Cultivating Growth and Disrupting Proactively

Mack Institute events don’t typically include references to farming techniques, but the Fall Conference 2013 was a rare exception.

In this video summary of his presentation, Takeshi Yamaguchi describes how Nissan’s approach to advanced technical development resembles the cultivation of an orchard. Instead of a linear approach, Nissan achieves successful results by concurrently nurturing all parts of the system: enriching the soil (R&D), growing the seeds (technological development), and harvesting the fruits (commercialization).

Yamaguchi also describes his company’s efforts to speed up their products’ time to market by completing the traditional product development steps virtually, rather than building a full prototype for each step. Given the challenges posed by the increasing integration of IT and the automotive industry, the need to speed up development is becoming ever more urgent.

In another presentation summary, Hertz’s Scott Gaines describes how Hertz is disrupting its own business and expanding beyond the typical airport car-rental model. For example, mobile technology now allows the company to offer high-touch customer interactions even in remote areas. Hertz has also introduced live video kiosks and integrated elements of carsharing technologies, enabling the company to free itself from the asset-heavy constraints of traditional brick-and-mortar locations.

Both Hertz and Nissan are Mack Institute corporate partners. Learn more about corporate partnership with the Mack Institute.