Rating: 
Summary: Jeff Liker does it again!
Review: Jeff Liker does it again. For those who have read and enjoyed his previous book, Becoming Lean: Experiences of U.S. Manufactures, (1998 Shingo Prize) it gives practical insight into the transformation process from those who lead the process. The Toyota Way gives insight into how business philosophy must change and evolve in order to support a true transformation. At the core of a true business change is not the techniques, tools, or methods, but an attitude toward the business and a "way of life".The book, The Toyota Way, is worth reading from cover-to-cover and should also be re-referenced as one tries to guide their business, themselves, and others through the deep changes that must occur to truly transform to a lean enterprise. Dr. Liker reveals how the fourteen principles have been applied at Toyota using practical examples from new car development programs, daily functions, and major international business decisions. The Toyota Way applies to all levels of activities and people. But the only way for others to accomplish their own Toyota Way is to read this book and start to apply its lessons directly - by learning by doing.
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Summary: The true key to Toyota's success - its culture and practices
Review: Most companies trying to duplicate Toyota's sucsesses in producing the highest quality vehicles and at the same time achieving record sales and profits, typically try to implement JIT or TQM and miss the underlying culture which fosters the development of these manufacturing techniques. They also tend to miss out on how each of these techniques work together to form a comprehensive system which gives Toyota a sustainable competitive advantage even though its techniques and processes are widely known. Liker outlines the fundamentals of not only Toyota's lean manufacturing, but the Toyota philosophy. In his words, "the Toyota Production System [TPS] 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 allow TPS to fuction so effectively." He then goes on to explain the philosophy which he has organized around 14 principles: 1) Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy even at the expense of short-term financial goals
2) Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface
3) Use pull systems to avoid overproduction
4) Level out the workload (work like the tortoise and not the hare)
5) Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time
6) Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement
7) Use visual control so no problems are hidden
8) Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes
9) Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others
10) Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy
11) Respect your extended network of parners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve
12) Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation
13) Make decisions slowly, by concensus, thoroughly considering all options [and then] implement decisions rapidly
14) Beacome a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous improvement. "Since Toyota's founding we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. These are managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as the Toyota Way" - Fujio Cho, President Toyota (2001)
Rating:
Summary: Simply Profound
Review: Prior to Liker's book one of the few true glimpses of Toyota's culture came from the English translation of Taiichi Ohno's monograph. Jeffery Liker opens a very rare and perceptive window on the underlying culture of this organization. The significance of this perspective is such that the book has already been translated into Japanese.
David Hurst has suggested that Toyoda and Ohno did not invent a technology at Toyota as much as invent a sociotechnical system. Liker allows us to see into the underlying culture that gives rise to this particular sociotechnical system and he does so without letting his own cultural lens fog the view. The underlying concept of the company as a system or even a "family," and a long-term one at that, is still very common in Japan but quite foreign in some other parts of the world. We still have a great deal yet to learn from that.
There are a number of Japanese corporations that have been around since the 16th and 17th centuries, Toyota is just a new boy on the block, but I'm picking that it will be around for quite a while to come. There is a generosity of spirit present in this book that allows outsiders to see the inner workings of this company, make the most of it.
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Summary: The example, NUMMI used in this book is obsolete
Review: The ideas presented in this book is great, but unfortunately the author is not keeping up with latest development in NUMMI plant.
Read a news article from this link to read what the Toyota own comment on NUMMI plant.
(...)
Quote...
After being named North America's second-best plant in 2001 behind Toyota's Canadian plant in Cambridge, Ontario, the Georgetown, Kentucky, Toyota plant ranked number 14 in the last J.D. Power survey.
The NUMMI plant in California is below Toyota standards, with quality scores of the Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe, which is also built there, well down the rankings.
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Summary: Philisophical Landmark
Review: The is the pinnacle of literary knowledge of "The Toyota Way." No other book best illustrates the working principles of Toyota's philisophical foundation. The knowledge derived from this book goes beyond just manufacturing. The book is enriched with values and core principles that any "good to great" company should or have employed. The greatest enjoyment from the book, besides the learning, is being able to actually apply and live the Toyota Way.
Information Technology
wwww.nummi.com
Rating: 
Summary: Good insights on the thinking of Toyota management
Review: This book puts Toyota back where it belongs: front and center in the world of the lean enterprise. The idea that Toyota just originated lean and that others have since taken it further is a fallacy that has lately been creeping into publications and conference presentations. The reality is that Toyota is still far ahead and that the vast majority of companies that claim to be lean are only "kinda, sorta" lean, with managements that simply have not understood the approach.
The book has a visible structure that the reader can use to zoom in on topics of interest. Fourteen principles are stated upfront, and then a chapter is devoted to each of these principles. The writing is clear, and many outside sources are acknowledged with a thoroughness that is uncommon in business books. In particular, 28 Toyota executives are acknowledged or quoted, which gives the book the flavor of an authorized rendition of the company's philosophy.
The book's greatest strength, the closeness of the author to the company's management, is also its main limitation. As an academic, the author could have assumed a less worshipful stance. For example, rather than taking management statements about wanting to do right for society as a whole at face value, he might have pointed out that they sound like obligatory recitations of Confucian values, and that it is arguable that flooding the world with cars is in the best interest of the human race. Also, without attacking the company, he could have made its portrayal more nuanced and vivid by including more points of view, such as those of line workers and former employees who may have a different perspective than current top managers.
The executives quoted in the book clearly feel that the philosophy is more important than the technical tools of the production system. This insight, however, has come to them as a result of using the tools intensively for many years, and the reader should not be misled into thinking that it is possible to bypass the tools and go straight to the philosophy.
I also have a few minor quibbles with the way the book is produced. The fourteen chapters covering the fourteen principles have numbers that don't match those of the principles, so that, for example, Principle 6 is covered in Chapter 12. This is confusing when looking up cross references. The subject of this book also calls for abundant illustrations, but there is only one for every seven pages, and no photographs. Finally, I think that the use of long words where short ones would do should be identified as the 9th category of waste. We don't need to hear about a "paradigm," As Tom Wolfe's hero in "A man in full" points out, the only thing it ever does is shift. Saying "non-value-added waste" where "waste" would suffice also strangely suggests that there might be an opposite called "value-added waste."
All this being said, this book is a good read based on intimate knowledge. I recommend it to anyone involved with lean, and particularly to managers and engineers in the auto parts industry who want to sell their products to Toyota.
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Summary: Clear and informative for any business
Review: What a clear explanation of management principles. Anyone who runs any sort of company, or even a single household, can profit by reading this book. The many graphs are clear, clever, and illuminating. The book goes so much beyond the more simple "lean" theory I had read about before.
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Summary: Tao te Toyota
Review: Wonderful, wise, and thorough exploration of the Toyota Way. Top Ten Gems of the Book, Letterman-style: 10. 13 Tips for transitioning to a lean enterprise 9. The Ford Cuautitlan plant used web-based hoshins 8. The A3 and effective meetings 7. "Independent Contract Services" cannot be charged to a TTC purchasing credit card 6. The K4 5. Mediating the water dispute 4. Ford Vision, Toyota Vision 3. Eiji's inspiring Briton 2. TSSC benchmarks the Shingo Award sensor firm 1. Hansei Go buy it now or buy several for ad hoc distribution.
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