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.
Yahoo! News Updated: No real updates in the news, maybe we’ll learn more in the morning… but a few more thoughts of mine added below. Toyota (as well as other Japanese automakers, including Nissan) is having to shut down a…
Fury Over 84 000 pound NHS Trip To Japan (from The Northern Echo) With apologies to the Got Boondoggle? lean blog, this story is about a group of NHS hospital executives and physicians taking a study trip to Toyota in…
Lean Insider – Toyota Shifting Production to Lower Labor Costs? It Could Happen The Lean Insider blog poses an interesting question…. is it keeping with the “respect for people” principle of the Toyota Production System if Toyota wants to move…
Dollars and Sense: Company leaders must drive innovation Here’s a short and sweet commentary about the Toyota problem solving process, “Ohno Circles,” and mention of a new friend of the Lean Blog, Matthew May. It asks, in part: In American…
IndustryWeek — Prerequisites for Lean Success: Learning From Toyota Event Registration This should be an excellent webcast, featuring Art Smalley. I’ll be registering for this, even if I can’t watch it live that day. People often want to rush into…
‘Face of Toyota’ Steps Up At a Delicate Time – WSJ.com: I’m surprised that Jim Press, about to be elected to Toyota’s board, would be so blunt: “Mr. Press — who has said his job is to be ‘the face…
Report: Toyota May Slow US Plant Builds: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance WSJ article: REDUCED SPEED Toyota’s New U.S. Plan: Stop Building Factories Toyota is concerned about overexpansion and overcapacity in the U.S., apparently. In Japan, most of Toyota’s factories…
Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System — HBS Working Knowledge Here is a summary of the famous Spear/Bowen article on Toyota’s “DNA.” If you’ve never read it, definitely check it out. Also, the full article is well worth…
Georgetown News-Graphic: News This was already announced, so maybe his retirement has just now taken effect, Gary Convis, the former leader of the Toyota Georgetown plant (TMMK): “Gary really knows how to listen,” Steve St. Angelo, Georgetown plant president, said,…
managementwisdom.com Many folks don’t realize the relationship between Dr. W. Edwards Deming and Toyota. The link above shows some of the credit that Toyota gives/gave to Dr. Deming. While you’re on their site, check out the Deming resources, including the…
Hundreds of CEOs top $8.3M pay mark – USATODAY.com: This isn’t exactly “news” or at least anything new. Excerpt from the article: “CEO pay isn’t set by markets, Finlay said in an e-mail interview. Instead, it is ‘determined by a…
Detroit News Article GM, Ford, and Chrysler are frequent targets here for their “beat up the suppliers” approach to supply chain management. Here’s some encouraging news for GM (and for their suppliers)… not such good news for Ford General Motors…