What do Tiger Woods and Toyota Motor Company have in common?
a. Both have throttles that can stick open?
b. Both were No. 1 before their fall?
c. Both have had their images and brands severely bruised?
d. Both held silent problems that eventually surfaced with a vengeance?
e. All of the above?
The answer of course is “All of the Above.” Okay, “a.” was maybe a little off base, but I’m certain you catch my drift. However, there is no doubt that Tiger and Toyota are equally guilty of b, c and d.
Over the past year, I’ve repeatedly stated in this blog that Toyota has a serious problem relative to the “Silent Problems” (problems that are being avoided, neglected, going unnoticed, or being intentionally silenced) inside its organization. And as is the case with silent problems, if not dealt with early, they will emerge with a vengeance, which is exactly the case with Tiger Woods and Toyota.
Today, a story by Tom Krisher (AP) titledd “Can Toyota rev back from crisis?” gets to the heart of silent problems as relates to Toyota. Krisher writes,
Crisis managers say the issues with the pedals likely surfaced early on at lower levels of the organization, but no one wanted to deliver bad news to the boss.
“The story just kind of drags on. That’s just deadly for a reputation,” said Brenda Wrigley, chair of the public relations department at Syracuse University’s School of Public Communications. “It just spirals into a big situation that’s probably going to have long-term financial impact for the company.”
In March of 2007, Toyota started getting reports of gas pedals being slow to rise after being depressed for acceleration. Engineers fixed the problem in the Tundra pickup early in 2008.
But troubles persisted in other models, eventually leading to last week’s recall and the plans to suspend sales and shut down six factories while Toyota tries to fix the problems.
The time has come for the concept of Silent Problems to take center stage. 12 months ago, Toyota appeared invinciple, today it is struggling to survive. All because a silent problem inside the organization was allowed to germinate, grow and eventually explode. In the process, billions of dollars of brand equity has been lost. And my guess is, Toyota will never fully recover.
If you’re a business leader or manager, I have a couple of suggestions.
- You must read the book Without Warning. It will provide the context around Silent Problems and why they are so dangerous. And the book will provide a path on how to surface and eventually solve Silent Problems.
- If you have concerns that Silent Problems reside inside your organization, conduct a Silent Problem Audit.
- Get out there and start looking, hearing and questioning - What really is going on that you’re not aware of. Do the WalkAround.
Today, its easy to focus on strategy, efficiencies and innovation. However, one thing can trump them, this being the Silence that resides in your organization. If it can happen to Toyota, it could also happen to you.
If you have a Silent Problem concern, give me a call at 651-436-3962, I’d be delighted to discuss the process with you further.
Over the past year, conversations with consultants, to business owners, to business leaders, to employees focused on doing the right thing reveals just how dangerous Silence truly is. Initially, the silence is somewhat benign. However as I’ve discussed and illustrated (see chart), silent problems grow in toxicity over time. And when (not if) a silent problem surfaces, it can derail an organization with ease.
An excellent analogy is the game Minesweep. In Minesweep, you’re provided a grid with the knowledge that a number of unseen landmines exist. As you start clearing the landscape, clues along the way provide an approximate location where they exists. If you fail to read these signals correctly, you will likely hit a landmine, and the game is over.