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.
Fortune: Most Admired Companies: Snapshot Toyota is the first non-U.S. based company to make the list, in the #9 slot. The top 10 are GE, FedEx, Southwest, Proctor & Gamble, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, Berkshire Hathaway, Dell (falling from #1),…
Article from Toronto’s Globe & Mail – Toyota Revs up plans for Ontario plant: Toyota announced a 50% increase in planned production at it’s new plant being built in Woodstock Ontario growing the initial jobs for the plant to 2,000…
Japanese Automaker Drives Into NASCAR – Yahoo! News Will they apply kaizen to NASCAR? :-) It was announced earlier this week that a NASCAR edition of the Camry, the best-selling car in the U.S. in seven of the last eight…
Thomas L. Friedman (free access via Denver Post): Although the focus of this column is on the environmental advantages of the new Texas Instruments fab in suburban Dallas, I think there’s a nice “lean” story here, as well. Toyota has…
Jim Press: ‘I was in love with cars every second’ Here is a bio of Toyota’s North American Sales President, Jim Press. It’s interesting to see the contrast between Toyota leadership and Ford leadership. Press has been with Toyota since…
Business – International Herald Tribune You could argue that Nissan and Hyundai are also rising, particularly here in the U.S. Paragraph three, in this article, focuses on Toyota’s “lower labor costs.” Is that about the only thing business writers and…
Society of Manufacturing Engineers Here’s a good overview of the Toyota/GM “Joint Venture” plant, NUMMI. I put “JV” in quotes because, sure there is joint ownership, but it’s not really jointly managed. A manager at NUMMI says: Most people are…
Toyota considers West Michigan plant; UAW not pleased — WWMT – Digital Channel 3 You’d think a new auto plant in Michigan, any plant, would be cause of celebration. Not for this UAW member. The article says one reason the…
Free version of article Wednesday’s Wall St. Journal front page had quite a contrast. Next to an article about how GM is struggling, there was a glowing profile about how Toyota is using their technology to develop new innovative products…
1 — ‘Slow and steady’ drives Toyota’s growth – (USA Today) 2 — Toyota Closes In on G.M. (NY Times, requires free registration) 3 — Toyota Powers Ahead at Kentucky Plant (NPR) This is probably my final post until next…
Evolving Excellence Blog: : I Don’t Speak Japanese Another provocative post from Bill Waddell and the Evolving Excellence blog. I’d like to amplify his point that Japanese management guru Kenichi Ohmae was off base in his comments: “Indians are not…
Evolving Excellence: Its About Cost, Stupid! Great post here by Bill Waddell about the Toyota “Profit/Cost” model ofProfit = Price – Cost. He elaborates on it as “Profit = (Price x Volume) – Cost and points out origins tracing back…
