Did BW Get it Wrong about Toyota?

June 29th, 2007 by Hal

Is Toyota paranoid? They are according to BW. Staying Paranoid at Toyota, BW July 2, 2007 claims Toyota has become paranoid. They point to the following quote by Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota President:

"The scariest symptom of 'big-company disease' is that complacency will breed."

Paranoia? I call it confidence…the confidence of kaizen.

BW goes on to say, "Toyota is light years from following Detroit into ruin." They share North American President, Jim Lentz's planning session that produced their latest program to train their workforce and take responsibility for the customers' experiences at independent dealers. These are not the acts of paranoids. Rather, Toyota demonstrates that they learn faster than all competitors. They probably learn faster than all manufacturers.

Norman Bodek says it best, "Toyota is a conservative company. They act out of long-held values and principles." This conservatism of bedrock principles allows them to take a steady-as-they-go approach making everyday just a little better than the previous day for their customers, their employees, and their partners. Paranoia? I call it confidence…the confidence of kaizen.

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