TL;DR: In 1987, GM accurately documented why NUMMI worked–and it wasn’t tools, techniques, or discipline. This internal report reveals a management system built on trust, learning, and problem-solving, and exposes how hard it is to act on insight when it challenges entrenched beliefs. When you read the NUMMI Management Practices: Executive Summary, it’s hard not to notice the contrast it represents. Printed in January 1987, marked “GM Confidential,” and written by the “NUMMI Management Practices … Continue reading Inside the 1987 NUMMI Management Practices Executive Summary: Why Leadership Mattered More Than Lean Tools