The Toyota Way | Jeffrey Liker | Clearly shows you why so many fail to copy them

The Toyota Way | Jeffrey Liker | Good Summary of Toyota Culture

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The Toyota Way

	The Toyota Way Jeffrey Liker McGraw-Hill, 2003 - 350 pages average customer review:based on 83 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Clearly shows you why so many fail to copy them

I've read this book a few times, and got our factory excited by it as well. We read it 2 chapters a week as a group, with a volunteer facilitator reviewing the content of the chapters in a weekly session. Suggest you start with this one and then read "Creating a Lean Culture" by David Mann and then "The Toyota Way Fieldbook" by Jeffrey Liker. A must read for those interested in Lean Manufacturing or Self-Directed Workteams.

Pro:
-Shows the commitment of Toyota to their methods and philosophies. By commitment they mean a willingness to pursue your transformation for at least 10 years, which is why I think so many fail... lack of commitment.
-Provides building blocks upon which to apply lean tools or lean toolkit
-Philosophy is quite detailed for a few hundred pages, appears thorough and complete so if you want to, you can create a similar systems-based approach

Con:
-Not a recipe for you to copy... no shortcuts or cutting corners here.

Neutral:
-Not much detail on "tools" which is out of scope for the content of this book

Bottom line: I think that this book is true to the philosophies of Toyota as I've directly observed from the 4 or 5 different senseis (former Toyota executives turned consultants) I have had the chance to work with. I only recommend a few books, this is one of them. Pairs well with "Creating a Lean Culture," by David Mann as a way to extend the lessons learned in The Toyota Way.

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Good Summary of Toyota Culture

This book brings it all together under 14 principles. It is a good book for those who would like to learn about Toyota's success.

Behind-the-scenes of Big Business

A good behind the scenes type of book. Interesting to learn why Toyota is one of the big three automakers.

Toyota Culture

Good book about Toyota's origins and culture. Good book for everyone interested in manufacturing.

Good introduction -- but all pros and no cons?

Since the author is a professor, I'd originally hoped for a balanced coverage. But the book did not explore the shortcomings of The Toyota Way. Knowing both the pros and cons would have given us a much deeper understanding.

For example, the American auto companies are still in business long after Japanese cars surpassed American cars in quality -- so the American companies must have done something right, too, like inventing the minivan and SUV markets. Therefore, there's got to be some strategic shortcomings of The Toyota Way.

Another example... the book's case study of the new Sienna minivan is not such a shining example, in my opinion. The chief engineer has to drive across North America to discover the advantage of having multiple cup holders??? American cars/vans have had that feature for years! He had to observe the loading of wood planks into a Honda Odyssey to be convinced for the large body size??? Then "The Honda Way" was already better than "The Toyota Way", and in any case, all American vans/trucks have had the size advantage for decades! Besides, reading an issue of The Consumer Report magazine could give you the same info. So, the question is not how "The Toyota Way" helped discovering those good features in the car, but why it took so long?

Despite the above, I think this is a great book that clearly articulated The Toyota Way from technique to philosophy. Recommended!

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