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Oh what a feeling, agile working

Agile may be all the rage but businesses have been transitioning to new ways of working for a long time, ANZ’s Colin Neave says – and in the case of automotive giant Toyota in the 1970s and 80s, to great success. 

Neave spent time spent at Toyota during a transformative period for the group during those decades and says his time there taught him the importance – and potential for success – of working in multi-disciplinary teams.

“[Oh what a feeling] was really about significant enhancements to the way in which we did business.” - Colin Neave

“I learned a lot there about businesses going through enhancement processes and looking at how they were going to position themselves for the future,” Neave, ANZ’s Customer Fairness advisor and former Commonwealth and banking ombudsman, told bluenotes on video and podcast.

Oh what a feeling, agile working

Whilst it played out publicly on television screens, Toyota’s ‘Oh What a Feeling’ campaign also led to significant operational change in the Australian arm of the business.

‘Yes it was an advertising campaign but it was really about significant enhancements to the way in which we did business,” Neave said.

Such was the success of the shift – which included the integration of multi-disciplinary teams - Toyota rose to the top of the marketplace in the ensuing years. 

“[It] eventually led to Toyota being number one in the market for the first time in the early 90s, as I recall it,” Neave said.  

He also touched on the challenges associated with widespread workplace change. Watch the video and listen to the podcast above to find out more.

Andrew Cornell is bluenotes managing editor 

The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.

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