The Missing Link to Toyota‎-Style Success‎-‎-LEAN LEADERSHIP ‎"‎This great book reveals the secret ingredient to lean success‎:‎ lean leadership‎.‎ Not only is it a pleasure to read‎,‎ but it is also deep and enlightening‎.‎ This book is an absolute must‎-read for anyone interested in lean‎:‎ it‎'‎s both an eye opener and a game changer‎.‎‎"‎ ‎-‎-Michael Balle‎,‎ Ph‎.‎D‎.‎‎,‎ coauthor of The Gold Mine and The Lean Manager ‎"‎This will immediately be recognized as the most important book ever published to understand and guide ‎'‎True North Lean‎'‎ and the goal of perpetual business excellence‎.‎‎"‎ ‎-‎-Ross E‎.‎ Robson‎,‎ President and CEO‎,‎ DnR Lean‎,‎ LLC‎,‎ and the original Director of The Shingo Prize ‎"‎An excellent book that will shape leadership development for decades to come‎.‎‎"‎ ‎-‎-Karen Martin‎,‎ Principal‎,‎ Karen Martin & Associates‎,‎ and author of The Kaizen Event Planner About the Book‎:‎ TOYOTA‎.‎ The name signifies greatness‎-‎- world‎-class cars and game‎-changing business thinking‎.‎ One key to the Toyota Motor Company‎'‎s unprecedented success is its famous production system and its lesser‎-known product development program‎.‎ These strategies consider the end user at every turn and have become the model for the global lean business movement‎.‎ All too often‎,‎ organizations adopting lean miss the most critical ingredient‎-‎-lean leadership‎.‎ Toyota makes enormous investments in carefully selecting and intensively developing leaders who fit its unique philosophy and culture‎.‎ Thanks to the company‎'‎s lean leadership approach‎,‎ explains Toyota Way author Jeffrey Liker and former Toyota executive Gary Convis‎,‎ the celebrated carmaker has set into motion a drive for continuous improvement at all levels of its business‎.‎ This has allowed for‎:‎ Constant growth‎:‎ Toyota increased profitability for 58 consecutive years‎-‎-slowing down only in the face of 2008‎'‎s worldwide financial difficulties‎,‎ the recall crisis‎,‎ and the worst Japanese earthquake of the century‎.‎ Unstoppable inventiveness‎:‎ Toyota‎'‎s approach to innovative thinking and problem solving has resulted in top industry ratings and incredible customer satisfaction‎,‎ while allowing the company to weather these three crises in rapid succession and to come out stronger‎.‎ Strong branding and respect‎:‎ Toyota‎'‎s reputation was instrumental in the company‎'‎s ability to withstand the recalls‎-driven media storm of 2010‎.‎ But what looked to some to be a sinking ship is once again running under a full head of steam‎.‎ Perhaps the Toyota culture had weakened‎,‎ but lean leadership was the beacon that showed the way back‎.‎ In fact‎,‎ writes Liker‎,‎ the company is ‎"‎as good and perhaps a better model for lean leadership than it ever has been‎.‎‎"‎ of innovation and growth‎.‎ Yet‎,‎ Industry Week reports that just 2 percent of companies using lean processes can likewise claim to have had long‎-term success‎.‎ What the other 98 percent lack is unified leadership with a common method and philosophy‎.‎ If you want to get lean‎,‎ you have to take it to the leadership level‎.‎ The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership shows you how‎.‎