Comments on: eBay and Toyota: Respect for People https://6sigma.com/ebay-and-toyota-respect-for-people/ Six Sigma Certification and Training Fri, 28 Feb 2025 06:01:39 +0000 hourly 1 By: Pete Abilla https://6sigma.com/ebay-and-toyota-respect-for-people/#comment-24790 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:28:05 +0000 https://opexlearning.com/resources/396/ebay-and-toyota-respect-for-people#comment-24790 In reply to J Michael.

Hi J. Michael,

Thanks for your comment.

Unfortunately, my experience tells me that when push comes to shove – or when revenues go flat or decline – businesses often behave in ways antithetical to the Respect for the Human pillar in the Toyota Production System. Sometimes, when a crisis hits and the company remains strong and continues to show Respect for People, it is typically those companies that come out of the crisis even stronger. I hesitate to use the term “principle” in describing this observation, but I’ve seen it enough that I can almost predict what the outcome will be.

Again, thanks much for your comments and for taking the time to read shmula.

Pete Abilla

]]> By: J Michael https://6sigma.com/ebay-and-toyota-respect-for-people/#comment-24789 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:13:55 +0000 https://opexlearning.com/resources/396/ebay-and-toyota-respect-for-people#comment-24789 Pete
On May 21, 2007 you posted the following: “eBay and Toyota: Respect for People.” I am curious about your thoughts on this subject four years later…
I have always worked with the following quote in mind:
~”Take care of your people and THEY will take care of your business. Fail to take care of your people and they WILL take care of your business.”~
In my consulting practice, I observe the truth of this statement of this daily. I also observe very little work being done or even any discussion by others to further this fundamental concept. Sadly, I have never had a client ask me to help them to develop a culture of respect for people. Most either ignore the subject all together or assure me that they already do “it”, even though all the signs say they do not.
In my humble opinion, respect for people is the key to achieving break through results, high employee engagement and long term sustainable success. Equipment and processes do not function without some form of human intervention. Therefore, respect for people is a prerequisite to successful implementation of any process or performance improvement tools. Interestingly, those few companies that do make respect for people a cultural priority seem to gravitate much more easily to utilizing whatever tools will help employees better “take care of the business”.
I look forward to your comments.
J Michael

]]>