Jeffrey K. Liker Quotes

Some might debate whether people are born with talent, or whether it is developed. Toyota’s stand is clear — give us the seeds of talent and we will plant them, tend the soil, water and nurture the seedlings, and eventually harvest the fruits of our labor... Of course the wise farmer selects only the best seeds, but even with careful selection there is no guarantee that the seeds will grow, or that the fruits they yield will be sweet, and yet the effort must be made because it provides the best chance of developing a strong crop.

Be responsive to the day-by-day shifts in customer demand rather than relying on computer schedules and systems to track wasteful inventory.

Ownership means once I detect a problem I own it. I am responsible for it.

management has no more critical role than to motivate and engage large numbers of people to work together toward a common goal. Defining and explaining what the goal is, sharing a path to achieving it, motivating people to take the journey with you, and assisting them by removing obstacles — those are management's reasons for being.

TPS starts with the customer. Always ask, “What value are we adding from the customer’s perspective?” Because the only thing that adds value in any type of process — be it a manufacturing, service, or development process — is the physical or information transformation of that product, service, or activity into something the customer wants.

Exceptional People and Exceptional Processes Must Go Hand in Hand

If you are responsible for a problem and make recommendations on possible solutions, you might be asked whether you went and looked at the situation yourself in person.

Figura 5-4. Objetivos «sin compromiso». 1. Alta velocidad, manejabilidad/estabilidad Y AUN ASÍ Una conducción agradable 2. Conducción rápida y suave Y AUN ASÍ Bajo consumo 3. Muy silencioso Y AUN ASÍ Peso ligero 4. Estilo elegante Y AUN ASÍ Gran aerodinámica 5. Acogedor Y AUN ASÍ Interior funcional 6. Gran estabilidad y alta velocidad Y AUN ASÍ Gran valor de CD

Defining and explaining what the goal is, sharing a path to achieving it, motivating people to take the journey with you, and assisting them by removing obstacles — those are management's reasons for being. We must engage the minds of people to support and contribute their ideas to the organization. In my experience, the Toyota Way is the best method for fulfilling this role.

The vision for Lean, I believe, should be achieving operational excellence based on a clearly defined value system and a way of engaging people in Continuous Improvement. The goals can generally be summarized as Safety, Morale, Quality, Cost, and Productivity.

It is comforting to believe that if we could only implement the right cells and other lean tools to eliminate waste in the process, we could let it rip and get great results forever . . . or at least for a long time. But processes do not work that way.

Senior management is simply a flag bearer when a business decision is made. It is of no use unless others follow the flag. — Eiji Toyoda, former chairman of Toyota

Continuous improvement means getting better every day and is the driver for building a sustainable enterprise. Only those at the gemba can understand the problems fast enough to react quickly. Continuous improvement depends on a different paradigm of the role of the human — all humans are problem detectors and problem correctors — thinking scientifically.

Basically people will do what upper management wants them to do. So if that's consistent, if they're not whipsawed and being governed by different priorities, they learn what is truly important and what is not….

One Toyota executive stated the sentiment well, “Team members are the only appreciating asset we have. Everything else starts depreciating from the moment we buy it.