Going Lean

In the wake of economic downturn, foreign competition, spiking oil prices, and even war, American business throughout this decade has been thrust into crisis. To improve their performance, corporations everywhere have adopted a wide range of tools and techniques, yet many continue to struggle. Going Lean points to a better way. Drawing from the lessons of a new breed of companies that have stood apart, it sets aside the notion that efficient operations and powerful innovations are possible only when business is steady and demand is growing. By using lean dynamics—based on principles from the now-famous Toyota Production System—it shows how companies everywhere can thrive across a broad range of changing conditions. In Going Lean, you will learn how to:

• set a critical foundation for achieving sustained excellence


• identify sources of lag and create robust value streams that thrive in today’s dynamic conditions


• describe the underlying techniques to maintain steady and predictable flow


• create a system driven by customer demand that consistently introduces new innovation even during downturns


• strive for perfection


• deliver industry-leading returns

The diagrams and graphs found in the print and ebook editions of this book have been adapted for audio.