Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan [Hardcover]

As we continue to read about the Fiat debacle in Italy, and the grim plateau that car sales figures are cutting in the US, it is difficult to escape the sheer morbid curiosity about how Ghosn has, in less than four years, managed to take a company that many thought was heading for utter disaster and turn in it into one of the hottest automotive manufacturers on the planet (Nissan has once again raked in a record quarter as I write).

David Magee does an engaging job of capturing Ghosn's audacious yet down-to-earth attitude in a culture as obstinate as Japan's. Some very interesting anecdotal evidence here about Ghosn's uncanny ability to motivate subordinates several layers down in Nissan. Automotive companies today are multicultural institutions that operate across traditional geopolitical/cultural boundaries. While several top-brass CEOs (e.g., Nasser who was with Ford until 2001) have recognized this and yet failed to implement it, Ghosn has won his laurels the old-fashioned way -- by enabling a free exchange of ideas in an ailing monster of a Japanese organization. This alone speaks volumes about the man's personality, and I am happy to say I was not disappointed with Magee's treatment of this aspect.

Nonetheless, a business book is a business book. There is only so much detail that can be smooshed in to it, and inevitably completeness needs to be sacrificed for readability by a wide audience. I personally felt that the book sort of glosses over several key points that could have made this a 6 out of 5 stars material --

(1) A more granular look at WHAT Ghosn *really* did in terms of enabling the culture of flexibility without really changing the otherwise autonomous structure that underpins Nissan, i.e., without too much Renault-ification; what processes did he institute to ensure being heard at the lower rungs of the giant organization. Some more managerial nitty gritty would be welcome.

(2) A coverage of some more negative, sensitive issues such as the controversial buy-out of African-American farmers for the site of the huge new Nissan assembly plant near Canton (why should everything that Nissan has done only be seen in a positive light simply because this is an ode to its CEO?)

(3) A more significant background on the contribution of Louis Schweitzer, Renault's low-profile chairman. Curious minds want to know if Ghosn "went it alone" or did he have the ideological spine of someone else too.

(4) A mention of Ghosn's plans (instead of vague broad-brush corporate objectives) for the next few years e.g. the focus on emerging markets such as Turkey. Wouldn't a star CEO such as him for instance be expected to topple Toyota for the no.1 spot? I may be speaking out of turn but THAT to me would be a benchmark of Ghosn's true success because a murky side of me still suspects that part of his success can be attributed to his being a "Gaikokujin" (a foreigner, and it is possible this is why he may have been allowed some slack by his Japanese subordinates), or that he came in with almost zero expectation.

Anyway, this is a slim wishlist and despite some of these themes being given a somewhat short shrift in the favor of singing paeans to Ghosn, I'd recommend this book highly as an accessible introduction into one of the most successful turn-arounds of the 21st century. If nothing else, it bears an important message in thumping down the stale notion that Japanese companies can only survive by sticking hook line and sinker to their dated, dogmatic ways.

Thsi book, written by a journalist, summarized the important lessons from Carlos Ghosn in saving Nissan. Many personal values and advices can be obtained from this book. If you want to know how Carlos Ghosn saved Nissan from bankrupt, his management style or what is Nissan Revival Plan (NRP) and Nissan 180, you can find the answers in this book. Learn from him!

Although Magee does indeed provide a brilliant analysis of how Carlos Ghosn "rescued" Nissan, the value of this book extends far beyond that admirable achievement. What we have here is a probing and informative analysis of a leadership and management style which provides important lessons to decision-makers in all organizations (regardless of size or nature) which currently struggle to compete successfully in their respective marketplaces. In a sense, the same skills required by a successful turnaround are also valuable in organizations which are currently prospering: "Be transparent and explain yourself in clear, lucid terms. Do as you say you are going to do. Listen first; then think." Prior to being reassigned by Renault to the Nissan organization, Ghosn had led the revivals of Michelin South America, Michelin North America, and Renault. According to Magee, he "may be the only person to have four verifiable corporate turnaround efforts on four different continents." Serious problems had developed at Nissan in the early 1990s. How serious? It was "strapped by $22-billion in debt, inflated supplier costs, and new product development that was at a standstill." This book explains how, under Ghosn's leadership, Nissan not only solved those and other problems; it regained a position of profitable and prominent leadership in one of the most competitive of industries.

As indicated previously, Ghosn is a firm believer in transparency throughout all areas and at all levels of an organization. For that reason, prior to the merger of Renault and Nissan, he created cross-company teams (CCTs) which "were charged with finding possible synergies between the companies and exploring specifically how these might work if an alliance was formed." Teams studied product planning, vehicle engineering, power trains, and purchasing. It is incomprehensible to me that Ghosn, a native of Porto Velho, Brazil, could convince those who worked in two such different companies, in cultures with such different values, to work effectively together. He advocated the same strategy which had succeeded so well at Michelin North America: "Assume nothing (find answers within the company), work fast, and earn trust and respect with strong results." As American colleague Jim Morton once said of Ghosn, "he knows how to get a commitment."

Obviously, throughout his career thus far, Ghosn has demonstrated a specific style of leadership and management which Shiro Tomii, a senior vice president in Japan, once summarized as follows: He establishes high, yet attainable goals; makes everything clear to all roles and levels of responsibility; works with speed; checks on progress; and appraises results based on fact. In this context, Magee notes by creating intracompany transparency, "only the facts survive. [Ghosn] loves it when data and analysis win and loses his patience when individuals persistently argue a point with nothing to back it up."

Once the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP) had restored hope, profits, and confidence in the company, Ghosn focused everyone's attention on NISSAN 180 which involves even more ambitious objectives and requires even greater commitments to achieve them. "So questions remain as to exactly how high and how far Nissan will go in its ultimate quest." However, this much is certain: "Renault took a chance. Ghosn went to work. And Nissan responded. Together, they changed world business forever." That is the story which Magee has told in this book and he has done so with rigor and eloquence.