constituted a big gap and I started gathering the courage to discuss it with Colin Adcock.
Late in September his secretary, Beth Russ, gave me a 10-minute appointment to present this idea to Colin. The outcome of this conversation was that I literally established the department the next day. This development was a watershed moment in my career. My involvement in market research brought me close to the heartbeat of the business, namely our customers. This led to a deep respect, to this day, for their needs and opinions. My research work also put me in contact with all the key Toyota success factors – product range, pricing, advertising and distribution. The nearly three years I spent in market research probably provided me with some of my most fulfilling responsibilities, and it also gave me the strongest platform possible for further career growth. This was effectively my first management responsibility as I was at the head of a small group of skilled professionals like Johan du Preez, Wim Cowie and Chris van Wyk. Already in those early years I realised that passion, hard work, good relationships and teamwork are the key to success.
The light in which I regarded myself, from a career point of view, changed dramatically in August 1976. Until that time I saw myself primarily as a researcher and analyst, and not as a future business leader. I was privileged to attend a three-day course with the theme “Executive Motivation”, along with Colin Adcock and other Toyota colleagues. One important element of the course was a 360°-personality analysis by yourself as well as your colleagues. Great was my surprise when my colleagues, including Colin, placed me squarely in the leadership category. Later that evening I questioned this outcome with Colin. His answer was that I had the potential to succeed him one day. That single comment put me on my leadership journey.
A person who assisted me to a great extent in this was the director of Planning and Technical Affairs, Phil Porter. I could not have wished for a better example of a focused and skilled senior manager with high integrity. The fact that he was also one of my racing heroes, who achieved great results with his Renault, both on the track and in rallies, further contributed to his influence. His untimely death due to a heart attack in the prime of his life was a big loss for me. What made it more tragic was that this meant that he would never realise his life’s dream. For years he had been planning to sail around the world in a yacht, which he had singlehandedly been building in his backyard. He literally died a week after he launched it on the Vaal Dam. After this event I realised how important it is for one to make the most of every day and every opportunity that comes your way.
I cannot neglect to mention that my deep-seated enthusiasm for Renault also played a role in shaping my career at Toyota. In 1976 Wesco, which was Toyota’s controlling shareholder, acquired the manufacturing and distribution rights for the Renault 5. I was intimately involved in the research and planning that preceded the local production of the Renault 5 at the Toyota plant in Prospecton, south of Durban. The responsibility for the marketing plan and eventual launch of this car was also entrusted to me. It was handled with great enthusiasm, creative thinking and hard work. The core of our market research entailed visits with two prototype vehicles to numerous dealers. My colleagues Johan du Preez, Abe Veldsman and I travelled the country in length and breadth, and received very valuable feedback from dealers and potential customers. This trip was not only a great adventure, but the input we got firsthand and subsequently implemented strengthened the marketing platform significantly. The sales success of the Renault 5 was very rewarding, not only from a personal point of view, but also gave my career a boost.
All the recommendations in my research reports on how to do things better irritated the former sales director Johan Wilken so much that he appointed me as one of his area sales managers. It was four years after my appointment at Toyota and I was 29 years old. I had to prove to him that I could apply my theory in practice and convert it into good results. I must admit that this new responsibility brought me down to earth with a big thump – something for which I will always be grateful to Johan. I soon realised that it was much easier to create action plans than to implement them successfully.
Toyota’s market share was approximately 11% during the early seventies. Although it was the leader in the light commercial vehicle segment, it only held fifth place in the passenger vehicle market. The company’s main objective was therefore to also establish Toyota as a market leader in the passenger vehicle market. The Corolla and Cressida model ranges were used at the dawn of the eighties to launch a full-scale assault on the market.
The goal to achieve market leadership provided for many exciting moments in my career. We were a very competitive marketing team who spent many late nights developing our plans of attack. On one such a team-building getaway even a blackout could not deter us, as we worked on our strategy and tactics by candlelight until two in the morning. During such occasions, the adrenaline surged and the anticipation and determination were palpable. The implementation of these plans was accompanied by the investment of considerable time and energy as we involved all the staff and dealers. The announcement of the monthly sales figures was always eagerly awaited. When goals were achieved, joy abounded.
Planning and developing a fully integrated marketing plan for a new model placed me in a position where I could apply all my marketing theory. The mobilisation of every element of the marketing mix enjoyed my attention. The execution thereof was a practical test of my leadership and management skills.
I had the great privilege to work under the mentorship of both Dr. Albert Wessels and Colin Adcock. Dr. Wessels was a visionary leader and an outstanding industrialist. His perspective was wide, his knowledge impressive and his insight sharp. His integrity was unquestionable as was his commitment to the well-being of his company and its people. During both the good times and the bad times I learned and benefitted from his wisdom, as well as from his calm, sober approach. On more than one occasion he encouraged everyone at Toyota by saying: “Just remember, these days too shall pass.”
Colin Adcock, on the other hand, was the epitome of a leader with a positive outlook on life, drive and faith in himself. He was a perfectionist and totally professional in his approach. Colin did not have a problem-focused approach, but rather an opportunity focus. He could make decisions quickly and was action driven. Traditional approaches were constantly challenged and he was a master at setting ambitious goals. I was often at the receiving end of it, and the pressure from his side forced me to think bigger and to apply my creative ability to maximum capacity.
A striking example of this was his response to the first marketing plan for the second generation Corolla we were due to introduce in 1980. In the late seventies, we were selling about 650 Corollas per month and our marketing plan, from my point of view at least, had a very ambitious target of 1 000 cars per month for the new model. But at the presentation of our marketing plan Colin responded almost indignantly to our lack of ambition. I left his office feeling quite overwhelmed by his boldness, with a revised sales target of 2 000 cars per month. True to Colin’s sense of fairness, he also doubled my marketing budget.
It was a watershed moment in the history of Toyota in the local market. We were able to create a powerful, fully integrated marketing campaign. The Corolla became South Africa’s top seller and, a year or so after the launch, regularly sold more than 3 000 units per month and for many years remained the bestseller. Colin’s ambition and his belief in his product and team placed Toyota on the winning track in the car market. Without his inspiring example and mentorship my career would undoubtedly have turned out very differently. I am grateful for all the opportunities he gave me, and for the way in which he empowered me. In February 1980 I was appointed as sales director, a position I held until the end of 1983.
One can therefore say that I was part of Toyota’s “everything keeps going right” era, and that was a wonderful privilege. The sense of excitement and pride when overall market leadership was achieved in 1981 with a market share of almost 22% is a special memory – also when the company became the first local vehicle manufacturer in 1982 to sell more than 100 000 vehicles in one year. Our three key models, namely Corolla, Cressida and Hilux, dominated their market segments. An additional competitive advantage was the fact that the Toyota
