Toyota Way

Toyota way ch. 5

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Central to the Toyota Way is innovation never getting complacent and always staying a step ahead of trends in the market.

Many levels of innovation

Defining moments for Toyota

Toyota’as vehicle centers: routine product development making incremental change from one model to the next.

The Toyota way: allows Toyota to periodically break from a conservative mold and innovatively develop a new vehicle with a new development approach.

Lexus and Prius: two vehicles breakthrough vehicles that reshaped Toyota as company

Lexus

High quality, fuel-efficient, economical cars. Yukiyasu Togo (Toyota executive, Southern California) not willing to accept being second-class , saw no reason why Toyota couldn’t also make luxury cars vehicles competing with the best in the world. A car with new image, high-quality.

Took his idea to management. He saw resistance. Toyota success derives from incremental improvements with conservative mindset. Building a luxury car meant breking the mold from sturdy and reliable but basic Japanese built cars, to competing with the Kings of luxury in Europe

Toyota was not living up to its challenge of staying a step ahead of trends in the market. Lexus was born.

The task was given to the “Michael Jordan” of chief engineers in Toyota History, Ichiro Suzuki, just a legend within Toyota.

“Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others.”

If the concept is not well thought through and does not properly identify the market and how the vehicle will hit the market just right, then even excellent execution of the program will not matter.

Efficiency NO= Effectiveness

Effectiveness:

Fuzzy front end: when judgment and qualitative data often play a greater role than precise scientific and engineering analysis. (Principle 13: Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options, implement rapidly)

Suzuki started with interviews in the US at a Marriott Hotel in Long Island. Wasn’t a huge survey, just two groups of about a dozen people each.

1980s

This is part of Toyota visual management-Principle 7, Use visual control so no problems are hidden.

Mercedes- Benz was usually associated with status and success, Japanese cars weren’t. The major hurlde for Suzuki was to overcome this rooted stereotype of Japanese cars being practical, efficient, reliable but never luxurious cars.

What was important four buyers of Mercedes- benz cars. In order from the most importan