What’s Driving Toyota?
September 25th, 2006 by HalWhile Toyota is in 3rd place in the US behind Ford and GM, it ranks 2nd in sales worldwide and 1st when it comes to profitability and value of the company. It seems everyone is paying attention to Toyota and their lean ways. Toyota made the cover of the September issue of Baseline Magazine, What's Driving Toyota? Baseline is a Ziff Davis publication catering to IT professionals. (ZD also publishes PC Magazine and eWeek.) While there is a decidedly IT bent — read the Baseline executive summary1 — author Mel Duvall shows himself to be quite the student of the Toyota Production System and The Toyota Way. You won't read a better 11-page description of what makes Toyota the world's best manufacturer.
While we can be fascinated with Toyota, we better get started on our own lean path.
One thing stood out for me. Toyota's go slow to go fast approach — nemawashi — is practiced throughout the enterprise. The author gives a number of project examples of how Toyota executives take the time up front to establish clear roles, objectives, communication channels, and experiments. This up front consensus-building time allows Toyota and their partners to accomplish big goals together. Try talking your clients and bosses into taking more time at the beginning of your project to clarify performer roles. Who wants to pay for that? Toyota does. And their returns are the evidence that the rest of us should take that time too.
While we can be fascinated with Toyota, we better get started on our own lean path. There's no better place to start than on projects. Each project offers the opportunity for experimentation. Set your goals with the project performers and constituents. Take the time to establish roles and communication channels. And keep your attention on what you are learning as your project unfolds. Then, share your learning broadly within your firm. Your future viability just might depend on it.
- "Behind Toyota's power drive are sophisticated information systems supporting and enabling the business processes that help the car maker eliminate waste, limit inventory buildup and continually improve production." [ ⇑ back ]
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September 25th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
excellent article and summary of TPS from a non-manufacturing perspective, Hal, thanks for linking to it. very interesting how they did kaizen with dealers in developing a web-based ordering system.
The philosophy works…just keep applying it. It is the perseverence that is the key.
September 26th, 2006 at 2:39 am
I actually read the article slightly differently and in doing so was reminded of my time in the military. There we would make sure that everybody knew not just what their job was but what everybody else was supposed to be doing as well. Then these roles would be practised - the degree of practise depending upon the degree of complexity or asymmetry that was expected during the actual manouevre or operation. A highly complex or asymmetric manouevre demanded a great deal of practise at individual and group roles, a less complex one demanding not as much.
I’ve often wondered how this would go in the world of project management. I know in my own projects I’ve always made sure we rehearsed elements that were expected to be complex or fraught with risks but have never heard of anybody else doing this. Do any members of this group know how widespread such an approach to complex or asymmetric projects is?