- The internal lean coaches will learn from the experience, which will help
accelerate the next one and the next one. - People from other areas will hear about the pilot project, and some will
come and see and be influenced by what they see and hear. - There will be opportunities for movement of personnel from the pilot, per-
haps even as future lean coaches, to other areas to directly carry the culture
with them.
The short of it is, the new culture will be transmitted only through people,
by direct transfer of people who have experienced and been part of the cultural
change. Transferring workers or supervisors is a very powerful way. In some cases
jobs are eliminated in the pilot, and the people freed up can move to other areas
or become part of the kaizen promotion office. What many managers miss while
engaged in lean transformation is that the person whose job was eliminated is not
simply waste to be eliminated. That person is an active piece of the new culture
that the manager should be trying to foster. That person is extremely valuable
if the value is exploited.
Toyota understands the importance of and challenge of cultural change. As
they’ve opened operations in other countries, they place the highest importance
on developing the Toyota Way culture in each operation they set up. They do
this through the coordinator system. Thousands of Toyota coordinators have been
deployed around the world, and their primary job is to teach the Toyota Way
culture. It is not a matter of coming over for a week or two and teaching a class,
but for two to three years, and mentoring every day. They challenge the student
to accomplish a goal and then wait and watch for coaching opportunities.
A common question we are asked is: “Can the Toyota Way work outside of
Japan since Japan’s culture is so unique?” There is no question that Japan has a
different culture, and in many ways it fits quite nicely with the principles of the
Toyota Way. After all, the Toyota company culture evolved within the Japanese
culture. The Japanese discipline, attention to detail, team orientation, dedication
to company, lifetime employment, slow promotion, reflection (hansei), striving
for perfection, and on and on, all strongly support the Toyota Way. Yet Toyota
has had considerable success in moving their system to other countries. Over
time, the company has learned that they cannot build the Toyota culture of
Japan intact in other countries. They must allow the culture to adapt to the local
culture. The result is a hybrid culture—a new combination of the local culture
and original Toyota culture. But the Toyota value system is not compromised.
How much has changed in this adaptation is a matter for debate. Some might
argue that the new culture is totally different. Americans, for instance, are not
willing to put work before family and personal life as we see so often in Japan, are
not as disciplined to follow standard processes, always want to know why they
should do it this way, are individualistic, want individual rewards and recogni-
tion, are impatient, and they naturally think short term. But though there is some
Chapter 20. Leading the Change 457