My name is Chris Hayes.  I'm the Director of our People and Planning Division ah… here at Toyota in the UK.  And I've been very fortunate to be able to grow and develop in a company and a culture like Toyota's.  We put people development and career planning at the very heart of what we do in the company. 

Well, I've been with the company for 15 years and I started here for 3 years working in the Lexus brand.  Then had ah my first of two overseas assignments.  The first one was to the United States to work for Toyota Motor Sales operation in California, and the second was a three-year assignment at our European regional headquarters in Brussels.  All markets are very different, (they) have very different external dynamics but Toyota has a very common set of internal values, and an internal language around the Toyota Way philosophy, where each and every team member’s contribution to the business is treated equally within the organization. 

To anyone who's considering an international assignment, you know, my advice would certainly be, 100 percent, go for it. It's incredible what you can learn by studying and finding out about other markets and other organizations.  I think a career in Toyota can be hugely exciting and hugely rewarding.  As a company, we've got a truly unique culture. We have some of the most highly energized and engaged teams in the industry today, and if you want to be part of a hugely successful team, be fully supported and nurtured through your career to be the best that you can be, then Toyota is definitely a place for you.

司会者：What's interesting is that it is now 25 years since you got your MBA and as part of your MBA experience you were asked to write a 25-year plan.  I was.  How did that work out for you?  There was a professor, I think his name was Dr. Naylor, is that right? Tom Naylor.

Tim：Yeah, Tom Naylor.  And he was a great professor and one of the things that he asked us to do was to write a 25-year plan.  Maybe some of you had to do this.

And it was more of a, you know, more of a personal plan.  And normally I would never remember this, but I was doing a commencement address a few years ago and I was scrambling for some old things and I found in a box this plan.  And this plan had turned yellow because of age.

But I looked at it and I would say it was reasonably accurate for all of 18 to 24 months after it was written.  And it was nothing, there was nothing, not a single thing on it that was accurate post that.  Not a single thing.

Zero.  And I think the lesson there is, at least for me, maybe you guys will be different, maybe you have much more insight into what you may be doing.  But for me, the journey was not predictable at all.

And it goes sort of back to the Lincoln quote, is the only thing I believe you can do is prepare.  And the world is going to change many times, the environment is going to change many times.  The companies you work for are going to ebb and flow.

You may wind up in the same company, you may not.  You may wind up in the same career, you may not.  You may wind up with the spouse you're married to now, you may not.

There are lots of things in your life.  I hope that one doesn't change. But there's lots of things that change and I think that you sort of have to have a North Star and stay with the North Star and let those things go on about you and sort of find your journey.