Yesterday I outlined what the Toyota Way was.  I also subtly gave you a little homework assignment to go to Wikipedia and see what they have to say about the system.  Now it is my turn.

Base management decisions on long-term philosophy even at the expense of short-term financial goals

Sound like something we could have learned about a year ago? Sound like something that has gotten us into the financial mess?  How does this apply to you? Sometimes we have to take a little hit, a loss, or a setback to achieve our long term goals. These little hiccups are not necessarily a bad thing. They can be a very good thing if we learn from them, they may even be part of the process that our success has to go through. But always keep the long-term goals and philosophy in mind.

Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface

An easier way of saying this is to focus on one task until it is completed. Do not multi-task, a lesson that I have recently learned. Multi-tasking leads to mistakes, time wasting, overprocessing, poor work, over action, and low creativity. Those are taken directly from the definition of the Toyota Way. None of us want to waste time, and that is what most of us get frustrated about in our jobs. My best job ever was mowing fairways at Leland Country Club. Why? Because I could get out on the mower in the early morning, have my cup of coffee and my radio/ear protection and just be in my own little world. All I had to do was mow fairways. I may take me until noon, or until the late afternoon, but that was my one task. I could concentrate on it and do it well. And I did do a good job, Actually I did a great job. I was probably the best fairway mower they had ever had. I could mow a straight line, make any type of pattern and do it in an efficient matter. Concentrate on one task an you will see your quality of work increase, and your creativity get sparked.

Use “pull” systems to avoid overproduction

This may seem to apply only to manufacturing something but it does not. What this tells us is only use the resources that are needed. No matter if you are running a business or writing a blog there is no reason to do more than is needed, and use more than is needed. Make things simple and you will reduce waste. Wasted time, wasted energy, and wasted materials will go right out the door and you will never worry about them again.

Level out the workload (heijunka)

Work like a tortoise not the hare. This does not mean work slowly and inefficiently, it means quite the opposite. Maybe the best way to say it is to take time to do a good job instead of rushing a job to get it done. Trying to rush to get things done simply causes mistakes. Instead manage your time so you have enough to do a good job.

Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time

Don’t pass over a problem just to keep working. This is a huge problem for lots of production people and lots of self employed people. But it goes beyond that. Your employees, your co-workers, students, whomever you are in contact with should be praised for finding a problem and pointing it out. They should not be shunned. Finding problems is a good thing, it gets us closer to a high quality of work, production, and success.

Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment.

Having a system to work in is great, but if that system is not working it needs to be changed. Having the ability to change a system and continue the process is hugely important. Again anyone who you come in contact with should be encouraged to point out ways of improving systems.

Use visual control so no problems are hidden

Obama likes to call this transparency. There is no real reason to hide most things. Leave work and processes out in the open so that all employees can see what is happening. Let your customers, your loved ones, and anyone else know what is happening. This will only develop trust, cooperation, and greater success.

Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes

Hummm very interesting. A company and a culture that seems to be gadget happy is instead saying don’t use something if you don’t need it. Talk to Timothy Ferris of the 4 Hour Work Week about this. You can certainly have way to many gadgets, fancy equipment, and technology that will hurt production, lead to greater time wasting, and frustration. Make it spartan. Work with the minimum. If the technology is not working don’t keep it around. Be willing to make the change, or to take away things that are not efficient.

Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others

This is why MLM companies are so successful. People want to attach themselves to a philosophy (look at the growing number of churches) that lead to success (see MLM and Work from home businesses). Through this philosophy it is clear that leaders can develop. There is a goal that can be achieved. When you have good leaders teaching others it inspires them to do more.

Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy

The most popular sports are all team sports. Why? Because everyone wants to be a part of something. There are very few and rare individuals who do things for their own good. Develop the team mentality, reward the entire team not the individuals and you will see production increase in all areas.

Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve

Everyone needs help. By challenging your helpers and helping them to do a better job you end up getting better. Sometimes you have to give free advice and free help to benefit you in the long run.

Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (Genchi Genbutsu)

You can’t know how something works until you get your hands dirty. Get out there and get involved. Do the things that you teach, lead, and want others to do. Suggest things only after you have experienced those suggestions first hand. It is a very important step. You can never know what the other one is experiencing until you experience it yourself.

Make decisions slowly be consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly (nemawashi)

Sports teams do a great job at this, Government does a terrible job. Get together with your most trusted people, identify the problem and work together to find the solution. This does not have to take long to happen. Why do you think that football coaches always wear headsets on the sidelines. Is it to have the other coaches point out what is happening? No the coach knows what is happening. It is a way to collaboratively figure out what will work from two different perspectives. Once the options have been weighed and the decision is made what to do next then it happens. This usually happens within 20 seconds each play during a football game. Now take this and do it with whatever you want to be successful. You will see that it becomes easy.

Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei)  and continuous improvement (kaizen)

The only way to get better is to continually learn. There is thousands of years of history to learn from, and many lifetimes could never learn all the lessons that there are. But by continually learning you can continually improve. But taking a little time to reflect on what you have learned and how it can apply to your business, your sport, your success you will be able to implement change and improve. Sounds complicated and simple at the same time. It is neither, it should be something that is done because you like it and because you understand where it can take you.

So there you have it the 14 Principles of the Toyota Way broken down Coach Kip style. I hope that you can take many of these principles and apply them to your life. I know that I will be doing so.