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Why is a Long-Term Philosophy the Foundation?

Toyota is serious about long term thinking. The focus from the very top of the company is to add value to customers and society. This drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization, one that can adapt to changes in the environment and survive as a productive organization. Without this foundation, none of the investments Toyota makes in continuous improvement and learning would be possible.

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• Toyota is a process-oriented company. They have learned through experience what processes work, reaching toward the ideal of one piece flow. Flow is the key to achieving the best quality at the lowest cost with high safety and morale. At Toyota this process focus is built into the company’s DNA, and managers believe in their hearts that using the right process will lead to the results they desire.

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1. Create a strong, stable culture in which company values and beliefs are widely shared and lived out over a period of many years.
2. Use cross-functional teams to improve quality and productivity and enhance flow by solving difficult technical problems. Empowerment occurs when people use the company’s tools to improve the company.
3. Make an ongoing effort to teach individuals how to work together as teams toward common goals. Teamwork is something that has to be learned.
4. Culture cannot be copied; People are your only appreciating assets!
5. The Value of People is in their creativity, passion, and commitment to the business.

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• Solving root Problems Drives Organizational Learning. The highest level of the Toyota Way is organizational learning. Identifying root causes of problems and preventing them form occurring is the focus of Toyota’s continuous learning system. Tough analysis, reflection, and communication of lessons learned are central to improvement as is the discipline to standardize the best-known way.