My guest today is Tim Turner, who joined us previously in 2010 for episode #90. Tim was the lead author for a book called One Team on All Levels: Stories from Toyota Team Members that was about the Toyota plant and its people in Kentucky. Tim was involved in the ramp up of Kentucky Lexus production and then left Toyota after 22 years. He was at another manufacturing company and now works as a consultant, so it's interesting to hear about all of those different experiences.
You'll hear about Tim's role as a team leader — “How can I serve them?” was a key question they would ask. We also talk about various forms of improvement, including “small Kaizen,” A3s, and Toyota Kata. How was safety a “precondition” for work there? And he also shares how if we're going to make an acronym out of LEAN, it should stand for “Let Everyone Assist Now” instead of the alternatives.
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Questions, Topics, and Links:
- What was the role of a Team Leader?
- What was the balance between solving problems and help team members solve problems?
- What was involved in starting up the Lexus production in Kentucky? Why was there a YEAR of training before production started?
- What do you think about the word “Lean” vs. the Toyota Production System (TPS) terminology?
- Did Toyota ever talk about “servant leadership?”
- What's the true value of activity? What's adding value?
- Why won't Tim consult for a company that wants to cut jobs?
- Why mutual respect is key…
- A discussion about car dealer service departments, an interruption to our podcast, and how they can improve service
- Toyota retirees giving back — a group called “SOAR”
- What are “Red Collar Leaders”?
- What's it like working in the Toyota system vs. helping others become more like Toyota or just helping them improve?
- Tim's website
Thanks for listening!
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