Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions, Second Edition

As an experienced lean practitioner, I recently stumbled across this at the recommendation of a new colleague. It's one of the best, most practical, most executable lean books I've ever read. While other books spend most of their time talking about how Toyota, or Wiremold, or some other company have executed lean, this book focuses entirely on the practical side of creating a lean culture at YOUR organization, from a very basic level.Pros:- Practical approaches outlined that won't cost huge investments in money or IT - but getting people to change the way things are done- Relies heavily on several keys: visual management, daily accountability, standard work, and leader standard work. These are easy to say, but very difficult to drive- Prefers the low-tech way of driving the lean culture - which seems to improve sustainability- Focuses on both the leader of the plant AND the kaizen office/engagement office. Seems most books are written toward one or the otherCons:- It's a bit short. I would have loved more, but I'm not sure if there would have been much value in adding more. It's a lean book - but I liked it that much that I wanted to see more.- Not for the beginner - if you need 6S or flow explained to you, find another book. This is about taking those discrete tools and forming them into a culture of lean improvement - not a con, so much, as a heads up for people just getting started.Overall, I can't say enough good things about this book. It has been eye-opening in some ways, and heavily reinforced some of my previous thoughts in others. I look forward to implementing its recommendations going forward.

I used this book as a tool to help the leadership team, at small plant with less than 250 employees, fully understand the role of leadership in how to create and sustain a lean culture. But more importantly how their individual roles needed to change in order to sustain that culture. Our management team created a book club which met once a week to review and discuss a chapter and how it could benefit our understanding of lean. This was an eye opener and powerful way to have an open discussion among piers. Before using this tool the management team thought Lean was just for the manufacturing portion of our operation and our efforts to that point had not been sustained. After, all functional areas in our plant took on a whole new philosophy and they haven't looked back.

We have chosen a short line up of titles to use in our own way of continuous improvement.This is a critical part of our approach & required reading for our leaders.David has provided a simple set of principles & assessment process that helps us Check Adjust, as well as teach leaders how to sustain management systems which they build.Also useful set of simple tools to establish the basics of a people system that helps engage everyone in frontline improvement & performance improvement.If you want to create a management system without worrying yourself about whether you've chosen all the right tools then this will be for you too.

the book had some very good ideas and repeated them many times. this book could have been greatly condensed and still have gotten the points across. but i suppose repetition is a great way to learn

Downside is that it is dense, textbook like to read. Also, overly heavy on manufacturing examples for my purposes. On the upside, I think this is the best overall read for executives on Lean as it doesn't oversimplify what Lean is all about, but gets to driving cultural transformation. Highly recommend for the reading list.

How many times have you found yourself holding repeat kaizen activity for the same problems? Are you losing ground on excellent work that everyone was excited about two months ago, but now that it has become old news, you find people slipping back into their old ways of doing things? This book addresses the issue of Leader Standard Work and how it is the key to sustaining the lean work. This is the book all of your leadership team must read together and discuss.

I read this twice since I purchased it, the second time through I used a highlighter to mark key points I wanted to remember. Lots of good, practical information. I also recommeded it to my boss as one of the more impactful books on culture and leadership I've ever read. I sincerely hope he reads it!- Kreg WorrestSME Lean Bronze certificate; ASQ Certified Manager of Quality / Organizational Excellence; ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt

I bought this purely as a required textbook and didn't read much of it for the class. Depending if you need it for assignments, I would wait to buy.