency around the world. In essence, Toyota’s past is now their enemy, not their friend. No longer will they receive any “get out of jail cards.” Today, I believe everyone looks at Toyota with an eye of admoration and an eye questioning their trustworthiness. For instance yesterday, Toyota had one of those “what should we do moments.” Toyota halted sales of its Lexus GX460 after Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” status on the vehicle. Would Toyota have acted similarly a year ago in a similar sitation? My guess is, the outcome would have much different. So I have to believe that Toyota’s strategy is changing as we speak.
Today, Toyota’s Silent Problems of yesterday (the problems Toyota has been avoiding, neglecting and intentionally silencing) are exerting a tremendous force on the company and the organization. These legal and quality issues will continue to be a major distraction, and will impact everything from employee turnover, to productivity, to profitability. Toyota continues to be a test case for the ideas in unleashed in my book, Without Warning.
