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I just read an article from the July-August 2007 issue of the Harvard Business Review, “Lessons from Toyota’s Long Drive.” Ahhhh, the joys of post holiday clean-up, finding stuff I had squirreled away in a dark corner. So, yes, I am a little behind in my reading.

But I love this article. Specifically, I love the little call-out box that provides a very high-level view of “The Toyota Way” in some lovely pastel colors. Toyota as the authors state is arguably the top automaker in the known universe. They make great cars. They are profitable. Most other carmakers do not make great cars and almost NONE of them are profitable. Toyota gets it right. And they do it in an elegantly simple way.

The Toyota Way, as laid out by Sakichi Toyoda in 1935 (!) is as follows:

I. Continuous Improvement

Challenge – We form a long-term vision, meeting challenges with courage and creativity to realize our dreams.

Kaizen – “Continuous Improvement” We impove our business operations continuously, always driving for innovation and evolution.

Genchi Genbutsu – “Go and See for Yourself” We go to the source to find the facts to make correct decisions, build consensus, and achieve our goals.

II. Respect for People

Respect - We respect others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility, and do our best to build mutual trust.

Teamwork - We stimulate personal and professional growth, share the opportunities of development, and maximize individual and team performance.

Read it.

Know it.

Live it.

What more do you need? Why aren’t ALL “vision statements” and “guiding principles” an exact duplicate of these?