Page 230 - Toyota Under Fire

CHAPTER 5

Lessons

Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us big-
ger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world
was built to develop character, and we must learn that
the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our
marching onward.
—Henry Ford

You may have noticed in the quo-
tations from Toyota executives throughout the book how of-
ten the word reflect appears. You’ll hear it whenever you talk to
people at Toyota, no matter what their level, because engaging in
reflection, or hansei, is expected of everyone at Toyota. This isn’t
esoteric reflection—it’s an attitude of constantly looking back at
actions and decisions to learn lessons from them and look for op-
portunities for improvement. Hansei is expected at a personal,
a team, and a company level. Toyota leaders will tell you that
without hansei there can be no kaizen. Bruce Brownlee, general
manager for external affairs at Toyota Technical Center (TTC),
explains: “Hansei is really much deeper than reflection. It is really
about being honest about your own weaknesses. But it doesn’t
end there. How do you change to overcome your weaknesses?”

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