In 1992 I came face to face with my biggest leadership challenge up until that moment. In the run up to our new democracy, the trade union Cosatu flexed its muscles and widespread strikes were the result. As the market leader in the automotive industry, Toyota was an obvious target. Due to this political motive and our refusal to concede to an unaffordable wage increase, about 6 000 workers who were NUMSA members started to strike. It would eventually result in one of the country’s most protracted strikes ever – a full 49 working days.
My job as head of the marketing company was to ensure the ongoing distribution of spare parts to about 300 dealers and almost one million Toyota owners. For more than nine weeks, our team, thanks to overtime and weekend work, kept the parts distribution centre operational. Meanwhile our workers toyi-toyied in front of our gates every day and intimidated temporary workers. It was a time of high emotion and tremendous pressure, but also a time of teamwork and staying positive. Toyota’s cash flow virtually dried up since vehicle production at our assembly plant in Durban came to a standstill. Our supplier in Japan was also exposed to political pressure and negative publicity. Locally I had to attend to inquiries from the media, shareholders, dealers and vehicle owners. It placed tremendous demands on my communication skills, and the learning curve it facilitated stood me in good stead later in my career. The core principle of transparent communication of the factual circumstances, without getting carried away by the emotion of the moment, carried me through this period.
The true test of my leadership ability only really started when the workers returned after 49 days. Mutual respect and trust between workers and management was destroyed. Instead, the anger, bitterness and distrust were palpable. The solution to this situation, which entailed the establishment of a unifying vision and shared values, I discuss in more detail in the later chapter on leadership. With the benefit of hindsight I realise that this event was one of the key moments in my personal development as a leader.
Like Dr. Wessels, Dr. Frederick van Zyl Slabbert was another South African who was far ahead of his time. The work he did behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition to our new democracy in 1994 was invaluable. One of his major initiatives was the facilitation of weekend meetings between members of the ANC’s executive committee and senior businessmen. During these meetings at Chartwell, Anglo American’s estate just outside Johannesburg, alternative economic policies for the “new” South Africa were discussed. During the first of the two sessions that I attended in 1992, I had to do a presentation on the expected impact of the ANC’s socialist policies on the economy and business climate. My friend Rudolf Gouws, then already one of South Africa’s leading economists, assisted me with this. Needless to say, the sparks flew. The harshest critic of my proposed free-market economy was Cyril Ramaphosa, who, ironically, in the post-1994 era, gained great personal benefits from that very capitalist system. This interaction with senior ANC members like Thabo Mbeki (eventually President of South Africa), Ramaphosa, Tito Mboweni (later President of the Reserve Bank), Joe Slovo and others, not only opened my eyes, but also gave me hope for the future of our country. I was very impressed with the quality of the ANC leadership and their strong commitment to a democratic and prosperous South Africa.
It was also during this time that I began to reflect on my long-term future at Toyota. At that stage, I had been with the group for nearly 20 years and seriously began to think about the desirability of a new challenge. One immediate practical priority was finding a possible successor. I was excited when my paths crossed with that of Johan van Zyl during the early 1990s. At the time he was running a management training programme for Toyota in his capacity as a Professor of Marketing Management at the Business School of the University of Potchefstroom. Johan had done a lot of consultancy work and was also a shareholder in the Toyota dealership in Potchefstroom. He was 35 years old, highly intelligent and in my opinion well-equipped to fulfil a senior management role at Toyota. After I had to do some convincing, especially with regards to his wife Santie who was concerned about the possible impact on their family life, he joined us in 1993. It was definitely the best appointment I ever made, considering that he is currently the President and CEO of the group, responsible for Sub-Saharan Africa. He also serves on the executive council of Toyota Motor Corporation Japan, a remarkable achievement for a foreigner. In fact, he is one of a few non-Japanese on whom such an honour has been bestowed.
In 1993, Toyota Japan honoured us with their “best of the best” award – a distinction that only three of 161 distributors worldwide at that time had bestowed on them. They judged us on the basis of overall performance, but with the emphasis on market share and customer satisfaction. It was obviously a special milestone for our team.
An important event that I can not neglect to allude to, relates to a lunch Bert Wessels and I enjoyed with Nelson Mandela at Toyota’s head office in Sandton, a few months before the 1994 elections. Since Colin Adcock’s retirement in 1986, I reported to Bert. During the lunch, Mandela told us that we were one of 10 major South African companies that he had decided to approach for a R1 million contribution to the ANC’s election fund. The ANC at the time was only a liberation movement and a healthy election fund was a prerequisite for a fair election.
After much deliberation about Madiba’s request and after consultation with our fellow directors, we decided to donate R500 000 to the ANC, and to split the additional R500 000 among the other parties in the political mainstream. We saw it as a more equitable and less controversial allocation. The surprising outcome was that Madiba sent the cheque back to us. In his covering letter, he stated that he had asked for R1 million, and for good reasons. Our donation of half the amount was a clear sign to him that we did not fully support the merit of his request, hence his decision not to accept the contribution. This first-hand lesson about principled leadership arising from a high level of moral intelligence made an indelible impression on me. It was one of the many lessons I have learned from Madiba over the years. A last remark – he never referred to the returned cheque again and Toyota is still fortunate to have an excellent relationship with him, to this day. Quiet brothers, there goes a man. . .
Despite the fact that Bert was a mechanical engineer and I was a marketer, we got along exceptionally well. Not only did we respect each other as colleagues, but we also became very good friends. Bert was competent, straightforward and unpretentious. His enthusiasm for life was inspirational and his sense of humour contagious. I have a treasure chest full of anecdotes and memories from those years I had the privilege and pleasure to have worked with him. He played a positive role in my leadership and management development. For me, it remains a tragedy and a personal loss that he died so suddenly on 2 December 2002 at the relatively young age of 58. A reminder that fills me with sadness and gratitude are the phone calls that both Tillie and I received from him a few hours before his death to encourage us during the difficult RAG episode – this was many years after I left Toyota.
During the third quarter of 1994, I received a phone call from Terry Rosenberg, the chief executive of McCarthy Retail Ltd at the time. The executive chairman of their motor division, Theo Swart, was due to retire in February 1995, and Terry wanted to know if I would possibly be interested in the position. As I was already considering a possible career change, I responded positively. We met shortly thereafter in Durban, and it was followed by a dinner at the Linger Longer Restaurant in Sandton. On this occasion Terry did an excellent presentation on a mini flip chart. He was charming and convincing, with the result that I seriously considered the possibility of joining McCarthy. But I wanted to reflect thoroughly on this very important matter and asked Terry to give me until the end of December to decide.
The anguish that I went through during this decision-making process was intense. Toyota raised me in the business world, and gave me all the opportunities. Faith in the brand, products and culture was an integral