"Mr. Ghosn said, Just do it"


Adapted from: David Magee's TURN AROUND: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued NISSAN, 2003.

Page 76.

"Japanese business principles and work habits were once the envy of the West and they are still closely regarded in Japan as the best way to get a job done.

"Very few, if any,outsiders have successfully walked into a large company in the country and gotten managers and executives to work in entirely new ways.

"But Carlos Gosn did.

"A transformation began to take place after the first month among the Japanese middle managers who suddenly blossomed with hundreds of ideas, showing they in fact understood the challenge from the top ranks.

"Some even reveled in the opportunity to create and recommend ways the company could change."

One Shigeru Sakai explained to the author that things were slow to get started, and then, in his own words:

"Mr. Ghosn said, Just do it.

"He asked everybody, What can you contribute to the company? "

The author now reflects on the revolutionary message here:

"These were simple words from Ghosn, but words that had not been heard before in the middle management ranks of Nissan.

"Upper - level management in conservative Japanese companies is not usually open to new ideas from the young and radical.

"So the concept that their recommendations were valid and respected was invigorating to managers once they understood there were no strings attached..."

And NISSAN benefited, you bet!

A real good read... :)