successful. The other was led by a project engineer who did not understand or
want to understand and took his lead from a plant manager who did not take the
time to try to understand. The predictable result was failure.
Case Study: A Tale of Two Pistons: Toyota Machining
Philosophy in an American Firm
“It’s like there’s a delicious glass of beer sitting there, right in
front of me,” explained Ishiyaki Yoshina, 30-year Toyota
Motor Corporation veteran turned consultant for Engineering
Integrators Company (EIC). “Every time I reach for the ice
cold beer to take a drink, my hand runs into a transparent
wall that has been put there in front of me.” Yoshina-san
spoke in the kind of metaphor that often characterizes Toyota
associates. His analogy was colored with frustration over
Acme Systems lack of progress toward a lean environment in
the one and a half years he had been with them.^3Chapter 20. Leading the Change 439Learning by
Doing
Education &
MentoringChange
EffortParticipation
&
OwnershipLasting
ResultsAccountabilityCommitted,
Knowledgeable
LeadershipStructure- Organization
- Documents
- Roles/Resp
Figure 20-2. Key ingredients for change
(^3) This description has been adapted from a case developed by David Ostreicher. It is based on
actual events, though names have been changed and some facts modified to make the discussion
points clearer; in essence, this case represents events that actually happened. Please feel free to
send your feedback to David Ostreicher at [email protected] for further clarification of the case
and/or ideas to make the case a better learning resource.