This conviction was reinforced when, during a visit to Japan last year, I made it a point to spend a day at Toyota’s sprawling headquarters in Nagoya.

“Respect for Humanity” is at the foundation of the Toyota Way, also known as the Toyota Production System (TPS), which is now studied globally by students of manufacturing management. The company’s president Fujio Cho says, “Since Toyota’s founding, we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality products and services. Our business practices based on this core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. These are known collectively as the Toyota Way.”

I shall briefly summarise the 14 Toyota Way principles and then, in the next column, offer a few thoughts on how India — not just the managers in our car companies, not just members of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, but also our political leaders — can usefully imbibe them in a wide range of organisations.

• Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial gains. Have a philosophical sense of purpose and mission that supersedes any short-term decision-making. Work, grow, and align the whole organisation toward a common purpose that is bigger than making money.

• The Right Process will produce the Right Results. Don’t hide problems within the organisation, but create continuous process flow to bring them to the surface.

... contd.