Extreme Toyota: Radical Contradictions That Drive Success at the World's Best Manufacturer
p57
- you will never accomplish anything if you only harp on the risks
p67
- let’s give it a try
- don’t be afraid to make mistakes
- initially we may experience some setbacks in entering the market, but all the time we’ll be gaining precious experience and gradually improving our business performance
p73
Plan - develop an action plan
Do – put solution into action
Check – verify results
Act – make necessary adjustments to the action plan & solutions
- problem solving is considered to be a critical capability that is implanted in all employees early in their careers through vigorous training
- until employees 10th year, repeatedly administer a 3 stage training process designed to develop problem solving skills
- learning to solve problems well is the absolute minimum requirement for success
- Toyota Business Practices (TBP) 8 step process
1) Clarify the problem
2) Break down the problem
3) Set a target
4) Analyze the root cause
5) Develop countermeasures
6) See countermeasures through
7) Monitor both results and processes
8) Standardize successful processes
P75
- the most practical way to realize mission impossible is the think deep but act small, taking measured steps & never giving up
- different from other is the way it thinks in this process and organizes it
• Think of the ”objective of the objective”
• Break down large, complex problems into smaller or more concrete problems
• Start small and take incremental steps
• Repeat experiments even if they fail
• Institutionalize successful practices
• Continue to raise the standard
Author: Date:
Objective of the Objective
- most important step to clarify the problem
- involves clarifying tha ultimate objective in relation to the more immediate aims
- objective should have public & society in mind, otherwise managers ask things like “Do you really expect to be a full fledged member of this company with the kind of objective you’re written down?
P79
- considered critical every function in the project be represented & local operations understand all potential problems they might encounter
p81
- ignore established customs & routines & concentrate on creative innovations
p 83
- Fireside chat meetings; face to face
- started as meeting between heads of Division and dealers to ease the minds of dealers by disclosing the company’s plans for surviving a crisis
- a candid exchange of opinion in small groups was very effective as a method of communication building relationships
- these practices were not made official, but sharing them as recommendations allwed Toyota to gently institutionalize such successful new practices while ensuring dealers the freedom to discover what worked best for them
p84
- many company’s do not put enough time & effort into embedding effective new practices into their processes
p85
- Once we solve a problem and reach a nedw level we have to raise our standards, otherwise they deteriorate as the environment changes and new problems arise… When new problems suddenly become visible, we have to reconstruct our indicators and renew our objectives [and raise the bar].
P86
- Before you say you can’t do something, try it.
- An engineer who has the ability to criticize but does not take action is not able to make ____.
P87
- failure is viewed as an everyday event at the company – a mechanism for learning
- you have to fail to progress
- when something goes wrong it is viewed as an opportunity to take corrective actions and learn
- if you’re 60% sure, take action
- taking action and not succeeding is okay because doing nothing is worse
- expensive learning lesson
p88
- consider that those who did not succeed with one set of circumstances might succeed with another
- rely on results of experimentation to learn what works and what doesn’t but this process cannot succeed if employees feel they have to hide bad news or fabricate positive results.
- Encourage all employees to admit problems exist, make them visible and see them as opportunities for improvement, to identify their root causes and take concrete countermeasures to prevent problems recurring over the long term
P89
- data is important, but put the greatest emphasis on facts; (data can be skewed)
- saw these practices no only as a motivating force, but as a duty of employees that enable the company to be of service to humankind. The ultimate purpose was not only to make $ but to do good for society
p90
5 Main Principles of Toyoda
1) always be faithful to your duties, thereby contributing to the company and to the overall good
2) always be studious and creative, striving to stay ahead of the times
3) always be practical and avoid frivolousness
4) always strive to build a homelike atmosphere at work that is warm and friendly
5) always have respect, and remember to be grateful at all times
- one of the recent presidents carries a sheet with him listing the principles and makes reference to them in his speeches
p91
By their nature, experiments at the outset draw more naysayers than believers b/c there is no assurance of success.
PCDA, 8 steps, A3
P97
Local customization provides an outlet where local employees can direct their creative energy toward “satisfying the specific needs of customers and fulfilling the aspiration of growing local business.”
Local customization comes 1st, followed by model integrations, shared platforms, and common parts to reduce complexity. Not the other way around, nor at the same time. Global co. who choosing 1 optimal solution may be very efficient but sacrifice the creative potential of employees in local ops.