How Toyota Became #1

This book kept me engrossed. A must read for everyone. It talks about how toyota started from manufacturing looms to making fuel-efficient cars. David Magee dissects the whole Toyota Production System (TPS) which has some basic principles. Some I could grasp are

• strive for continuous improvement
• the five whys with which you uncover the source of the problem
  
• go to the source to problem and see it for yourself
• stop everything until you fix the problem
• think long term
• learn from failures

The book indicates that the principles are heavily influenced from a book written by Samuel Smiles called "Self Help". That should be a good one as well. Everyone knows the principles, but this book exemplifies how Toyota implements them. Truly one of the best books I've read.