6.5. Conclusion

Throughout its history, Toyota employees have experienced the power of the founders' philosophies described in this chapter: (1) Tomorrow will be better than today, (2) Everybody should win, (3) Customer first, dealers second, and manufacturer last, and (4) Genchi genbutsu. These philosophies stabilize the expansive forces described in preceding chapters, helping to prevent Toyota from spinning outward in all directions fruitlessly.

These shared beliefs form the basis of the corporate values articulated in The Toyota Way 2001, known in the company as the "Green Book." Two of the beliefs—tomorrow will be better than today and genchi genbutsu—have been the force behind kaizen. The other two beliefs—everybody should win and customer first, dealers second, and manufacturer last—translate into the slogan "respect for people." Kaizen and respect for people are the two pillars of The Toyota Way 2001. This document was the first attempt to put into writing the key beliefs and values that have nourished Toyota over the years, shaping the behavior of Toyota management, employees, and external partners in the business ecosystem.

Get Extreme Toyota: Radical Contradictions That Drive Success at the World's Best Manufacturer now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.