Page 235 - Toyota Under Fire

TOYOT A UNDER FIRE

the best in all of us. . . . As we meet the challenge of change, we
will ensure our vigor and vitality.” Emerging from the recession
and a $4 billion loss with a company that was stronger—and
capable of surviving the recall crisis—required extraordinary
action throughout Toyota. It was the culture that allowed the en-
tire company, from the shop floor to the purchasing offices to
the customer service center, to focus immediately and actively
on cutting costs while protecting capability. There was no single
project that made a material difference in cutting overhead costs
at factories or returning the company to profitability so quickly.
It was the cumulative value of thousands of projects that were
launched simultaneously, almost instantaneously, that made the
difference. That’s the spirit of challenge in action.
For Toyota, the ultimate challenge is perfection. The recall
crisis highlighted just how far Toyota had to go to reach that
goal. To turn the recall crisis into a growth opportunity required
plunging right back into major efforts to improve the company
directly on the heels of what many felt had been a tremendous ac-
complishment during the recession. Maintaining that energy for
improvement was again an outgrowth of the cultivation of the
spirit of challenge.
Finally, it’s the spirit of challenge that Toyota will have to
draw on to complete its recovery and continue its steps toward
improvement. It will no doubt be tempting for many people in
the company to take a deep breath and pat themselves on the
back for bouncing back quickly and strongly from the recall cri-
sis. But the work is not done. As Edward Niedermeyer noted, the
recall crisis has been a huge boon to Toyota’s competitors because
it eroded Toyota’s “halo.” The Toyota Way 2001 states that “we
welcome competition, knowing that we will learn from the chal-
lenge and become stronger because of it.” Thus Toyota has to be

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