The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership 

Summary:

•  Five values: Spirit of challenge, Kaizen, Genchi genbutsu, Teamwork, and Respect.

• Leadership at Toyota is about continuous improvement and long-term investment in people.

• One of the tasks of a leader is to prove that true north can be attained. There will always be a problem, waste, but it can be improved. 

• Process: Commit to self learning > Coach and develop > Support daily kaizen > Create vision and align goals

• Real systemic change of a company needs to happen in its core, which is its people. 

• Everyone should think about how to improve the process, especially the workers who execute it every day.

• Genchi genbutsu (go and see) means treating what you observe as your own responsibility rather than someone else's problem

• People will talk about teamwork, but are interested first in their individual accomplishment. 

• Leaders at Toyota are preferably selected internally, with board members having worked there over 30 years .

• Lean leadership is about growing people who improve work continuously, not managing performance through pressure. 

• Tools work only when the culture supports them .

• Just In Time -> Make only what is needed, when it is needed, in the amount needed.

Other quotes: 

• Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.