My mother said — and I didn’t realize how well it works — when I’d bring a drawing to her, she said, “I don’t look at the drawing. I looked at the child, and if the child was excited, I got excited.” And then we could discuss it. Because we were bringing something that meant something to me as a child. And so she would join in my lassitude, or my excitement, or my frustration. She wasn’t a psychologist, but she did understand this simple matter. Also, it accomplishes the only thing that has any meaning to a little child. The only thing an adult can give a child is time. That’s all, there isn’t anything else. That’s the only thing they need, really, is time. If you give them time, you’ll have to be understanding of them and give them time.

Oh, my granddad was ahead of his time. He was always in favor of education. My dad and mother were too, but Granddad was very aggressive in that. You know, as he used to say, “You’ve got to fill your head with new ideas so you can use them later to improve your own status and that of the neighborhood.”

And what this person told me was that what you need to do is that, when you go to the White House, always say in the back of your mind that this may be the last time I’m going there because I might have to tell this president something he doesn’t like.

My parents also said, “Don’t follow money. Follow your heart and you’ll be successful.” That’s all they told me and my sisters.

Everybody is shifting to BEVs, this is the biggest fear for me. Three or four years ago, I was the only one to say to the media that I love smell, I love sound and I love engines, and I want to keep the jobs for engine suppliers.…But it seems to me that I’m the only one. I feel very alone.

Above all, the transformation into a product-centered company. I believe that laid the foundations for future growth and allowed me to hand over to the next leadership.

In a word, love. It’s all based on love. Even at the public hearings, there was love for Toyota, and I managed to pull through because there were people who felt it and supported me.

Even I can't predict what kind of car we will be driving 20 years from now, but my time at Babson taught me to embrace change rather than run from it, and I urge all of you to do the same.

I was raised not to dream. I was told to live for others, so I don’t have many dreams, but I face countless obstacles and challenges. Arrogance, conflict, criticism, insults, inaction. At Toyota, there was so much rationalizing of why things couldn’t be done. As if doing nothing was the best option.

And in the process, we have been able to share this core value with the 200,000 people at Toyota operations, dealers, and suppliers in this country. That is what I am most proud of.