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V. Only way you overcome resistance in a corporation is through business necessities.
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―The traditional norm for changing the value requires strong leadership at the top. And the most resistance to reform may come from the middle management, particularly males. Changing their awareness is important and difficult, but necessary. Do you think it will take a little bit more time for Nissan to be really able to strongly support the idea?
 Only way you overcome resistance in a corporation is not so much through cultural change or through explanation of value. It may be through business necessities. This is what managers understand, and that's what managers are looking for. They are not looking for the CEO to come with his latest fashion or his latest caprice or his latest …No ... What we are saying here is that giving women more responsibility is about business. It is about business.
We all want Nissan to be competitive. We all want Nissan to be profitable, and we all want Nissan to be growing. Because we all want this, one of the ways to do it is to be attractive, more attractive to women, and more women as customers and to use better the potential of existing women. I think this is the language, and this is the logic that all our management understands, because we are working so hard into improving the performance of the company.
And frankly I don't see why they would resist an idea as long as they are convinced that this is something, which is good for business and which is something that will help them to deliver a higher contribution, and make their company an effective company.
So again it's going to be easier with some people, it's going to be slower with other people, because each one of us has his own value and beliefs. But the fundamental is that it be the business decision. That's one of them. And this nobody in any corporation is insensitive, because that is our life.
We create value for our stakeholders, grow the company and make the company a better company. So when you put this transformation as one of the way to reach this ultimate goal, you usually overcome the resistance.
―So, is this happening now in Nissan?
It's too early. I think probably, you can have some testimony. I think we are doing much better today. Is it perfect? Certainly not! I do face resistance, yes!
But again, resistance early is to miss your market, and they are not to be ignored, but they are to be dealt by sitting down with the people, trying to understand why they are resisting, and try to bring forward all of this not on the battle of values but on a business discussion.
―I heard from your Human Resources Department head that there is some experimentation going on with one of your plants where up to now the factory workers were all male. But now you are considering bringing in a line for women to work on, as done in Renault back in France, and are the plans moving forward on this?
Yes, in the United States, I have an assistant, who is a lady. She was heading one department in the plant. She was running, with about four or five hundred people, reporting to her. She's a brilliant person, MBA from Harvard, very young lady; I don't know but she must be 36 years old. Before moving to this position she had 400 people reporting to her in the plant in Smyrna. So manufacturing people know that this may happen. It's just the question of just selecting the best potential and the best ability independently of gender.
―I'm a little bit interested in the REAL reaction of Nissan males and people, including executive staff and middle management, for your new idea to increase the women in Nissan organization. I am very much interested in their real reaction? May be they say, "Yes," to you. But… How do you observe?
Frankly, even if people have a resistance, usually they tell me, "Why you are doing this? Why we should do this? What is the purpose?" And I explain the purpose, and people agree on it. Now it's possible that some people say yes in front of me, and they resist after. But usually I don't see it. Who sees it is DDO or HR or other people.
I can't give you the testimony, because usually this doesn't happen in front of me, but as we have very specific objective, department by department and division. You move or you don't move; if you don't move, you have to explain why. If you move, you have to reach your objective. So that's why the steps, to quantify steps are important, because you can't just give lip-service.
 You just cannot only give lip-service. You've got to move, because every 6 months or every 1 year; we are going to check, where we are, and what we are doing. Everybody in the corporation has to demonstrate how it is helping the corporation to reach these objectives. But I don't know if it's in your interest. You can arrange meetings with some people who are more resistant, and they can tell you why they are against you.
―At the beginning all the men in your company will probably watch the ladies as to how good they will do. But as they get to a certain point it could just become a natural and normal situation.
I agree. I agree.
―We shouldn't have a situation with all the handicaps taken away, it should be a fair playing field, and I hope Nissan reaches that goal very quickly, and I know you will make it happen. Thank you very much.
Interview : JKSK
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