????他最近駕駛的大多是雷克薩斯車(chē)。盡管公司意欲將雷克薩斯發(fā)展為全球性品牌，但該產(chǎn)品未能贏得歐洲客戶的歡心，老化的設(shè)計(jì)也無(wú)法吸引美國(guó)客戶。為此，豐田章男繞過(guò)了若干管理層級(jí)，直接負(fù)責(zé)該品牌的運(yùn)作，并耗費(fèi)了大量時(shí)間打磨2013 款GS最新車(chē)型的駕乘體驗(yàn)和操控性能。為了打造雷薩克斯更時(shí)尚的形象，他還支持開(kāi)發(fā)定價(jià)375,000美元的LFA超級(jí)跑車(chē)，并親自在德國(guó)著名的紐伯格林賽道上，對(duì)汽車(chē)進(jìn)行了時(shí)速高達(dá)180英里的測(cè)試。

????在談到LFA超級(jí)跑車(chē)時(shí)，他說(shuō)：“這款車(chē)型的產(chǎn)量限制在500輛。它可以說(shuō)是我們的秘密武器。”

????對(duì)于一家豐田這種規(guī)模的大型企業(yè)，掌門(mén)人在產(chǎn)品測(cè)評(píng)和微觀管理的細(xì)節(jié)上耗費(fèi)如此多的時(shí)間，是否合適呢？對(duì)于蘋(píng)果前總裁史蒂夫?喬布斯來(lái)說(shuō)，這種做法確實(shí)奏效。豐田章男同樣認(rèn)為，這也是他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)模式的一個(gè)重要組成部分。他說(shuō)：“如你所知，外界評(píng)價(jià)我們的產(chǎn)品優(yōu)良，但缺乏感情色彩。我想，豐田有能力改善產(chǎn)品的感情表現(xiàn)力。我們公司有很多能干的工程師正準(zhǔn)備在這方面下功夫。因此我認(rèn)為，現(xiàn)在需要一位領(lǐng)袖激勵(lì)人們采取行動(dòng)，在困境之后解決各種問(wèn)題。”

????周二高層例會(huì)進(jìn)展得很順利，豐田章男因此得以將更多時(shí)間放在了產(chǎn)品開(kāi)發(fā)上。“實(shí)際上，我從小就覺(jué)得，如果有人對(duì)我惟命是從，我會(huì)感到很不舒服。給予我大力支持的這五位執(zhí)行副總都是各自領(lǐng)域內(nèi)的專家，并且擁有40多年的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。雖然我是這家公司的最終負(fù)責(zé)人，（但）我覺(jué)得咨詢他們的意見(jiàn)也非常重要。”

????日元升值對(duì)豐田公司來(lái)說(shuō)是一個(gè)重要話題。2007年以來(lái)，日元已升值35%，達(dá)到65年來(lái)的最高點(diǎn)，日元對(duì)美元匯率達(dá)到77:1，這也導(dǎo)致2011年第三季度豐田公司的利潤(rùn)損失了10億美元。日元對(duì)美元的匯率保持在80:1的水平豐田才能獲利。目前公司正與供應(yīng)商合作以減少成本，但匯率失衡問(wèn)題已經(jīng)威脅到了公司未來(lái)的發(fā)展。直到2006年的手，豐田還只有一半的產(chǎn)量來(lái)自海外工廠，而現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)達(dá)到了三分之二。豐田章男承諾，將保留日本國(guó)內(nèi)產(chǎn)能300萬(wàn)量的制造基地，意在保護(hù)零部件生產(chǎn)商和熟練工人的供應(yīng)。但布野幸利表示，這一數(shù)字“并不是一成不變的”，公司未來(lái)可能會(huì)將更多產(chǎn)能轉(zhuǎn)移到美國(guó)。

????Much of his wheel time recently has been in a Lexus. Although it is intended to be a global brand, the Lexus has never caught on in Europe, and its aging designs were turning off U.S. buyers. Akio bypassed several layers of management to take direct responsibility for the brand and invested hours fine-tuning the ride and handling of the latest model, the 2013 GS. To give Lexus a sportier image, he also championed the development of the $375,000 LFA, a carbon fiber supercar, and personally tested the car on Germany's famed Nürburgring, where speeds top 180 mph.

????"It has a limited production run of 500 units," he said of the LFA. "It seems to be a very secret sauce."

????Does it make sense for the head of a company as large as Toyota to spend so much time evaluating its products and micromanaging small details? Well, it worked for Steve Jobs, and Akio believes it is an essential component of his leadership. "As you know, our cars are evaluated as good, not emotional," he said. "I think it's possible for Toyota to improve upon the emotion of cars. There are capable engineers who are about to do that. So what I think is needed is to really have a champion to encourage people to take action on that, to serve as a leader to address any problems after a challenge."

????The smooth functioning of his Tuesday morning group makes it possible for Akio to spend more time with product development. "Actually I was very uncomfortable since I was a little boy with so-called yes-men who were just obedient to what I said. These five executive vice presidents who support me are experts in their respective areas, with experience of more than 40 years. I am the ultimate person in charge of this company, [but] I found it is very important to ask them for their views."

????One topic on which advice is plentiful is how to deal with the strong yen, which has appreciated 35% since 2007 and is at a 65-year high. At 77 to the dollar, the currency cost Toyota $1 billion in profit during the quarter ended Sept. 30; Toyota needs an exchange rate of 80 yen to the dollar to remain profitable. It is working with its suppliers to reduce costs, but the currency imbalance threatens the future shape of the company. Already two-thirds of Toyota production comes from overseas, compared with half as recently as 2006. Akio has pledged to maintain a manufacturing base in Japan with a capacity of 3 million cars to protect parts makers and its skilled-labor supply, but Funo said that number "is not carved in stone" and that Toyota may shift more production to the U.S.