Tag Toyota

Toyota Thinking: Leadership, Systems, and Continuous Improvement

Toyota is often cited as the inspiration for Lean, but its success is rooted in leadership behaviors, management systems, and a deep commitment to learning—not tools or slogans. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on Toyota’s approach to quality, continuous improvement, psychological safety, and respect for people. Many of these posts explore what leaders outside Toyota often misunderstand—and what truly matters if they hope to learn from Toyota rather than copy it.

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WWTD? Think!

I heard an interesting quote a while back (and I can’t remember the source!). The speaker said something to the effect of: “The more we try to copy Toyota, the less Toyota-like we are becoming.” In my Lean career, I’ve…

Lean *is* About Quality, Folks

Time for a low-carb Lean Six Sigma?: Stuff like this irritates me to no end: “Lean Manufacturing has us analyzing process flow and delay times at each activity within a process. And while Lean Manufacturing principles help speed things up,…

Toyota’s Growth, Globalization, and Training

New York Times Article Here’s a recent article on Toyota’s globalization — how to grow and spread The Toyota Way quickly, yet effectively as they expand around the world. “It’s extremely important to have the same common Toyota Way infiltrated…

Lean Meets Green at Subaru

By Jason Turgeon: Introductions: I’m Jason Turgeon, the newest addition to the Lean Blog team. Mark and I have had an email dialog going for a few months about the intersection of green and lean, and he’s invited me to…

A "Lean" Article that Doesn’t Mention Real Lean

Turning Chrysler Into Toyota It’s disappointing when a publication with the wide audience of BusinessWeek misrepresents the Lean and Toyota Production System concepts. But hey, at least they really are a weekly publication, unlike our pals at IndustryWeek (sorry, haven’t…

Toyota President Urges Genchi Genbutsu

Toyota juggernaut vows to improve (Detroit News): Toyota’s president is urging his own company to remember the principle of “Genchi Genbutsu,” or “go and see.” David Mann, author of Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions, puts it…

"Toyota Culture" is Out

Jeffrey Liker’s new book on Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way is out. I’m getting a copy on Tuesday and hope to post a review ASAP. If anyone else is reading it, feel free to share…

New Year’s Greetings from Toyota’s President

A New Year’s Greeting from Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe Interesting message. Does anyone have comparisons of any “year ahead” messages from other automakers? It’s refreshing to read something from an auto executive who isn’t whining, making excuses, or blaming outside…