Hitozukuri: Why Toyota Builds People Before Product

Hitozukuri: Why Toyota Builds People Before Products

I’m so excited to talk about Hitozukuri, the Japanese concept that means “building people before products.” Thank you for being patient with the Japanese word, because it’s such an important one.

Here’s why I’m using it: when you hear “build people before products,” your brain might tune it out as something familiar. But when you hear Hitozukuri, it sparks curiosity, it makes you pause and realize this is something deeper.

In this blog, I’ll explain why building people is at the core of lean construction in Japan, the U.S., and everywhere else and how this concept can literally change the game for everything we do.

A Big Misconception

Before I went to Japan, I thought lean was just Toyota and a few manufacturing plants. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Japan is lean. The mindset, the systems, the culture, they’re woven into how the entire country operates. It’s not just Toyota; it’s 130 million people living and working with continuous improvement as a way of life.

And the central idea behind it all? Build people before things. Build people before products.

My Japan Experience

When we visited Japan with Paul Akers, we toured the Toyota History Museum and various plants. One moment stood out: I saw an old photograph of Sakichi Toyoda’s son, the founder of Toyota Motor Company standing with his arms folded, watching molten metal being poured.

Leaders at Toyota still go through this same kind of experience today. Before managing production lines, they spend a month in those environments, learning, observing, and understanding the process firsthand.

That hit home for me because I grew up at Hensel Phelps. We were trained from the ground up, field engineer, office engineer, project engineer, assistant superintendent – all before leading projects. You can’t improve a process unless you’ve been part of it.

That’s Hitozukuri in action.

Building People Comes First

Even temporary workers at Lexus go through a month of training before they ever touch a production line. Imagine that, a full month invested just in preparation and development.

In contrast, in much of U.S. construction, we rush people into tasks without enough training or guidance.

Paul Akers said something that stuck with me:

“I don’t care about getting stuff done right now, we’re building people first.”

At DPR Construction, their mission echoes the same principle: build great people who build great things.

In Japan, this isn’t just a good idea, it’s a national mindset. As Paul reminded us:

“Japan is Japan because of training.”

They’re process-focused, not goal-focused. And that’s the real difference.

The Power of Training

When I came back from Japan, I realized we weren’t doing nearly enough. At our company, we now do morning huddles, tactical meetings, and in-person boot camps across multiple countries. We’ve written books, created blogs, podcasts, and full onboarding systems but it’s still just the beginning.

We need to double, even quadruple, the training and development we provide. Because Hitozukuri isn’t just a practice, it’s a responsibility.

Recommendation

If you’re in construction, here’s the challenge:

• Create structured onboarding that’s remarkable.
• Train your foremen and workers daily.
• Host morning huddles focused on growth.
• Invest in craft and leadership development programs.
• Pay for external training.

We are nowhere near where we need to be.

Key Takeaway

When you build people first, everything else follows. Processes improve, quality rises, safety increases, and culture thrives.