More Toyota Quality Problems
Toyota fixing engine failures in new Tundra truck – USATODAY.com It’s hard to tell if this level of quality defect is typical for a new model launch or not. Anyone in the auto industry care to share a perspective on…
Tag Toyota
Toyota Thinking: Leadership, Systems, and Continuous Improvement
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.
LeanBlog Review: Toyota Talent
Toyota Talent is the third, and newest, book in the “Toyota Way” series: In this trilogy of books, each is very different and has its own unique place in the Lean literature. These books are unlike a series of novels,…
Mini Lean Carnival
Here’s a mini Lean carnival of some good posts from other blogs about Lean: Got Boondoggle? Lost in Translation Great story from Mike about someone going to the “Gumbo” (plus one other Lean buzzword butchered, funny stuff). Good lesson about…
Toyota’s Huge Profits and a "Dark Side?"
Detroit News: Toyota posts $14B profit Catching up on the news from last week. “We believe our continuous efforts have steadily contributed to our record net revenues, operating income and net income,” said Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe. The quote about…
Toyota Announces Plan to Release Temporary Workers
Got Boondoggle?: Toyota Releases Temp Workers I got asked today why I hadn’t yet commented on Toyota planning to fire some temporary workers in Indiana. Mike commented on it on his “Got Boondoggle?” blog. A news article can be found…
Lean in the USA Today
Toyota’s success pleases proponents of ‘lean’ I know I’ve already linked to this article and other blogs in the lean world have already commented on it, but I have a few other comments. The publicity about Toyota becoming No. 1…
Jim Womack on GM, Ford, Toyota, and the Meaning of Lean
In this Lean Blog Podcast episode, Jim Womack reflects on GM, Ford, and Toyota through the lens of Lean thinking–past, present, and future. He explains how Lean was coined at MIT, why it became misunderstood, and what leaders still get…
New Book, "Toyota Talent:" Out NOW
Toyota Talent Update 5/6/07: The book is now shipping from Amazon I had the pleasure of reading a pre-publication version of this new book from Prof. Jeffrey Liker and David Meier. You know Jeff from The Toyota Way (and my…
Clarifying Lean vs. Frugal
By Dan Markovitz There’s been some confusion over my recent post criticizing the Business Week article on Toyota’s “frugality.” I do not believe that Toyota is frugal (read: “cheap”). Rather, I believe that the company is simply focused on value.…
Lean and Green at Toyota San Antonio
MySA.com: Business: Following up on the Lean and Green theme, from the new San Antonio Toyota plant: “‘Muda’ is the Japanese term for waste. Toyota does not believe in muda, which is why San Antonio’s plant is so clean and…
More Notes on the Business Week Article
Toyota: A Carmaker Wired to Win: Dan Markovitz beat me to the punch, but I also wanted to comment on some things in the article: The article says: “Visit any Toyota plant in Japan, and it’s easy to grin at…
Lean Is Not "Frugal." Lean Is "Value."
By Dan Markovitz BusinessWeek online joined the rest of the media in noting that Toyota just passed GM as the global leader in auto sales this quarter. The article covers all the usual points, and to its credit, does add…
