Standards should not be forced down from above but rather set by the production workers themselves.
Interpretation
Production workers should have a say in setting their own standards for work.
This quote emphasizes the importance of empowering production workers to define the standards and practices within their own work environment. Taiichi Ohno highlights that those who are directly involved in the production process possess the best insights and understanding of their work, leading to more effective and practical standards when they are allowed to contribute to the decision-making process.
In practice
In a factory setting, when discussing how to improve processes, someone might quote this to highlight the importance of worker input.
The slower but consistent tortoise causes less waste and is more desirable than the speedy hare that races ahead and then stops occasionally to doze. The Toyota Production System can be realized only when all the workers become tortoises.
Where there is no Standard there can be no Kaizen
The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements…But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner, not in spurts.
I’m proud to be Japanese and I wanted my country to succeed. I believed my system was a way that could help us become a modern industrial nation. That is why I had no problem with sharing it with other Japanese companies, even my biggest competitors.
I despise politics. There is no room for it in a company. My life is going to be way too short to deal with that.
Presidents quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good.
A President's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.
Being president isn't anything like reality TV. It's not about sending insulting tweets or making fiery speeches; it's about whether or not the candidate can handle the awesome responsibility of leading this country.
In my experience as CEO, I found that the most important decisions tested my courage far more than my intelligence.
I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I’d like to be remembered.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.