Page 469 - The Toyota Way Fieldbook

Chapter 20. Leading the Change 439

Participation
Structure
• Organization &
• Documents Ownership
• Roles/Resp

Committed, Lasting
Knowledgeable Change
Leadership Effort Results

Learning by
Accountability
Doing
Education &
Mentoring

Figure 20-2. Key ingredients for change

successful. The other was led by a project engineer who did not understand or
want to understand and took his lead from a plant manager who did not take the
time to try to understand. The predictable result was failure.

Case Study: A Tale of Two Pistons: Toyota Machining
Philosophy in an American Firm
“It’s like there’s a delicious glass of beer sitting there, right in
front of me,” explained Ishiyaki Yoshina, 30-year Toyota
Motor Corporation veteran turned consultant for Engineering
Integrators Company (EIC). “Every time I reach for the ice
cold beer to take a drink, my hand runs into a transparent
wall that has been put there in front of me.” Yoshina-san
spoke in the kind of metaphor that often characterizes Toyota
associates. His analogy was colored with frustration over
Acme Systems lack of progress toward a lean environment in
the one and a half years he had been with them. 3

3
This description has been adapted from a case developed by David Ostreicher. It is based on
actual events, though names have been changed and some facts modified to make the discussion
points clearer; in essence, this case represents events that actually happened. Please feel free to
send your feedback to David Ostreicher at djostrei@umich.edu for further clarification of the case
and/or ideas to make the case a better learning resource.