Last week, the Big 3 auto makers met in Washington D.C. with the President and select members of Congress pleading for assistance from the Federal Government. The Detroit Powerhouses are in dire straights. Is this new?

The absence of other automakers at the meeting was profound - Toyota, Honda, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, even Volvo were not present. They are not in dire straights; these automakers can’t build their cars fast enough to satisfy the desires of Americans.

For years, GM, Ford & Chrysler dictated to the American car buying public - we were offered and could only purchase the car they wanted us to buy: inefficient, gas guzzling tanks in need of constant repair. Toyota, closely followed by Honda, is projected by experts to become #1 in the near future, ahead of GM. Toyota Camry is the #1 selling auto in America...in fact, 628 Camry’s are sold everyday in the United States. Like Andy Rooney, the commentator in 60 Minutes, I also do not know what a "Camry" is? As the Big 3 struggle, Toyota and the others thrive. Ford & GM will close 26 factories in North America in the next 5 years...Toyota has never closed a North American factory and will open a new one in Texas and Ontario, Canada soon. Detroit isn’t being bested by imports: 60% of the cars Toyota sells in North America are made here!

Toyota embraces a philosophy and 3 step process: making cars, making cars better, and teaching everyone how to make cars better. It is always looking to improve its own process. As they say it, "When you build cars better, not just build cars, you create perpetual competitive advantage. By the time you best your competitors (GM Ford, Chrysler), they aren’t just a bit behind you, they are at least a decade behind you. They just don’t realize it."

Toyota does not operate with an established finish line or with a defined checklist of improvements...they don’t preach business transformation, they do it...they don’t lose enthusiasm or run out of energy...they do not know what "business as usual means." There is no plateau for the company – in their words, "If you’re looking for a plateau, you’re going to become frustrated."

We can learn from Toyota: Once you stop seeking a plateau, you relax. Doing the task and doing the task better each time becomes one and the same thing. It makes coming to work exciting, invigorating and transforming. Or, as Mike Kubasak says, "Once you stop being better, you stop being good." I welcome your comments.