The Toyota Way
The Toyota Way is a management philosophy and organizational culture with two pillars—continuous improvement and respect for people—and five foundation values: Challenge, Kaizen, Genchi Genbutsu, Respect, and Teamwork. It instills a culture for achieving organizational goals by leveraging the Toyota Production System.
THE IDEA
The Toyota Way
The Toyota Way was first written in 2001 and has been described as the interpretation of TPS for non-manufacturing people. Using a similar house and pillar diagram, the Toyota Way has two pillars, continuous improvement and respect for people. The Toyota Way includes five values in the foundation. (8)
- Challenge. We form a long-term vision, meeting challenges with courage and creativity, to realize our dreams.
- Kaizen. We improve our business operations continuously, always driving for innovation and evolution.
- Genchi Genbutsu. We practice Genchi Genbutsu – believing in going to the source to find facts to make correct decisions, build consensus, and achieve goals at our best speed.
- Respect. We respect others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility and do our best to build mutual trust.
- Teamwork. We stimulate personal and professional growth, share the opportunities of development and maximize individual and team performance.
The source distinguishes the Toyota Production System’s methods and tools from the Toyota Way’s principles and organizational culture. It emphasizes the role of employees: “It’s the people who bring the system to life: working, communicating, resolving issues, and growing together,” and describes engagement as part of putting those principles into practice. (9)
When to use it
Implementing a new manufacturing process in a factory by involving frontline workers and using Genchi Genbutsu to understand actual conditions.
Improving customer service by encouraging employees to directly observe customer interactions and suggest improvements based on real feedback.
Developing a long-term company strategy by incorporating input from all levels, aligning with the value of Challenge and Teamwork.
Reducing waste in administrative tasks by applying Kaizen principles to regularly review and refine procedures.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Applying Genchi Genbutsu in Product Development
A software development team uses Genchi Genbutsu by having developers listen to customer support calls to understand user frustrations firsthand before prioritizing features.
Kaizen in Office Processes
An administrative team holds weekly 15-minute meetings to identify inefficiencies in their filing system and implements small changes each week, gradually improving workflow.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can you apply the principle of Genchi Genbutsu (go to the source) to a current decision or problem in your work?
What does 'respect for people' mean in the context of your organization's decision-making culture?
How can you foster a mindset of continuous improvement (Kaizen) in your daily activities, even in small ways?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Cynefin - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World ED02 (Dave Snowden Sonja Blignaut Zhen Goh)