As a quality professional, I am a huge admirer of what the Japanese, and in particular Toyota, have given the business world, and how they have influenced quality improvements like no other in history.

Although in recent years Toyota did have a “blip” in its immaculate history, according to the J. D. Power 2010 Initial Quality Study, its cars still top surveys and polls for quality and reliability. Out of sheer respect for the Toyota approach or “way,” when I teach people about quality, I tend to drop in Toyota examples. Afterwards my students ask me, “Which Toyota do you drive?” apparently looking for some advice on getting a good motor. My answer usually is, “Er... well... it’s... I don’t have one.” Here I am, a quality professional singing Toyota’s praises and not owning one. Do I thereby lose some credibility in front of my students? Perhaps you, too, are in a similar position as I: a quality professional with a Toyota dilemma.

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