The Toyota Way for constructorsThis is a vital book for designers and constructors because the 14 principles Liker describes are relevant to any organisation. Many in construction have read this book within the context of a Study-Action Team with powerful effect . Some have used it to align aspirations at the start of a project and others to begin a wider lean transformation. When I read the book with a leadership group at one of my clients, the sceptics quickly became fans and the ideas quickly began to infect the whole organisation not just the business unit I was working with. (Google '"Study-action team" construction -NEST - Nigeria' for more information on SATs)
The Toyota Way is well written & easy to read [there is also an abridged audiobook which does a competent job of getting across the key points without one of those deeply annoying American accents]. After a general introduction in which he emphasises the cultural and philosophical changes required of anyone involved in a lean transformation, Liker takes each of the 14 points in turn [these are listed in another review or lookinside at the contents pages]
The final two chapters are devoted to a discussion of applying the Toyota Way in the reader's organisation. If you only have time for one book on lean read this and/or listen to the audiobook. The Toyota Way: What Toyota Can Teach Any Business About High Quality, Efficience, and Speed
Brilliant book!I strongly recommend this book. Having first bought the book in 2004 I have since bought several other copies to share with colleagues. Liker presents some of the key principles in a very straight forward and easy to relate to way. The book also serves to inspire as I often found oportnuities that could be applied with my own organsiation (unrelated to the Automotive industry). Sentiments that are backed up by the several people I have introduced to this book. Well written and very much worth the investment.
Toyota way beyond the rather turgid book! This will transform the way you do business.The Toyota Way is a great book but boy is it hard work. It suffers badly from the US preoccupation with selling books by weight.
The audio book gives the whole story flow. If you want to buy the book I would recommend that you also buy the audio to keep your strength up.
Put together they will become fundamental to your efforts to drive cost reduction and remove waste from your business. You really can quickly address "Dead wood issues" effectively, without conflict and in an impartial way. This package will pay for itself in hours if you have a mind to make it do so just make sure you are prepared to be bold. The big issue is you have to read the book not just buy it!
Not sure the "Cuddly" Toyota pitch is that accurate but its lovelly PR for them.The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer
Its good to keep an eye on the competitionYou've got to stay ahead so take the opportunity to learn what the best of the competition is up to.
To understand this company's success, first understand its DNAI read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.
No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner." To understand Toyota's success, therefore, it is important to understand that lean production is not a methodology, it is literally a way of life.
The 14 principles are divided into four sections:
Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization
Absolute faith that the right process will produce the right results
Adding value to the organization by developing its people and partners
Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning
As Liker points out, it is important to understand that the Toyota Production System is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allows the TPS to function so effectively.
How does lean improvement differ from traditional process improvement? "Briefly, wheras the traditional approach to process improvement focuses on local efficiencies, in a lean improvement initiatuve, most of the progress comes from a large number of non-value steps being squeezed out. For example, overproduction, delays, and wasted motion. In fact, the ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, physical production, and shipment."Some of the differences are subtle but no less significant.
To repeat, anyone can read this book and then uncerstand what the Toyota Way is. Possessing a gourmet chef's recipe, however, does not ensure that a gourmet meal will be prepared. Toyota has its own way. Other companies must develop theirs based on their own "roots." In other words, lead from their traditional strengths but not be limited by them. In fact, companies may need to re-invent themselves, not once but several times. That is what Toyota did...and continues to do. Use operational excellence as a strategic weapon and the rewards and results will far outweigh the great effort required.
That said, Liker does provide 13 "general tips." The first is to begin with action in the technical system and then follow quickly with cultural change. Other suggestions include learning by doing first and training second, using value stream mapping to develop future state visions to help "learn to see," and being opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts. They are provided with brief but precise explanations on Pages 302-307.
It remains for each person who reads this book to determine which of the 14 management principles are most relevant to her or his own enterprise, and then to determine how to translate each into effective action. Presumably Liker agrees with me that most companies have 3-5 areas in which "lean" initiatives are urgently needed. Developing an execution plan can be tricky, however, because all business transaction involve a process of some kind and improvement of one process inevitably has a direct impact on several others. Here's one possibility, suggested to me by a COO to whom I gave a copy of this book: Read the final chapter, Chapter 22, first. It's title is "Build Your Own Lean Learning Enterprise, Borrowing from the Toyota Way." He thinks that will provide an appropriate framework within which to proceed from Gary Convis' Foreword and Liker's Preface to the conclusion of Chapter 21. That suggestion is worth consideration.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Liker's Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way as well as Matthew Mays' The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation, David Magee's How Toyota Became Toyota: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car company, and What Is Lean Six Sigma? co-authored by Michael L. George, David Rowlands, and Bill Kastle.
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