Eliminating Waste in Business: Run Lean, Boost Profitability

Areas of Waste

Where Does All the Money Go?

I am not a teacher, but an awakener.

—Robert Frost

In order to look at waste, you first need to develop an understanding of where the waste is created. As described in this book’s introduction, we are not referring to big, grandiose sources of waste like that of Mercedes-Benz or the federal government. Instead, we focus on the ways you might be wasting money on a daily basis—like printing unnecessary meeting agendas and reports, attending meetings, or sending mass emails—without even realizing it. These smaller wastes typically occur because you are doing things the way you have always done them. Only ...