Page 182 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

not. Toyota understood, though, that while it might be able to
win a dispute over the fines, the cost of doing so would be much
greater than the fines themselves. First, fighting the fines would
introduce another area of contention between Toyota and the
NHTSA, rather than building a better relationship for the future.
Second, regardless of the validity of its defense, contesting the
fines would be more fodder for negative media stories about how
the company was shirking its responsibilities for keeping custom-
ers safe. So Toyota negotiated an agreement with the NHTSA to
accept the fines while not agreeing with the NHTSA’s basis for
levying them. That approach enabled the company to focus on
what really mattered: improving the company for the future.

Set the Stage for Continuous Improvement

The most important part of Toyota’s containment philosophy
was its decision to apologize and take responsibility. As data
emerged showing that the basis of most of the speculations about
vehicle electronics and unstoppable cars was unfounded, that po-
sition helped rebuild Toyota’s reputation for putting customers
first. But the real import of that position is that it turned the en-
ergy of Toyota employees worldwide inward, toward continuous
improvement.
A critical part of the Toyota Way is the focus on True North,
or perfection, as the goal of everything the company does. Given
Toyota’s run of excellence, many outsiders assume that by now,
Toyota should be nearly perfect in everything it does, and any
fault becomes evidence that there is some major failure at the
company or with the Toyota Way. In fact, even after more than
50 years of continuous improvement, the focus is always on get-
ting better, taking one more step toward True North.

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