Here are a few more thoughts and observations from the Yokogawa User Conference. Thinking back, I don't think one could overemphasize that the company is passionately focused on innovation. I've had talks with chief technology officers and other such leaders of most of the large automation companies, but there is only one company that I can think of with such a stress on technological innovation (that would be National Instruments). The new technology they showed would just blow you away.
Second, there was a telling remark made during the keynote that puts a lot of perspective on where the company is coming from and the extreme importance of leadership. During his keynote address, American president and CEO Dave Johnson said, "Let's face it. Six years ago we were primarily a regional company." This makes Uchida's challenge (or boast or whatever) that Yokogawa would be the leading process automation company in the world even more amazing. Then you look at the tremendous expansion of global presence that has happened under his watch. I counted 21 built, in process or planned office expansions since 2003 on a PowerPoint slide they gave us. When I talked with product people about the new InsightSuite performance management product, the development engineers were from the Singapore office. That puts quite a perspective on the 61% growth outside Japan of first half 2006 over first half 2005.
There are two companies in the US that come to mind when I think of this kind of leadership and the respect they have within the company -- John Berra of Emerson Process and "Dr. T", James Truchard, of National Instruments. After my talk with Keith Nosbusch of Rockwell Automation, I think he could possibly reach that rank. He also has a vision of where the company should go and is getting it through to the troops. But he's too new in the position to tell.
6:42:24 PM 
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