[Book Review] Toyota's Crisis Management - The Underlying Strength to Remain Profitable in Any Era -

The COVID-19 pandemic caused panic throughout the world.
Many people likely lost themselves or their family members,
or suffered from the aftereffects.
The legacy of that pathology was significant.
What that disease left behind was immense.

With the understanding that such sadness and hardship existed,
I dare say that, in a sense,
I enjoyed working during that period.

While the peace-dazed managers and executives around me panicked,
I felt fired up, believing that such an emergency
is exactly where a leader's true ability is shown.

Although my position was No. 2, right below the manager,
I didn't hesitate to voice my opinions to the leader himself,
and I fought on the front lines.

There were surely many points to reflect upon.
But even so, rather than waiting for their instructions,
I am certain I was able to respond more accurately.

That is because, unlike them,
I was always working with an awareness of potential emergencies.

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Anyone can be a leader in peacetime

I usually work as an engineer at a factory.
Simply put, I perform tasks such as maintaining
the machinery and equipment used for manufacturing.

One day, when I arrived at work as usual,
the factory manager said this at the morning assembly
where all the employees were gathered.

"Since profits are low right now, let's work even harder
　to reduce costs."

That is truly a foolish statement.

Since cost reduction is something we work on even in peacetime,
it is effectively the same as saying nothing at all.
(Or it is as if he is saying that we are not doing
　what we should be doing in peacetime.)

It is typical peace-dazed thinking to wait until a crisis
occurs to think about how to deal with it.
That is why we didn't get along and ended up clashing
many times.
(He is older and holds a higher position than me, though.)

In peacetime, he is likely an excellent employee who
calmly carries out assigned tasks.
If he worked for a government office, I suspect he would
be quite highly rated.

It is unfortunate for both the individual and the organization
when a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic occurs
under this kind of mindset.

Peacetime is a situation where you just have to
do your work as usual
within pre-determined rules,
so anyone can be a leader, so to speak.

In this modern age, you could even
leave it to AI if you fed it "usual" data.

The problem arises when you are placed in a situation
that deviates significantly from that "usual" state.

Crisis management thinking strengthens an organization

Looking at it that way, it is no exaggeration to say that Toyota, a global company,
operates on a very tight margin,
keeping excess inventory to an absolute minimum,
at least from the perspective of a typical manufacturing business.
(Though I have never seen it on-site)

In such a tight daily operation,
not only in the event of a large-scale disaster like a major earthquake or the COVID-19 pandemic,
but even with minor supply chain issues,
an organization that has become complacent
would immediately fall into a state of operational shutdown.

Paradoxically speaking,
it is precisely because they are not such a weak organization
that they are able to operate with such high efficiency under tight conditions; regardless,
they have clearly thought through
how to make decisions in times of emergency
by preparing for crises during normal times.

However, it is said that even Toyota was not an organization resilient to crises from the beginning.

They have acquired their current strength by desperately overcoming various crises, both large and small, that have visited them throughout their long history,
learning thoroughly from them,
and repeating the process of Kaizen (continuous improvement).

I have felt this while reading Shonen Jump manga,
but people who work under intense competition and
high pressure on a daily basis are strong.

Of course,
that way of working may or may not suit everyone,
and it is not something everyone can do.
But that is precisely why
they are able to demonstrate overwhelming performance
that leaves their competitors behind.

Learn from the strong

Honestly, I am a cynical person, and
I do not intend to swallow everything in this book whole.
I have no intention of praising Toyota either.

I have heard voices saying that Toyota (or rather, the automotive industry?) is
incredibly harsh on its subcontractors, and because it is such a large corporation,
it has many critics who are quite vocal.
(Of course, I do not intend to
swallow those voices whole either)

The episode regarding the molds
during the Great Hanshin Earthquake,
from the perspective of putting human life first,
is difficult to praise unconditionally,
even if it was done by Toyota.

However, even if what is written here
is just idealistic talk
divorced from reality,
I think the principles and arguments are sound.

It is my belief that
there is something to be learned from anyone,
and as an entity that has led Japanese manufacturing at the cutting edge,
it is undeniable that there is much to learn
from Toyota.

It is a fact that the overwhelming majority of people
work in environments that cannot be compared to Toyota in terms of industry, business type, or company size.

But since what is in this book is a "way of thinking" and "mindset" regarding crisis management,
it should be applicable
to any organization.

Like natural disasters,
you never know when or in what form
a crisis will arrive.

That is why the accumulation of thought
during peaceful times when you have leeway is important.
It is not "crisis management" in the Toyota sense,
but rather a way of thinking about "risk management."

To put it in more general terms,
it can be said that this is a book where you can learn
"zero-order preparation" and "phase-free" thinking methods.

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