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Dilemma 6: Short Term Versus Long Term ■ 141

must have the idea that he or she has the car under control,
by using the control equipment that the car has installed.
The insights gleaned from the auto industry resulted in
the birth of the mass-customization process, a successful
combination between mass production and satisfying spe-
cial client requests on a large scale. By standardizing certain
parts, such as the chassis, motor, and underbody, it is easier
to tailor the upper body to the color and wishes of the client
or customer. Ford has been able to hoist both a Volvo and a
Jaguar on a similar platform, thereby making huge quality
improvements while at the same time lowering costs. Both
Volvo and Jaguar have, in turn, been able to retain their
identity by using nonvisible, standardized parts. The fi nan-
cial sector could learn an awful lot from this.
Also, in the area of production processes, the automo-
bile industry has had an influence on other branches. “Just-

in-time” production, which we referred to earlier, came out
of Japan, where they were able to unite the sequential in pro-
duction with the need for synchronic, or parallel, process-
ing. At just the right moment, the speed of the sequence can
be increased if, at that very moment, the different inputs are
synchronized. The servant-leader knows this all too well. The
best way to speed up the sequence line is to synchronize it
“just in time.”

Conclusion

For the servant-leaders, there are no barriers that are insur-
mountable. They are constantly in a state of development,
with no end to their learning. There are dilemmas, naturally,
and they differ according to the industry or the culture.
However, with enough skills and power, the servant-leader
can keep developing creative solutions.