The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer by Jeffrey K. Liker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a great introduction to Lean ideas. I think this would be a good starting point for someone who wanted to implement Lean processes where they work. I did have to wonder, though, after reading how Toyota does everything so well, just how that accelerator problem came about. Did they stop following thier own rules? Hmmm…

The other thing is that I am somewhat skeptical that very many American companies could become Lean organizations. Toyota had the ability to take a long view, and stay on their strategy over decades. American companies are constantly trying to produce quarterly numbers to satisfy Wall St. analysts, and tend to go with the management fad of the week. Combine that with the tendency of Boards to look for “charismatic” leaders, and you have to wonder. I did find it interesting to look at this book together with Jim Collins’ books. Both of them really push the idea of doing a few things well over a long period of time.



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