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Toyota: “Everything keeps

going right”

“Unless you walk out into the unknown, the odds of making a

profound difference in your life are pretty low.”

Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence

I arrived at Toyota South Africa (TSA) head office in Sandton, on 1 March 1973 at the age of 25, with mixed feelings of excitement and anticipation. For the next 22 years I would be on an intense learning curve, as I had the privilege to gain valuable experience in almost all aspects of the automotive industry. An additional benefit of my involvement with Toyota was my exposure to Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, from whose management I learned a lot.

In the early 1970s Toyota was already a significant player in the local automotive market, with sales of 30 686 units and a market share of 10,5% in 1972. The American and German manufacturers were strong competitors, and Toyota struggled to make progress in the passenger-vehicle segment. The Wessels family owned the controlling stake in the group with Dr. Wessels as executive chairman. Dr. Wessels only acquired the rights to distribute Toyota vehicles in 1961 at the age of 55 years. Within the space of 20 years, Toyota would become the undisputed market leader in South Africa – a power­ful testimony to his vision and leadership.

My first position at Toyota was that of head of Business Management. It sounded important, but I was the only person in the newly formed department. Its main goal was to get all Toyota dealers to report their monthly financial results on a standard accounting system to TSA. Although I devoted myself thoroughly to this task, I kept my eyes and ears open for opportunities on the marketing side of the business. After a few months I realised that although it was a marketing company, there was no market research department. It certainly 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 dealer network was by far the most extensive and most effective in South Africa.

I experienced first-hand how success creates its own momentum and how powerful a winning culture is. Under such circumstances it was pretty easy to provide inspirational leadership. The bigger challenge was to prevent the success from turning into arrogance. As the Chinese proverb says: “Contained in success are the seeds of failure”. Fortunately, Toyota Motor Corporation Japan kept our feet on the ground with their “Kaizen” approach. Kaizen, literally translated, means to never be satisfied – the aim is therefore continuous improvement.

As a car enthusiast I was in my element at Toyota – it actually felt as if my hobby had become my job. To be directly involved in Toyota’s motor sport programme was cause for great excitement. Few things get my adrenaline pumping more than the sound of an approaching rally car from the dark of the night, racing at full speed. The mental image I carry in my mind of halogen lights piercing the dust while the car is spectacularly sliding around the bends, still gives me goosebumps. My first test drive with rally legend Serge Damseaux behind the wheel was unforgettable. My heart repeatedly felt like it was about to stop, and a few times I thought my last day had probably come. Serge, however, let the car slide almost miraculously around the corners every time. My right leg was stiff from braking. I was shaky and sweaty with excitement – and also filled with admiration for his driving skills, reflexes and fearlessness.

I believe that all the exposure generated by Toyota’s numerous motor sport victories played an important role in promoting the brand. The success achieved in rallies and racing also gave credibility to Toyota’s slogan at the time of “Everything keeps going right”. To this day, reliability remains a key element of Toyota’s marketing platform.

Over the years, many people have asked me where this slogan came from. Colin Adcock by chance spotted it in a newspaper advertisement during a holiday in the English countryside. A small Toyota dealership there used it to advertise their after-sales service. Colin was very excited about it and phoned the owner of the dealership. To his surprise the owner was blissfully unaware of it and put Colin through to the service manager. The outcome of the story is that the dealer gave permission that we could use it in South Africa. Colin’s next call was to me and I immediately shared his enthusiasm. Upon his return to South Africa, he went to the musician Dan Hill’s house that very same afternoon where the distinctive jingle was composed. And the rest is history . . .

I have learnt an incredible amount from Toyota Japan’s management. Their long-term approach was a revelation to me, as was their emphasis on thorough planning, analysis and attention to detail. An important element of their management philosophy that made a big impression on me was the extent to which they involved everyone in the decision-making. The analogy they use to illustrate this is that a tree will only be healthy if its roots get adequate nutrition. They are masters when it comes to thorough and meaningful consultation, therefore project implementation is usually smooth. Everyone involved takes full ownership and is totally committed to their contribution. It is not necessary for the manager to give instructions, the team members know what to do and they do it to the best of their ability.

Their competence in respect of project management impressed me on every occasion. The process to develop a new product, produce and market it contains literally thousands of different elements and vari­ables. To have had first-hand exposure to how they excel in it was very valuable. The quality of their human capital as a result of an excellent education system, of course, is a major contributing factor to their success. No wonder they managed to develop their country, smaller than the Free State and with almost no natural resources, to become the third largest economy in the world. What 140 million people managed to achieve, despite the destruction of their infrastructure during the Second World War, is amazing.

Their commitment to their core value of “respect for all people” has also become an integral and fundamental part of my approach to life. Their politeness, work ethic and professionalism were a source of great inspiration to me. During the difficult times I later experienced at McCarthy, I often thought back to their approach on how severe storms in either an organisation or a person’s life must be dealt with. They often referred to the Japanese proverb which states that the bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists. Aggressive resistance is not part of their culture. Similarly, an absolute “no” does not exist in their vocabulary. Over the years I have learnt that the following expression represents “no”: “Brand-san, frankly speaking, perhaps your request will possibly not be possible.”

My interaction with Toyota dealers across South Africa had been an enriching experience for me. Not only did I learn a lot from them about the retail side of the automotive business, but highly successful entrepreneurs like Barry Streicher, Meyer Benjamin, Fred Weber, Satar Dada and many others earned my respect and admiration. The business approach that they applied with so much success gave me guidance of great value for my future career at McCarthy. Many of my best memories of my 22 years at Toyota relate to my literally hundreds of visits to dealers – small and large. Visits to dealers in the rural areas in particular made for very special moments. It was a wonderful privilege to get to know these unpretentious, salt-of-the-earth people better. Firm handshakes and broad smiles were the order of the day. They overwhelmed me with their hospitality and spoilt me with biltong, droë wors, milk tart and koeksisters.

The quality of their relationships with their customers was a revelation to me. So too was their loyalty and commitment to Toyota. I am absolutely convinced that the strength of the dealer network was one of Toyota’s most powerful competitive advantages.

We always regarded dealers as full and respected members of the Toyota family, and it undoubtedly contributed to their loyalty. Dr. Wes­sels laid this foundation and he never let an opportunity pass by without reminding them about it. Most importantly, however, dealers were respected for their expertise, and their contribution to Toyota’s success was acknowledged with gratitude and sincerity. It was therefore no surprise that the dealers joined hands with Toyota spontaneously. There was a unifying vision and a relationship based on mutual trust and respect.

During my career at Toyota I realised for the first time the extent to which the political and social conditions in a country may affect the business environment. The widespread political unrest in 1976 and again in 1986, hit the car market for a six each time. The trade sanctions which Japan imposed against South Africa in the mid-eighties affected us very adversely. The Rubicon speech of PW Botha in 1985 had catastrophic consequences in terms of a collapse of business confidence and a further dramatic deterioration in the value of the Rand against international currencies. Persistent labour unrest that often was the offshoot from political agendas affected Toyota’s business adversely. This reality that politics and economics in developing countries are inextricably linked, encouraged me to get involved with broad political and social issues on a constructive basis.

Specific people and events during this period of political turmoil had a big influence on my perspective of South Africa and what was busy happening in the country. I was fortunate to have had close ties with a number of “enlightened” Afrikaners at the time, such as Frederick van Zyl Slabbert, Wynand Malan, Prof. Willem de Klerk, Rudolf Gouws and Christo Nel. My direct involvement with Wynand’s election campaign after he broke away from the National Party and later formed the Democratic Party, strengthened my determination to bring about drastic political reform. My political awakening, fuelled by the conflict between my Christian principles and values and the impact of apartheid on my fellow man, led to me become involved in political activism in my own sphere of influence. At every opportunity I had to influence people in this regard, I made my voice heard.

One event, during a visit to Japan late in 1987, I will not easily forget. The main purpose of my visit was to try to convince Toyota Japan (TMC) to relax the trade sanctions that applied to us. Immediately after my arrival that Sunday I was taken to a movie theatre, where Sir Richard Attenborough’s acclaimed film Cry Freedom was showing. It was a hugely emotional experience for me and I must admit that I shed a few tears in the darkness of the theatre over the sorrowful state of my country and its people.

During the meetings on the Monday they asked me to explain the main accusations against the South African government, as expressed in the film. I was caught between a rock and a hard place. From a moral perspective, our country’s political dispensation and the concomitant oppression of black South Africans were indefensible. I could not bring myself to condone the government’s actions. My plea to TMC was to continue with the supply of components for production at our plant in Durban, in order to enable us to keep some 6 000 workers employed. I made it clear that the Zulu workers at our plant supported 12 people in their households on average. Finally, I gave them the assurance that Toyota South Africa’s management team, with Dr. Wessels at the forefront, was busy playing an important role in applying pressure to accelerate the process of political reform. At the end of the negotiations, I was very grateful that TMC decided not to significantly cut their parts supply to us.

Although Toyota set the one market share record after the other in the eighties, in 1985 we discovered with shock that we only held the fifth position in terms of customer satisfaction. It made us realise that our market leadership was not sustainable, and that drastic intervention was necessary. The highly successful “Toyota Touch” programme was launched under my guidance in February 1986. This initiative aimed to optimise customer satisfaction and retention. It subsequently became my new passion, as well as a core element of my personal business philosophy, as I will discuss more fully in a later chapter on leadership in customer satisfaction.

Colin Adcock retired in June 1986. Dr.Wessels’s son Bert took over as group chief executive, while I was appointed managing director of Toyota SA Marketing. I was 36 years old and felt fortunate and blessed that my career dream had been realised. Ralph Broadley was appointed managing director of Toyota Manufacturing. Ralph was an absolute expert in his field, and as a professional manager in a manufacturing environment he was in a class of his own. His focus on product quality and our progress with the Toyota Touch programme allowed Toyota to move into the first position on the national customer satisfaction index in 1989. It was a milestone since we knew that it would provide Toyota with a platform for sustainable success in the market. During this time, our market share also peaked at 30%.

On 22 July 1991 Dr. Albert Wessels died of cancer. It was a sad day that will remain with me always. Despite the fact that he was already 82 years old, he still executed his role as chairman of the group with wisdom, purpose and competence. Even on his deathbed, he spoke to me about his future vision for Toyota. He was indeed like an eagle – visionary with a broad perspective, and a social awareness that was far ahead of most of his contemporaries in the business sector. He was absolutely committed to job creation and social upliftment. Over the years Tillie and I have spent time with Dr. Wessels and his wife Susan at home as well as on their farm Vambelane in the Sabie Sand region. He could entertain us for hours around the campfire with his hunting stories. Dr. Wessels once referred to me tongue-in-cheek as his “adopted son”, which meant a lot to me. Little did I know then that I would be the one to help his son Bert lay him to rest during a private funeral on the family farm in the Dealesville district in the Free State. He was succeeded as chairman by his daughter Elisabeth Bradley, who filled his shoes competently and professionally. Bert continued to fulfil his role as group chief executive.

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 part of my make-up, and the Toyota people were deep in my heart. My loyalty to the Wessels family and my management team was another major consideration. At the same time there was a strong yearning for both a new challenge and a more balanced life. The reality of my job at Toyota was that I worked very long hours, and often had to travel domestically and internationally. Due to the nature of my responsibilities, I also had to host numerous evening functions and attend dealer functions and motor sport events, which absorbed much of my weekend time. Because I had been with the group for so long, I had personal relationships with the majority of employees, suppliers, dealers, fleet customers and journalists. The inevitable result was that I became involved in an increasing number of issues. Eventually, this deluge of requests for my time and attention made me feel like a plane circling the Arctic, gathering progressively more snow on its wings. The only way to salvage the situation was to land in a spot of sunshine.

During our Christmas holidays that year at our holiday home on the Eastern Cape coast, I had a chance to thoroughly consider the pros and cons of a move to McCarthy. I was able to have long discussions with Tillie and our sons, Brand, Jan-Louis and Jaco, about it, and also to pray about it again. Their opinions about my possible career change were of great importance to me. Brand and Jan-Louis were both already at university and therefore no longer at home, but Jaco would have had to change schools, as McCarthy’s head office was based in Durban. On 28 December 1994 I got up at 4 a.m., settled myself on the patio and started writing “a case for change”, addressed to myself. When my family joined me after sunrise, the decision was taken that I would accept McCarthy’s offer.

Over the years, the question I was certainly asked the most, was: “Why did you leave Toyota for McCarthy?” My light-hearted standard reply was that, every day at Toyota’s head office, I walked past a red device on the wall with the words: “Fire Brand”. Afraid that they would actually do so, I took the proactive decision to resign!

The real reasons were of a more serious nature. At the very top of the list was my strong need for a better quality of life with Tillie and our family. My “workaholic” behaviour at Toyota had inevitably led to self-neglect, as well as neglect of the people closest to me. I was anxious to make a new beginning and to rediscover my family and joy of life in the process.

Secondly, my career at Toyota was stagnating. It was clear to me that I would stay in my current position for at least the next five years. Bert was just a year or two older than me and his family owned a controlling interest in Toyota SA. As head of the company, he was doing an excellent job. He was going nowhere, and rightly so! On the other hand, I was excited about the opportunity to join McCarthy. I had a keen interest in the retail side of the automotive business and looked forward to a stimulating learning experience. Since the McCarthy Group sold nearly 20% of all Toyotas, I knew the organisation and top management well, and respected them. It was the number one automotive retail group in the country, with a culture that was in line with my value system.

Finally, the McCarthy offer was very attractive from a financial point of view as well. My personal goal was to be financially independent before the age of 50, and the move to McCarthy would bring me much closer to that goal.

With my heart in my throat and close to tears, I informed Bert on 2 January 1995 that I had decided to leave Toyota and join McCarthy. Emotionally it was very difficult for me to say goodbye to a company and its people who had done so much for me and that had meant so much to me. From a rational point of view, however, I was convinced that the change would be the right thing for me and my family. Just as well that I did not know what was waiting for me on the McCarthy horizon . . .