Carlos Ghosn's Quotes

I approve designs not because I think I am more gifted or somebody who can see ahead three or four years from now, but just to make sure that the design is a logical, rational decision, taken after analyzing pros and cons.

I think we're going to have some difficulty in front of us. I have absolutely no doubt the next three, four years Europe are going to be at best stagnation. We are preparing for tough times.

I would say a good leader brings results. A great leader writes a new story, it's different. Obviously a new story has to incorporate a lot of results. But a story is a chapter in the life of a company that people want to write and want to remember.

If we come to the conclusion after 90 days that the synergies are big enough to justify the efforts, then we can go to the second step, which consists of saying: what would be the best organization and conditions - including shareholdings - in order to make sure the synergies happen.

In most companies people make a specific contribution to the company in their function. But it is not expressed in terms of profit, only in terms of performing their function better.

There are always lessons that can be learned from another manufacturer. You can learn from their successes and from their mistakes also. But you cannot replicate; you can only learn.

We are still keeping, as much as we can to the one million commitment that we made, hoping that at a certain point in time, the headwinds represented by the strength of the yen will be a little bit less strong.

We're not leaving; we are just making sure we're not hurt too much by the level of the yen. We are stunned by the yen at 78 or 79 to the dollar, which is a historical high. The country's suffering. My duty is first to make sure Nissan gets unscathed through the turbulence to protect the company, without forgetting the fact we're a Japanese company.

What I worry about is not just Nissan, but Japanese manufacturers losing motivation to maintain production in Japan. The high yen is definitely a headwind.

When a company is facing a problem, it always takes a stance and takes a decision, but at the same time it wants to make sure of what it can learn from it, what enhancements it can make.

When you're C.E.O., you have to have two conditions: first, shareholders need to trust you and want you to head your company. The second is that you need to feel the motivation to do the job. So, as long as both are reunited, you continue to do the job. And today, they are reunited.

When you're CEO, you have to have two conditions: first, shareholders need to trust you and want you to head your company. The second is that you need to feel the motivation to do the job. So, as long as both are reunited, you continue to do the job.

When your results are good, you are obviously going to have a lot of press. And when you start to falter a little bit, you are going to have some criticism, and there is nothing abnormal in that.

You don't implement change easily in Japan unless you explain very clearly why you need to do this change, how you're going to do this change and what's going to be the outcome of this change. If you offset or you forget to explain one of these three steps you're not going to do it.

You go to a plant not only to pat the people on the back, but to tell them about the opportunities they have to do a better job. Quality is one of the opportunities they have to do a better job.

You want to make sure this particular car is going to please the customer and then you're going to be rewarded with something that is going to please the shareholder.

Commitment. This is my favorite word because in some way, people who are committed are always much more interesting and much more reliable, and much more, I would say, deep than people who are not.

You have to listen to the people who have a negative opinion as well as those who have positive opinion. Just to make sure that you are blending all these opinions in your mind before a decision is made.

I think that the best training a top manager can be engaged in is management by example.

Good is somebody who delivered and allowed the company to overcome obstacles, without leaving a profound impact on its culture. Great is somebody who leads his company to achievements and performance and value that nobody was expecting it had.

Any job very well done that has been carried out by a person who is fully dedicated is always a source of inspiration.

Employees are your most valuable assets. They are the heart and guts of a company. This doesn't mean that from time to time, you aren't going to do what is good for the company.

I mean, when you're a pioneer and you are at the forefront of an offensive, you're going to be the most optimistic person.

You'll never convince me there is a hopeless situation or there is any finality in any success or any failure.

If you have not been a villain at a certain point in time, you will never be a hero. And the day you are a hero, you may become a villain the next day.

Business is tough; you need tough guys.

I think the new generation is much more demanding about respect for the environment than we have ever imagined.

You don't build your character by doing what everybody else is doing.

Design is important, it's an important dimension in the car. It's not the only one.

To face deflation, you have to have people accepting it and not reacting to it.

We are not making a capital investment into GM as the first element or condition.

Being in a multicultural environment in childhood is going to give you intuition, reflexes and instincts. You may acquire basic responsiveness later on, but it's never going to be as spontaneous as when you have been bathing in this environment during childhood.

As an individual, not as the boss of a company, I am very interested in motor racing.

As the CEO, I have to take care of the short term, mid term and the long term.

At the age of 20 I bought a used Fiat 127. This was the only one I could afford!

China will be the answer to Japan's problems.

Don't believe what I say. Believe what I do.

Electric cars are not going to take the market by storm, but it's going to be a gradual improvement.

Every single time you make a merger, somebody is losing his identity. And saying something different is just rubbish.

I always loved cars. I don't know why, I can't explain it to you. It has always been with me.