Page 234 - Toyota Under Fire

LESSONS

culture of hansei that underlay Akio Toyoda’s ability to turn the
energy of the recall crisis toward continuous improvement rather
than toward finger-pointing and blame. It was Toyota’s culture of
quality and safety that over decades generated the “brand insula-
tion” that kept customers loyal through the recall crisis.
During the crises, there were no new strategies or radical de-
partures. There were no attempts to change the company’s DNA
or its priorities. Everything that Toyota did in response to the
crises was an outgrowth of what it had already been doing before
the crises began. The largest investments that it made in response
to the crises were to reinforce or correct areas where the company
was not hewing closely enough to its culture. These initiatives
weren’t efforts to change the culture; they were efforts to return
to it and reinforce it.

How Did Toyota’s Culture Drive Its Response?
Let’s take a look at how the specific elements of the Toyota Way
culture drove Toyota’s response and the places and ways it in-
vested to reinforce that culture.

Spirit of Challenge
One of the easiest reactions to a crisis is passivity—especially if
the crisis seems to be driven by external forces, like the Great Re-
cession. There is a tendency to simply throw one’s hands in the
air and proclaim, “There’s nothing we can do.” That’s especially
tempting in a large, multinational corporation, where it’s often
difficult for individuals to perceive that their actions matter. This
feeling of insignificance is a major barrier to positive action.
The Toyota Way’s emphasis on the spirit of challenge is about
fighting passivity. The Toyota Way 2001 puts it this way: “Change
is our constant partner. It frustrates and challenges. It brings out

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