Comments on: Ford gains on Toyota — the Toyota way.

By: Top October 2008 posts. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

Top October 2008 posts. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:51:16 +0000

[...] Ford gains on Toyota — the Toyota way. [...]

By: What if the economy is worse than you think? -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:33:48 +0000

[...] individuals, deliberate practice is a good place to start; for companies, the kind of relentless, atom-by-atom improvements that have taken Toyota to the top. More on that in a later [...]

By: Tim Walker

Tim Walker — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:32:05 +0000

Karen — Thanks for taking the time to comment, but without knowing a thing about Ford’s cost-cutting processes or your (no doubt excellent) service offerings, I have to point out that you’re making a huge logical leap with your last sentence. The fact that so far you’ve had no luck with Ford means . . . that so far you’ve had no luck with Ford. And that’s ALL it means for sure.

Mind you, it COULD be related to a deep desire by Ford to milk taxpayers. OR it could be that Ford plans to plan its cost-cutting internally . . . or that Ford has another year’s worth of solid cost-cutting plans in place, such that it would be a waste of effort to bring in more help just yet . . . or it could be that they’ve already contracted with one of your competitors. Et cetera.

I’m as prone as anybody to jump to conclusions, so please don’t take this as a personal judgment by any means. But your statement above does jump to a conclusion that might or might not be warranted if we knew all the facts. Which we *don’t*.

By: Karen Smith

Karen Smith — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:26:59 +0000

I have been trying to reach Ford in regards to my ability to do cost cutting for the company in their transportation department. My clients are Fortune 500 companies and it appears Ford is more interested in the tax payers bailing them out rather than cutting costs.

By: Zane Safrit

Zane Safrit — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:58:36 +0000

Let’s celebrate any progress. Towards that end I celebrate Ford, or GM if it’s true, progress towards competing on quality…

And better late than never. The Big Three for decades denied that quality was of interest to the American consumer. And sure, they’re late to the quality party. But at least they came, right?

On the other hand, I look at their refusal to move past the profit-rich SUVs, the determined denial of the US consumer’s desire for hybrids, high-mileage, low-cost cars, their insistence that we continue to love and BUY F150 or bigger trucks, the Explorer problems…and I see their solution is the Edge, the SCION-wannabe and the Blend or the Merge the car that looks like a blend of every other model. And I get very impatient. We deserve better. Their employees deserve better.

By: A follow-up on Toyota. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

A follow-up on Toyota. -- Hoover’s Business Insight Zone — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:26:16 +0000

[...] Grisanzio, a project manager at Sun, posted a nice follow-up to the item I wrote last week comparing Ford to [...]

By: Lifestyle Blogs Can Help You Save Money or Feel Better | by Ari Herzog

Lifestyle Blogs Can Help You Save Money or Feel Better | by Ari Herzog — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:35:16 +0000

[...] to better understand the market and business operations. Tim’s entry from yesterday is about Ford beating Toyota – the Toyota way! (Twitter: [...]

By: CoolProducts

CoolProducts — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:03:46 +0000

This article does a great job of pointing out that innovation just isn’t a radical new idea that erupts on the scene, but that much of the great innovation in today’s society is the combination of incremental pieces that when put together create an incredibly innovative process. I found this article to be very relevant, Thanks Tim.

By: Ben Watson

Ben Watson — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:25:13 +0000

I have family members who have worked with or at Toyota for years. I think one of their most innovative pieces of work is how they treat their staff and the families of their staff and the incredible value they put on human capital. Not everyone in NA might agree with this, but I’m willing to bet for every public disgruntled person there are hundreds of happy quiet passionate employees doing a great job every day. I think Ford would benefit from the same thing – who is Ford? Who works there? Why do they love it so much? What do they drive? Add that on to the social media work being done by @twalk and @scottmonty, and their recent efforts to be more green (while still fulfilling their promise to construction worker and contractor truck drivers everywhere) and Toyota should be worried.

By: Walt Ribeiro

Walt Ribeiro — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:22:21 +0000

The amount of work that goes into building a reliable, safe, and aesthetic car has got to be overwhelming. plus there’s the desire to create a reliable, safe company too. I’m excited for where these companies go in the next few years, and I agree, it’s all about small changes over time. Great Post!