Steven Spear

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">The Idea in Brief</h4>
 <div class="ideainbrief-contents">
  <p>Many companies try to emulate Toyota’s vaunted production system (TPS), which uses simple real-time experiments to continually improve operations. Yet few organizations garner the hoped-for successes Toyota consistently achieves: unmatched quality, reliability, and productivity; unparalleled cost reduction; sales and market share growth; and market capitalization.</p>
  <p>Why the difficulty? Companies take the wrong approach to training leaders in TPS: They rely on cursory introductions to the system, such as plant walk-throughs and classroom orientation sessions. But to truly understand TPS, managers must live it—absorbing it the long, hard way through <strong>total immersion training</strong>.</p>
  <p>The keys to total immersion training? Leadership trainees directly observe people and machines in action—watching for and addressing problems as they emerge. Through frequent, simple experiments—relocating a switch, adjusting computer coding—they test their hypotheses about which changes will create which consequences. And they receive coaching—not answers—from their supervisors.</p>
  <p>Total immersion training takes time. No one can assimilate it in just a few weeks or months. But the results are well worth the wait: a cadre of managers who not only embody TPS but also can teach it to others.</p>
  <p>The Idea in Practice</p>
  <p>The keys to TPS total immersion training:</p>
  <h2>Direct Observation</h2>
  <p>Trainees watch employees work and machines operate, looking for visible problems. <span style="idea-in-practice-example"><span style="idea-in-practice-example-header">Example:&nbsp;</span> </span></p>
  <p>Bob Dallis, a talented manager hired for an upper-level position at one of Toyota’s U.S. engine plants, started his training by observing engine assemblers working. He spotted several problems. For example, as one worker loaded gears in a jig that he then put into a machine, he often inadvertently tripped the trigger switch before the jig was fully aligned, causing the apparatus to fault. </p>
  <h2>Changes Structured as Experiments</h2>
  <p>Learners articulate their hypotheses about changes’ potential impact, then use experiments to test their hypotheses. They explain gaps between predicted and actual results. <span style="idea-in-practice-example"><span style="idea-in-practice-example-header">Example:&nbsp;</span> </span></p>
  <p>During the first six weeks of his training, Dallis and his group of assembly workers proposed 75 changes—such as repositioning machine handles to reduce wrist strain—and implemented them over a weekend. Dallis and his orientation manager, Mike Takahashi, then spent the next week studying the assembly line to see whether the changes had the desired effects. They discovered that worker productivity and ergonomic safety had significantly improved. </p>
  <h2>Frequent Experimentation</h2>
  <p>Trainees are expected to make many quick, simple experiments instead of a few lengthy, complex ones. This generates ongoing feedback on their solutions’ effectiveness. They also work toward addressing increasingly complex problems through experimentation. This lets them make mistakes initially without severe consequences—which increases their subsequent willingness to take risks to solve bigger problems. <span style="idea-in-practice-example"><span style="idea-in-practice-example-header">Example:&nbsp;</span> </span></p>
  <p>During his first three days of training at a Japanese plant, Dallis was asked to simplify a production employee’s job by making 50 improvements—an average of one change every 22 minutes. At first Dallis was able to observe and alter obvious aspects of his workmate’s actions. By the third day, he was able to see the more subtle impact of a new production layout on the worker’s movements. Result? 50 problems identified—35 of which were fixed on the spot. </p>
  <h2>Managers as Coaches</h2>
  <p>Learners’ supervisors serve as coaches, not problem solvers. They teach trainees to observe and experiment. They also ask questions about proposed solutions and provide needed resources. <span style="idea-in-practice-example"><span style="idea-in-practice-example-header">Example:&nbsp;</span> </span></p>
  <p>Takahashi showed Dallis how to observe workers to spot instances of stress and wasted effort. But he never suggested actual process improvements. He also gave Dallis resources he needed to act quickly—such as the help of a worker who moved equipment and relocated wires so Dallis could test as many ideas as possible.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p>Toyota is one of the world’s most storied companies, drawing the attention of journalists, researchers, and executives seeking to benchmark its famous production system. For good reason: Toyota has repeatedly outperformed its competitors in quality, reliability, productivity, cost reduction, sales and market share growth, and market capitalization. By the end of last year it was on the verge of replacing DaimlerChrysler as the third-largest North American car company in terms of production, not just sales. In terms of global market share, it has recently overtaken Ford to become the second-largest carmaker. Its net income and market capitalization by the end of 2003 exceeded those of all its competitors. But those very achievements beg a question: If Toyota has been so widely studied and copied, why have so few companies been able to match its performance?</p>

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<p><span class="reprint">Reprint: R0405E<br />
</span></p>
<p>Many companies have tried to copy Toyota&#8217;s famous production system&#8212;but without success. Why? Part of the reason, says the author, is that imitators fail to recognize the underlying principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS), focusing instead on specific tools and practices.</p>
<p>This article tells the other part of the story. Building on a previous HBR article, &#8220;Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System,&#8221; Spear explains how Toyota inculcates managers with TPS principles. He describes the training of a star recruit&#8212;a talented young American destined for a high-level position at one of Toyota&#8217;s U.S. plants. Rich in detail, the story offers four basic lessons for any company wishing to train its managers to apply Toyota&#8217;s system:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<em>There&#8217;s no substitute for direct observation.</em> Toyota employees are encouraged to observe failures as they occur&#8212;for example, by sitting next to a machine on the assembly line and waiting and watching for any problems.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<em>Proposed changes should always be structured as experiments.</em> Employees embed explicit and testable assumptions in the analysis of their work. That allows them to examine the gaps between predicted and actual results.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<em>Workers and managers should experiment as frequently as possible.</em> The company teaches employees at all levels to achieve continuous improvement through quick, simple experiments rather than through lengthy, complex ones.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<em>Managers should coach, not fix.</em> Toyota managers act as enablers, directing employees but not telling them where to find opportunities for improvements.</li>
</ul>
<p>Rather than undergo a brief period of cursory walk-throughs, orientations, and introductions as incoming fast-track executives at most companies might, the executive in this story learned TPS the long, hard way&#8212;by practicing it, which is how Toyota trains any new employee, regardless of rank or function.</p>

Learning to Lead at Toyota

Reprint: R0405E Many companies have tried to copy Toyota’s famous production system—but without success. Why? Part of the reason, says the author, is that imitators fail to recognize the underlying principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS), focusing instead on specific tools and practices. This article tells the other part of the story. Building on a previous HBR article, “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System,” Spear explains how Toyota inculcates managers with TPS principles. He describes the training of a star recruit—a talented young American destined for a high-level position at one of Toyota’s U.S. plants. Rich in detail, the story offers four basic lessons for any company wishing to train its managers to apply Toyota’s system: There’s no substitute for direct observation. Toyota employees are encouraged to observe failures as they occur—for example, by sitting next to a machine on the assembly line and waiting and watching for any problems. Proposed changes should always be structured as experiments. Employees embed explicit and testable assumptions in the analysis of their work. That allows them to examine the gaps between predicted and actual results. Workers and managers should experiment as frequently as possible. The company teaches employees at all levels to achieve continuous improvement through quick, simple experiments rather than through lengthy, complex ones. Managers should coach, not fix. Toyota managers act as enablers, directing employees but not telling them where to find opportunities for improvements. Rather than undergo a brief period of cursory walk-throughs, orientations, and introductions as incoming fast-track executives at most companies might, the executive in this story learned TPS the long, hard way—by practicing it, which is how Toyota trains any new employee, regardless of rank or function.

Learning to Lead at Toyota

Summary.

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