It was Deming who is widely credited as having said that learning and improvement aren't required. He then went on to add that "Of course, neither is survival."
Our good friend and Massey MBA Alum, Charles Hagood, writes a regular blog titled the "Lean Healthcare Exchange" and recently had this to say regarding Toyota's challenging financial performance for 2008 and how they are responding to tough times. Many of us who think of Toyota as being in the market leadership position in the automobile world (note the graph to the left) were surprised to recently learn that the company closed the year with a net operating loss for the first time in 70 years. The reason, though, for their perennial success can be better understood by examining how they are responding to these tough times. Check out "Toyota to Post $1.7 Billion Loss" for the full story.