Journalist Charles Fishman once explained how a Toyota factory only looks like a car factory: “It’s really a big brain— a kind of laboratory focused on a single mission: not how to make cars, but how to make cars better.” He went on to explain that at Toyota,
The work is really threefold: making cars, making cars better, and teaching everyone how to make cars better. At its Olympian best, Toyota adds one more level: It is always looking to improve the process by which it improves all the other processes.