Ford must copy Toyota, which copied Ford

Detroit Free Press Commentary

Excellent commentary here from columnist Tom Walsh. He says, in part:

GM and Ford butchered the lean-production system in subsequent decades and lost their zeal for rooting out waste. When Toyota and Honda and other carmakers set up shop on American shores in the 1980s, Detroit responded with denial and excuses for its loss of market share to foreign-owned rivals. But even after conceding the merits of Toyota's system, the Detroit Three have found it difficult to duplicate.

Wonder why?

Walsh has some quotes from Jim Womack and makes reference to an upcoming republication of the seminal book, The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production– Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry (which deserves an award for it's long non-lean title!).

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• About
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Mark Graban

Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

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