"Problems first" is one of the tenets of Toyota's unique management approach and, indeed, the company is even more interesting to observe when it is dealing with catastrophic events - it's ability for self-correction and drawing powerful conclusions, emerging stronger from its trials has been, historically, astounding.
When all pundits were claiming the "end of Toyota", "this time Toyota has gone too far" "Toyota has lost its way", these authors have resisted the siren song of the lynch mob and conducted an in-depth, fact-based investigation in what was really happening within Toyota. What they found was, first, a giant automotive company that hit the worst industrial crisis of working memory, a crisis that has claimed the life of no other than GM and has cost millions of taxpayers dollars to salvage the industry, and yet Toyota reacted without laying off any permanent employees or asking for subsidies. indeed it used the downtime to increase training and focus on improving its factory quality. This is an astounding industrial feat, and reading the account made by the authors is more than enlightening; it's inspiring. Corporations need not be slaves to the market, or justify treating people without respect because of "market conditions". Toyota demonstrates how faced with overwhelming market conditions, companies can still stick to their agreements and engage every one in working together towards turnaround.
Second, as it was still reeling from the impact of the great recession, Toyota was bizarely attacked in the court of public opinion for designing "unsafe" cars, with everyone from the government to Toyota experts piling on to fuel the hysteria. Well, after untold damage done to its reputation, and millions spent in investigations by top engineering experts, the jury is in: no Toyota cars were found to be dangerous in any way. This is a fascinating story and a beautiful illustration of the madness of crowds, which is told lucidly step by step by the authors and which highlight both toyota's strengths in solving difficult engineering problems and its weaknesses in reacting quickly and well to public opinion moods.
Whatever one's personal opinion, Toyota remains one of the most unique and interesting companies around, a company that offers the hope of doing business differently, by truly putting customers first and respecting one's people. Watching Toyota struggle is just as fascinating as watching it walk on water, and this book gives unique insight on the nuts-and-bolts reactions within the company, and how it manages to deploy its principles under fire and against considerable opposition.
I found the book hard to put down, as it answered so many questions at once, both about the events, and the nuts-and-bolts reaction of the company. This book is a worthy sequel of The Toyota Way, as we see here the principles applied in adverse and fluid conditions. A great management read!
