The Asian view that the tallest nail will be pounded down speaks to the actual fear of being singled out for individual accomplishment in Japan. Toyota does not want the tallest nail to be pounded down.

The creation of the Toyota Production System is a great example. Ohno was an unusually aggressive leader by Japanese standards and by Toyota standards. He believed in teamwork but in many ways he was more of a dictator than a team player.

Ohno would always give credit to the team, but he was extremely strong willed and single minded in his vision for manufacturing. No one would stand in his way.

Many of his actions created disharmony at Toyota and are very counter to the desire for harmony and consensus.

He only managed to last in the company because of the personal sponsorship of Eiji Toyoda who saw something special in him.

Step by step, Ohno developed the Toyota Production System. He pulled together ideas from many places -- experiments with making looms, detailed study of Ford Motor company and Henry Ford's theories, the quality methods of W Edwards Deming, the training methods of the American military, and many others.