Page 16 - Toyota Under Fire

PREF ACE

jump into the fray and fight for Toyota’s reputation. But then a
longtime friend, John Shook, who had spent years as a Toyota
manager, pointed out to me that if I leaped to Toyota’s defense, I
would not be following the Toyota Way.*
The Toyota Way demands that any problem be thoroughly
investigated before any conclusions are reached. It demands
that problem solvers “go and see” the problem firsthand and not
rely on abstract, thirdhand reports. It demands thoughtful and
critical reflection to find root causes and develop effective solu-
tions. Most of all, it demands that every team member openly
bring problems to the surface and work to continuously improve
what is within their control. I wasn’t doing any of those things.
Whether Toyota was living up to its principles or not, I wasn’t.
So Tim and I began a process of trying to live out the Toyota
Way as we examined the allegations and tried to uncover the facts.
We quickly found ourselves in a losing race, trying to investigate
every allegation against Toyota. Tracking down every police re-
port, every NHTSA filing, and every field report, we realized,
would be a lifetime pursuit (if not more). We then stepped back
and asked: What is our purpose in this investigation? Was it to doc-
ument in detail every case of a sudden unintended acceleration
complaint; become experts on electronic systems; document day
by day what Toyota did, what the government did, and who said
what to whom? We finally concluded that we were not investigative
reporters, but that we had the opportunity to do something more
meaningful and useful than an exhaustive forensic investigation.
We had the opportunity to examine how Toyota had responded
to a serious crisis and to relate the lessons to be learned for others.

* John Shook was the first American to become a Toyota manager in Japan and
is currently CEO of the Lean Enterprise Institute.

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