Ford Motor Company is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in a century, as it attempts to reposition itself for the rapidly accelerating electric vehicle era. At the center of this shift is CEO Jim Farley, who says a Japanese management philosophy he adopted during his early career at Toyota is now helping him make smarter, more effective decisions at Ford. In a recent interview on the “Decoder” podcast, Farley explained that he never makes a big decision without going directly to the source a practice known in Japan as “gemba.” The term stems from the phrase “genchi genbutsu,” which translates to “go and see with your own eyes,” and refers to the place where real work happens, beyond boardroom assumptions or theoretical models.
Farley said that he became enamored with the gemba approach while working at Toyota, a company known for pioneering lean manufacturing and production excellence. Now, as head of America’s second-largest automaker, he brings the same discipline to Ford’s sprawling operations. Instead of relying solely on data reports or executive summaries, he insists on visiting the actual sites, speaking to engineers, and observing the problems firsthand before making any major decisions. This methodology is proving especially important as Ford seeks to close the competitive gap with electric vehicle leaders like Tesla and China’s BYD, both of whom are pushing new standards for manufacturing efficiency and product design.
Despite Ford’s strength in traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines, Farley admits the company has had to play catch-up in the electric space. For example, one of the cost inefficiencies he discovered during a gemba-style walkthrough was with the Mustang Mach-E’s wiring loom. Though intricately designed, it weighed about 70 pounds more than the Tesla Model Y’s equivalent a difference that translated to about $200 in additional battery cost per vehicle just to support the added weight. These kinds of inefficiencies, he said, would never have been identified through spreadsheets alone. Farley also noticed that the Model Y uses one-third the number of fasteners compared to the Mach-E, a seemingly small detail that actually signals a much more streamlined and elegant engineering solution on Tesla’s part.
Farley stressed that it’s only by physically being present at the manufacturing sites and talking to the engineers and workers on the ground that one can fully understand the root causes of inefficiencies. He questioned why Ford was still using a 25-year-old parts release system, or how processes so outdated had gone unquestioned for years. Through these visits, Farley challenges his teams with basic but profound questions, encouraging a mindset of continuous improvement a nod to another core Toyota principle known as “kaizen.”
The CEO acknowledged that making changes based on these discoveries isn't always popular. Longstanding systems often have champions within the company who are protective of their legacy or departmental turf. But Farley said that when the stakes are this high when the company’s future competitiveness is on the line his job isn’t to keep everyone happy. His responsibility is to do what’s right for Ford’s long-term success, even if it means upsetting entrenched interests.
With the electric vehicle race heating up and pressure mounting from more nimble competitors, Farley’s return to the roots of manufacturing excellence may be one of Ford’s smartest strategic moves. As gemba walks and firsthand observation drive his decisions, Farley is cutting through bureaucracy and sentimentality to refocus Ford on the essential: building better, more efficient electric vehicles that can compete on price, performance, and innovation.
