Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Toyota Way

Everyone in the auto industry is so familiar with Toyota’s dramatic business success and world-renowned quality that, as Liker points out, many consider the company to be “boring,” with its steadily growing sales, consistent profitability, huge cash reserves, operational efficiency (combined with constant innovation), and top quality, year after year.

Despite this reputation as the best manufacturer in the world, and despite the huge influence of the lean movement, most attempts to emulate and implement lean production have been fairly superficial, with less than stellar results over the long term.

Liker believes that Toyota’s consistent success is a direct result of its turning operational excellence into a strategic weapon, using such tools and quality improvement methods as just-in-time (JIT) and one-piece flow (that make up the Toyota Production System [TPS]).

Toyota's continued success at implementing these tools comes from its philosophy (The Toyota Way), which is based on an understanding of people and what motivates them. The Toyota Way describes the 14 principles that form the foundation of this uniquely successful management style.

Using profiles of a diverse group of organizations, from a variety of industries, it demonstrates how this model of success can be applied in any organization, to improve the quality, efficiency, and speed of any business process, including sales, product development, marketing, logistics, and management.

Grab a copy and enrich your mind.

To your Success!!!!

Trust Your Gut

Intuition can be described as insight or instinct. There are two thoughts about where intuition comes from. The first is that intuition is a synthesis of prior knowledge — a blend of logic, experience, and subconscious information that is stored in the mind and recalled when needed. It is recognizing patterns or cues that inform us what to do.

The second school of thought is that intuition comes from a higher power, a divine intelligence, which guides, informs, and directs. Analysis and logic guide most people in decision-making. But what happens when these tools do not provide the answer?

Trust Your Gut is a guide for those who need to know how to access and use their intuition. The information overload experienced today can interfere with the ability to categorize, analyze, and decide, so turning to a “sixth sense” or “gut feeling” is, in many instances, the only alternative.

This book is a very good resource for business managers who experience many challenges in their day to day operations. It’s a must have book for all managers and everyone in a leadership position.

Enjoy this book!!!!!!