Respected Inventor Sakichi Toyoda: His Business Principles Are A Guide To Life

 

“Always be faithful to your duties, thereby contributing to the overall good” - Sakichi Toyoda

        Sakichi Toyota is known as the king of Japanese inventors. He was best known for creating the first self-powered loom in Japan. It used the principle of Jidoka which means autonomous automation. This means that when an error occurs, the machine will stop on its own. A decades-long passion for innovating textile-based machinery led him to establish the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. in November 1926 (Dr. Daniel Stoelb, 2018). Later, he would go on to found the extremely successful Toyota Motor Company.

        Toyoda’s inventions were born out of necessity and a strong desire to contribute to society. His powered loom was a response to his “frustration over how long it took his mother and grandmother to complete the cloth making which supplemented his father’s low-paying carpenter income” (Convis, n.d.). Sakichi incorporated into the machine an ingenious device that “stopped the machine when one of the strings broke; this was to prevent waste” (Convis, n.d.). Other features included automatic thread replenishment and automatic shuttle change without stopping operation” (Convis, n.d.). He accomplished this without any capital to invest while also overcoming the ravages of WWII.

    When Toyoda had the funds, he went on observation tours seeking out successful industrial manufacturing plants all over the world. He did this to broaden his knowledge of modern technology and to perhaps give him a eureka moment to bettering his own designs. There were times when he was intrigued by what he saw and other times he remained unimpressed and felt that his own inventions were just as advanced.

            In any case he felt it was good to go out and explore what was out in the world…and it was also a good way to make business connections.

        Sakichi Toyoda earned worldwide recognition for his inventions. “The request for patent rights from a foreign country were a truly noteworthy event in the technological history of Japan and instilled confidence in the Japanese people” (Toyota Industries Corporation). His inventions also led to the creation of factories and much needed jobs for the poor Japanese people; now they had a steady income. This helped catapult Toyoda to fame.

        Mr. Toyota incorporated his innovative thinking into the culture of his companies. One example is the trust he placed in his workers. He empowered them to make quality control decisions along the assembly line. “If a worker needed more time to address an issue, he could pull a rope to pause the forward motion of the line” (Team, 2016). It was a big deal to most people born in that time frame to give that kind of authority to an assembly line worker. Back then, quantity was preferred over quality. Mr. Toyoda turned that thinking around with his high-quality products; they were in demand and remained in demand even through difficult times. Now, most factories see the benefits of doing business the Toyota way. Toyoda was a visionary before his time.

        Sakichi Toyoda encouraged his workers through his seemingly timeless words of wisdom. One of his favorites was to “always be faithful to your duties, thereby contributing to the overall good” (Five Main Principles of Toyoda). Today, the Toyota company passes down Sakichi’s Five Main Principles to every new employee. They are not only meant to serve as guidelines for conduct at the factory but are designed to help a person lead a virtuous and moral life in general. Toyoda followed his own principles, and it is widely believed to be another reason he was so well respected.

 

References

Convis, J. K. L. L. (n.d.). Introduction: The roots of Toyota’s Global Business Leadership. McGraw-Hill Education - Access Engineering. https://www.accessengineeringlibrary.com/content/book/9780071780780/front-matter/preface4.

Dr. Daniel Stoelb, P. (2018, March 8). A review of Sakichi Toyoda’s contributions to industry and continuous improvement. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/review-sakichi-toyoda-contributions-industry-daniel-stoelb.

Five Main Principles of Toyoda. TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE . (n.d.). https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/conditions/precepts/index.html.

Team, O. L. (2016, September 12). Sakichi Toyoda - his life and example. OpEx Learning Resources. https://opexlearning.com/resources/sakichi-toyoda/7796.

Toyota Industries Corporation. (n.d.). https://www.toyota-industries.com.

The Visionary Business Man: Walt Disney

 

         “To all who come to this happy place, welcome!” - Walt Disney

        Walt Disney was a visionary whose goal was to bring magic to the lives of children and their families. He achieved this through his unparalleled storytelling in animation, motion pictures, and fantastical and highly innovative theme parks. Walt knew that his success was dependent on focusing on what the people wanted, and then bringing it to life (Contributor, Disney Institute Brandvoice: Leadership lessons from Walt Disney: Perfecting the customer experience 2020). This was one of the many business philosophies that separated Walt Disney from mediocre leaders of his day.

            Walt Disney believed that the only way to truly know what people wanted was to ask them directly. He insisted that his staff go out among the crowd and mingle. They should also try to experience the park just as their customers experience it. One example tells of Disney instructing his management team to wait in line for food with their customers at lunchtime. Their assignment was to engage with the people to find out firsthand if their expectations had been met. If not, they must ask for ideas on how to improve the experience (The Walt Disney Company 2023). One of Walt’s most fundamental lessons was to get out there and listen to the people directly.

           Walt Disney was very charismatic and had the ability to make those around him feel like honored guests. Making each person feel special goes a long way toward perfecting the customer experience. Walt felt that making someone feel special was achieved by paying attention to even the smallest details. “Where other organizations let things happen, we must be intentional in our actions” (Adams, Leadership lessons from visionaries, part one: Walt Disney 2021).

            Walt was passionate about his work, and he surrounded himself with like-minded, creative, and innovative individuals. Walt believed that a project was made significantly better by incorporating ideas from experts within multiple specialties rather than relying on input from just one source (King, 2023). Walt’s demand for excellence often inspired those around him to exceed the boundaries of what was thought to be beyond imagination. One outcome was Epcot Center which highlighted an experimental utopian society of the future. The results of Disney’s collaborations captivated young and old dreamers alike. This was yet another important lesson for entrepreneurs and business developers on how to do business.

Walt Disney believed another aspect of a successful business depended on clarity of vision and being able to precisely communicate that vision to others. One story goes that Walt gave his animators money to go out to eat. His instructions were to come back relaxed, clear-minded, and ready to hear him out on a brand-new idea…he didn’t tell them what. Upon their return, the group found themselves mesmerized by Walt’s wholehearted and enthusiastic portrayal of characters from a fantastic fairy tale.

It was clear that Walt intended for them to feel both the magic and the potential of the story as he did. Had he merely presented his idea in a mundane speech around the lunchroom table his cohorts would surely not have received his vision with the same enthusiasm.

Without the right presentation, families may never have experienced the majesty of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.

Once production had begun, Walt insisted on creating a specific look which often required careful thought on how to produce what he wanted. “Walt was not afraid to take the necessary time, years even, to create specialized equipment to get the job done. In the end, he believed the results were worth it” (Jones, 2015). The full-length animated movie was released in 1938 and went on to win numerous awards; it is truly a national treasure.

I chose Walt Disney as my second research subject (I wrote this for a college project) because he is someone I am generally familiar with and because he continues to inspire people from all over the world to this day. I find him a fascinating person even by today’s standards.

There is something I would like to add here. From a young age, I have had an interest in art. At one time I considered attending the Walt Disney Animation Studios School of Art and then staying on to work for Disney. What changed my mind is the fact that any cartoon character that is made while employed at Disney becomes Disney’s property. During my research I found that this same scenario happened to Walt with one of his first characters, so I don’t understand why such a seemingly kind man would continue a tradition that he himself felt was unfair…unless that rule came after he was gone. I suppose when it comes down to it, business is business.

 

References

Contributor, D. I. (2020, February 4). Disney Institute Brandvoice: Leadership lessons from Walt Disney: Perfecting the customer experience. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/disneyinstitute/2020/02/04/leadership-lessons-from-walt-disney-perfecting-the-customer-experience/

The Walt Disney Company. (2023, December 12). https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/

Adams, B. (2021, February 1). Leadership lessons from visionaries, part one: Walt Disney. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-lessons-from-visionaries-part-one-walt-disney-bob-adams

King, F. (2023, September 13). The Walt Disney Principle: How hope fuels the journey to your dreams. Medium. https://medium.com/@fayaz_king/the-walt-disney-principle-how-hope-fuels-the-journey-to-your-dreams-e29d41ed455d

Jones, A. (2015, May 7). The making of snow white and the Seven dwarves. Thinking Animation. https://thinkinganimation.com/the-making-of-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarves-2/

Pfizer: Gaining Access to Innovative Drugs and Obtaining New Technologies

Corporations worldwide resort to different strategies to remain at the forefront of innovation and technology in their respective fields. The biopharmaceutical company Pfizer is no different. They have been pioneering breakthrough solutions to human ailments for one-hundred-seventy-five years and intend to remain on the cutting edge of scientific medical advancement. Two ways in which they have achieved access to innovative drugs and new technologies are to partner with or buy out companies with promising futures ahead of them, and to aggressively invest in research and design (R&D). Though there are benefits to following these strategies, there are also inherent risks.

            One area in which Pfizer sees a future for themselves is Oncology. In December 2023 Pfizer completed its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, its largest buyout to date. Seagen is considered one of the best antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) producing companies in the market. “ADCs are medicines that deliver highly potent chemotherapy agents to kill cancer cells while hopefully leaving the surrounding healthy cells intact” (Antibody–drug conjugates (adcs) and other technologies). The acquisition has “doubled Pfizer’s pipeline to 60 programs, and four FDA-approved cancer drugs – Adcedris, Padcev, Tivdak, and Tukysa. This brings their total to nine oncology medications that are already blockbuster potential” (Dunleavy, Done deal: Pfizer completes $43b acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline 2023). While purchasing a company with products already seen as breakthrough medicines foreshadows a bright future, there is still the risk that the final outcome may not be worth the initial investment. Only time will tell.

            Two projects that provided initial profit for Pfizer, but are no longer of current significant financial value are Pfizer’s covid-19 drug therapies, the vaccine Comirnaty, and the oral pill Paxlovid. During the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, which lasted from late 2019 through the beginning of 2023, the use of experimental vaccines was approved for emergency use. A report from the year 2020 alone stated that “70.6% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine” (Mathieu et al., Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations 2020). Since the pandemic has officially been declared over, COVID-19 drugs are no longer being sought out by the masses for use. While Comirnaty and Paxlovid initially helped boost Pfizer’s stock shares, “a subsequent slide has dropped its share price by nearly 49%. Share prices are now trading at a lower price than before the pandemic” (Dunleavy, Done deal: Pfizer completes $43b acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline 2023). Although practically anyone could foretell the eventual end of a pandemic, Pfizer still expected to see higher profit margins at this point in the game than they are currently observing.

        The downward trend on the financial side of the COVID-19 project doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worth the effort, however. The massive drive to obtain a quick and tangible solution to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reevaluation of their traditional strategy. Ultimately, it was the collaboration with carefully chosen biotech companies and the valuable partnership that followed that led to the R&D that allowed for the discovery of mRNA therapy. Kathy Fernando, Senior Vice-President of the Pfizer Ignite program states, “I don’t think either company could have achieved, in isolation, what we ended up doing together” (Buntz, Pfizer ignite: A quest to 'redefine what fast means' 2023)

        Pfizer focuses on improving its R&D productivity by weeding out failures early on in the decision-making process and by taking calculated risks. They are also not afraid to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI). Pfizer “initiated an immuno-AI collaboration with CytoReason Ltd. to improve target and biomarker discovery in immunology and oncology” (Fernando et al., Achieving end-to-end success in the clinic: Pfizer's learnings on R&D productivity 2022).

        Additionally, Pfizer has stayed ahead of the competition by focusing research and design (R&D) on its “quality of innovations” parameter. By following this initiative, Pfizer’s quality of products and success rates have remained optimized. “The proportion of Pfizer’s US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center of Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) NME and novel Biologics License Application (BLA) approvals that received at least one regulatory expedited designation from the FDA as important therapeutic advances over existing treatment options (regulatory expedited designations include Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review, Fast Track, and Accelerated Approval) over the past 5 years. Of Pfizer’s NME/novel BLA approvals from 2016 to 2020, 75% received at least one regulatory designation, compared with 67% for industry peers” (Fernando et al., Achieving end-to-end success in the clinic: Pfizer's learnings on R&D productivity 2022). This suggests that higher success rates were achieved without sacrificing quality of innovation.

 

References

Antibody–drug conjugates (adcs) and other technologies. Seagen. (n.d.). https://www.seagen.com/science/technologies

Buntz, B. (2023, October 14). Pfizer ignite: A quest to “redefine what fast means.” Drug Discovery and Development. https://www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/pfizer-ignite-kathy-fernandos-vision-for-accelerating-biotech-innovation

Dunleavy, K. (2023a, December 14). Done deal: Pfizer completes $43b acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline. Fierce Pharma. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/done-deal-pfizer-completes-43b-acquisition-seagen-doubling-its-oncology-pipeline

Fernando, K., Menon, S., Jansen, K., Naik, P., Nucci, G., Roberts, J., Wu, S. S., & Dolsten, M. (2022a, March). Achieving end-to-end success in the clinic: Pfizer’s learnings on R&D productivity. Drug discovery today. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8719639/

Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Rodés-Guirao, L., Appel, C., Giattino, C., Hasell, J., Macdonald, B., Dattani, S., Beltekian, D., Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Roser, M. (2020, March 5). Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

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Author's Note:

              It is worth mentioning that as brilliant a discovery as mRNA technology is, the product will forever have a black cloud overshadowing its reputation. This is because, initially, the public was purposefully mislead as to its true identity. Throughout the pandemic, mRNA was billed as a vaccine, when in reality it is not. Vaccines do not affect genetic code, whereas, mRNA technology is engineered to do just that. It is never acceptable to lie to the public, especially when it pertains to the health of ones body. A company must always be transparent with the public, or risk losing their trust. This is a message to all company's, and not just to Pfizer. May good morals always win over greed.