The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership

Jeffrey K. Liker, a University of Michigan professor of industrial and operations engineering, and Gary L. Convis, a former executive vice president and managing officer of Toyota, argue that leadership is why no other company has sustained Toyota's level of excellence with Lean production. Case studies from Toyota illustrate how leaders can get employees to stop simply performing their own function and instead improve continuously, in collaboration across the organization. Convis later became CEO of Dana Holding Corporation, a supplier to the automotive and commercial vehicle markets, and helped lead its turnaround from bankruptcy. Their guidance is aimed at executives and senior managers.