Extreme Toyota offers the first real, comprehensive inside look at what makes one of the world?s best companies run. With unprecedented access to the inner working of Toyota, the authors spent six years researching the company, interviewing hundreds of executives and employees, and discovering the company's secret of success.

Preface xi CHAPTER 1 Extreme Toyota: An Organization Powered by Creative Contradictions 1 An Amazing Track Record 1 The Hard Side of Toyota 3 The Powerful and Mysterious Soft Side 3 How Toyota Is Like a Failed, Stagnant Company 4 Management Orchestrated Contradictions,Opposites, and Paradoxes 8 Embracing Contradictions as a Way of Life 19 Conclusion 20 CHAPTER 2 Six Opposing Forces That Drive the Company’s Expansion—and Keep It from Breaking Apart 23 Forces of Expansion 25 Forces of Integration 30 Six Forces Working Together 34 Resource Base 35 Six Forces in Action: Case of the Lexus 38 Conclusion 42 CHAPTER 3 The Force of Impossible Goals 43 Meet Every Customer Need 45 The Finest Cars, the Finest Dealers 51 Bypassing Japan to Make a Global Car 57 Conclusion 64 CHAPTER 4 Eagerness  to Experiment 67 Experimentation Hardware:The Eight-Step and A3 Processes 73 Experimentation Software: Values 86 Conclusion 92 CHAPTER 5  Local Customization 95 The Underdog Even at Home 98 Customizing the IMV in Asia 99 The Challenges and Benefits of Local Customization 100 Customizing the Yaris for Europe 102 Customizing the Scion for the United States Youth Segment 105 Customizing the Tundra for the United States 115 Disseminating Local Best Practices throughout the World 116 Conclusion 118 CHAPTER 6 The Founders’ Philosophies 121 Tomorrow Will Be Better than Today 124 Everybody Should Win 129 Customer First, Dealers Second, and Manufacturer Last 135 Genchi Genbutsu 139 Conclusion 141 CHAPTER 7 Toyota’s Nerve System—A Human Version of the World Wide Web 143 Open and Lateral Dissemination of Know-How 146 Freedom to Voice Contrary Opinions 149 Frequent Face-to-Face Interaction 154 Making Tacit Knowledge Explicit: The Toyota Way 2001 158 Formal and Informal Support Mechanisms 161 Conclusion 163 CHAPTER 8 Up-and-In Human Resource Management 165 Stable, Long-Term Employment 169 Emphasis on Training,Training, and More Training 172 Power in Teamwork 177 Action Orientation 178 Learning-Based Evaluation 180 Conclusion 183 CHAPTER 9 Toyota’s Resource Base 185 Investing in Efficiency 187 Cultivating Organizational Capability and People Required for Growth 191 Making a Long-Term Commitment to People 198 Conclusion 206 CHAPTER 10 A Company Always in Danger 211 Organizational Growth Pains 212 Employee Complacency 214 Cultural Rigidity 216 Workforce Diversity 218 Insular Approach to the Capital Markets 220 Rise of New Competitors 221 Conclusion 223 CHAPTER 11 What Your Organization Can Learn from Toyota: Ten Powerful Contradictions 225 Embrace Contradictions 229 Conclusion 238 Appendix A Selected Auto Industry Figures and Comparisons 241 Chapter 1—Extreme Toyota 241 Chapter 2—Six Forces 248 Chapter 3—Impossible Goals 253 Chapter 9—Resources 254 Appendix B Literature Review 257 Literature Review Methodology 258 Notes 263 References 287 Index 297

"This is the definitive book on the secret to Toyota's phenomenal success, with important lessons for all leaders." —Noel Tichy By almost any measure, Toyota is a model of extreme performance among the world's best manufacturers. The company is hugely profitable, known for strong engineering, durability, and reliability, and is on track to replace GM as the world's largest automaker. What explains this phenomenal success? Based on six years of research and unprecedented access to Toyota facilities, documents, and activities—as well as hundreds of interviews with employees and leaders of the company—Extreme Toyota explains what makes Toyota great and what you and your business can learn from its success. Though Toyota is well known for its innovative production process—the Toyota Production System (TPS)—there is much more to its success than just its nimble, cost-effective production practices. The authors of Extreme Toyota explain that the secret to Toyota's success lies in a series of striking paradoxes or contradictions that are actively encouraged by Toyota's management. For example: Toyota cultivates frugality and thriftiness AND spends big to develop people and projectsIt is hierarchical and bureaucratic AND encourages dissentIt aims for stability AND fosters a mindset of paranoiaIt moves forward slowly and gradually AND makes big leapsIt is operationally efficient AND filled with redundancy This creative clash of innovative production practices and traditional corporate culture not only works, it works extraordinarily well. Toyota manages to turn these seeming contradictions into unlimited growth and success. While most companies seek to stamp out internal contradictions and paradoxes, Toyota actively encourages them, resulting in continuous innovation and constant renewal. If you want to grow your own culture of contradiction and success, take a look inside the world's best manufacturer.

"Heavily footed and studded with graphs and charts, this insider's view of one of the world's leading manufacturers is somewhat academic in tone yet has enough anecdotes to make it interesting." (Library Journal, May 15, 2008)