Tools & Tips
Honda's Success Based in Joy

Honda, one of the world's most successful companies, was born in Japan but has been growing and thriving in the U.S. for more than 40 years. Today the company employs more than 120,000 Americans and has a presence in all 50 states. Tom Ross, Honda CIO, says the company's success can be attributed to a few simple ideas espoused by the company's founder.

First is a respect for the individual, at every level of the company. "Beyond that," says Ross, "the next significant thing that Mr. Honda articulated was the Three Joys: The Joy of Buying, The Jy of Selling, and The Joy of Creating.

"You can think about these Three Joys in terms of Honda's products and services. For example, being an internal service and support organization, although most customers are internal, the employees in IT want to make sure that the internal customers feel good about what they're buying -- The Joy of Buying -- and what we're delivering to them. We want to ensure that the money that they have entrusted with us as an investment in these goods and services is well spent, so that would be the Joy of Selling. The people who actually do the construction, the development, experience the Joy of Creating."

Graziadio Business Report Vol. 7, No. 1