[...]... possible solutions to any situation 6 THE TOYOTA WAY FIELDBOOK The one reality of the Toyota Way is that there is always more than one way to achieve the desired result The important thing is to learn, to think about what you have learned, to apply it, and to reflect on the process and continuously improve in such a way as to strengthen your organization for the long term You may think that we have... hired and hit the ground running Toyota in Japan rarely hires managers from outside, except for overseas where they have to hire from the outside as they grow Gary Convis, president of the plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, estimates that it takes 10 years to train a 12 THE TOYOTA WAY FIELDBOOK new manager from the outside to the point where the manager can be trusted and autonomous At the Toyota Technical... Arbor they describe as “painful” the process of bringing in managers from the outside The reason for these difficulties is that Toyota does not view the manager’s job as simply accomplishing tasks and having good people skills Managers are viewed as bearers of the Toyota Way More than anyone, they must exemplify the philosophy in everything they do: the decisions they make and how they go about making the. .. had the good fortune to learn But we’ve taken our understanding of Toyota one step further, providing advice on how to learn from the Toyota Way The learning journey must be your own personal journey Treat this book as picking up on the lessons of the Toyota Way and applying it to how you can learn from Toyota But these are just ideas You have to apply the ideas in your situation in your way Some of the. .. reflection questions to help you apply the lessons to your organization Overview of the Toyota Way Principles While we did not organize the book around these principles exactly in this way, it is worth reviewing the principles as background for the The Toyota Way Fieldbook I Philosophy as the Foundation 1 Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial... will provide many challenges along the way Always remember the frequent admonitions and challenge that is issued at Toyota: “Please try” and “Do your best.” Part I Learning from Toyota Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc Click here for terms of use This page intentionally left blank Chapter 1 Background to the Fieldbook Why The Toyota Way Fieldbook? Toyota s success as a company has... has defined Toyota from their beginnings as a manufacturing company, and often separated them from Chapter 1 Background to the Fieldbook 9 their competitors It is the foundation for all the other principles and the missing ingredient in most companies trying to emulate Toyota II The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results 2 Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface “Flow”... TMMK was going to be the degree to which the company could—in short—establish the Toyota Way They didn’t call it the Toyota Way then It was just the way Toyota did things.” The Toyota Production System was fully articulated by then, as was basic company philosophy, especially in such areas as quality and human resources But the philosophy didn’t stop with those key functions; it played out in each... the difficulty even Toyota has had in globalizing the Toyota Way Consider some of the icons of the Toyota Production System in North America: the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky; Toyota s joint venture with General Motors, NUMMI in California; and Toyota s largest supplier, Denso, in Battlecreek, Michigan All three locations went through a dip on the Toyota Way around 2000 as they were rapidly expanding... among members Toyota has a strong internal culture that they often refer to as their DNA Toyota is very conscious of the importance of maintaining this DNA in all their associates and works hard to continually reinforce the culture The essence of the Toyota Way is exceptional individuals and teams who work within the philosophy of the Toyota Production System to achieve outstanding results The tools are . was going to be the degree to which the company could—in short—establish the Toyota Way. They didn’t call it the Toyota Way then. It was just the way Toyota did things.” The Toyota Production. Learning from Toyota 1 1. Background to the Fieldbook 3 Why The Toyota Way Fieldbook? 3 How the Book Is Organized 6 Overview of the Toyota Way Principles 8 How to Use This Book 14 Part II. Why. employees of Toyota to the Toyota Production System and he was there to began learning the Toyota Way the way you’re really supposed to learn it—on the plant floor. Jeff found Toyota through