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The 15 most powerful practices for guiding breakthrough productivity improvements in any company

Management Lessons From Taiichi Ohno provides firsthand knowledge of the tools, techniques, and challenges to implementing the Lean values of the Toyota Production System (TPS) in an organization. Takehiko Harada spent four decades applying Lean principles at Toyota with Taiichi Ohno, and the motivating insights he shares on maintaining a Lean culture are peerless.

More than a set of rules for managers and executives to implement, this personal guidebook is from the heart in an attempt to see other companies enjoy the rewards of the TPS values Toyota leaders dedicated their lives to serving. It puts you in touch with the actual people who learned the key to success is creating a workforce of smiling employees who find purpose to their work.

Real-world examples from Toyota as well as other companies striving to practice TPS/Lean fully demonstrate:

• The 15 sayings of Taiichi Ohno—what his words mean and how his philosophies are practiced throughout Toyota
• The 4 Stages of Things—a very useful method for visiting the gemba, which is where the action takes place
• The managerial role—what management at the frontline should be, how it is different from a supervisor’s duties, and the critical motivational elements to creating a vibrant, happy workplace
• Bridging the cultural gap—indispensable wisdom for deploying the Toyota method in non-Japanese cultures

Taiichi Ohno was born in Dalian, China, on February 29, 1912. He joined Toyoda Boshoku in 1932 after graduating from the mechanical engineering department of Nagoya Technical High School. Mr. Ohno was transferred to Toyota Motor Company in 1943 and was named the machine shop manager in 1949. He was promoted at Toyota to director in 1954, managing director in 1964, senior managing director in 1970, and executive vice president in 1975. He retired from Toyota in 1978. Mr. Ohno is the father of the Toyota Production System. He authored three works: Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, Taiichi Ohno's Workplace Management, and Just-in-Time for Today and Tomorrow with Setsuo Mito.