The Going Lean Fieldbook

INTRODUCTION

Solving the Problem with Lean

MORE THAN a decade and a half ago, I began my quest to understand what it takes for companies to succeed in going lean. After researching and demonstrating different applications for making its methods work, I became increasingly convinced that lean business practices offer a solution to the serious challenges so many corporations and institutions face today. I simply assumed that those engaged in implementation activities had grown in this belief as well and were solidly on board.

And then reality struck.

As I traveled the country following the release of Going Lean, I was astounded by reactions from people familiar with this term—that many who had been involved with it expressed outright disdain for ...