Article at a glance:

An outsider takes on Japan

In 2000, Nissan Motor announced its biggest loss ever. A year later, it reported the largest net profit in its history. The turnaround was led by Carlos Ghosn, one of the few foreign executives ever to head a Japanese company. In this interview, he discusses his first year at Nissan.

The take-away

Carlos Ghosn led Nissan's resurgence by focusing on growth, not just cost cutting; by collaborating with existing managers at various seniority levels to create the revival plan; by putting his own job on the line to prove Nissan's commitment to meeting its new performance goals; and by tying employees' evaluations to company performance.