This is an honest look at the origins of lean, written in the words of the people who created the system. Through interviews and annotated talks, you will hear first-person accounts of what these innovators and problem-solvers did and why they did it. You¿ll read rare, personal commentaries that explain the interplay of (sometimes opposing) ideas that created a revolution in thinking.

COMMEMORATING THE 100th BIRTHDAY OF TAIICHI OHNO Businesses worldwide are successfully implementing the Toyota Production System to speed up processes, reduce waste, improve quality, and cut costs. While there is widespread adoption of TPS, there is still much to be learned about its fundamental principles. This unique volume delivers a clear, concise overview of the Toyota Production System and kaizen in the very words of the architect of both of these movements, Taiicho Ohno, published to mark what would have been his 100th birthday. Filled with insightful new commentary from global quality visionaries, Taiichi Ohno’s Workplace Management is a classic that shows how Toyota managers were taught to think. Based on a series of interviews with Ohno himself, this timeless work is a tribute to his genius and to the core values that have made, and continue to make, Toyota one of the most successful manufacturers in the world. "Whatever name you may give our system, there are parts of it that are so far removed from generally accepted ideas (common sense) that if you do it only half way, it can actually make things worse." "If you are going to do TPS you must do it all the way. You also need to change the way you think. You need to change how you look at things." -- Taiichi Ohno "This book brings to us Taiichi Ohno's philosophy of workplace management--the thinking behind the Toyota Production System. I personally get a thrill down my spine to read these thoughts in Ohno’s own words." -- Dr. Jeffrey Liker, Director, Japan Technology Management Program, University of Michigan, and Author, The Toyota Way Based on a series of interviews with Taiicho Ohno, this unique volume delivers a clear, concise overview of the Toyota Production System and kaizen in the very words of the architect of both of these movements, published to mark what would have been his 100th birthday. INCLUDES INSIGHTFUL NEW COMMENTARY FROM: Fujio Cho, Chairman of Toyota Corporation Masaaki Imai, Founder of the Kaizen Institute Dr. Jeffrey Liker, Director, Japan Technology Management Program, University of Michigan, and author John Shook, Chairman and CEO of the Lean Enterprise Institute Bob Emiliani, Professor, School of Engineering and Technology, Connecticut State University Jon Miller, CEO of the Kaizen Institute

Japanese manufacturers have made concepts like kaizen (continuous improvement), poka-yoke (error-proofing), and just-in-time famous. When the Japanese began to adopt these techniques from the Ford Motor Company during the early twentieth century, they knew exactly what they were getting: proven methods for mass-producing any product or delivering any service cheaply but well. Henry Ford's methods, however, went well beyond the synergistic and mutually supporting techniques that constitute what we now call lean manufacturing. They included the "soft sciences," the organizational psychology that makes every employee a partner in the drive for success. In Henry Ford's Lean Vision, William A. Levinson draws from Henry Ford's writings, the procedures in his factories, and historical anecdotes about the birth of lean in Japan to show that the philosophy that revolutionized Japanese manufacturing was the same philosophy that grew the Ford Motor Company into a global powerhouse -- and made the United States the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. Levinson reveals how Ford was ahead of other modern visionaries and discusses why the very ideas that made his company such a success were abandoned in his own country, and why they finally found acceptance in Japan. Henry Ford's Lean Vision is a hands-on reference that provides the reader with proven principles and methods that can be applied in any business or service enterprise. It covers all aspects of building and running a successful enterprise, including Ford's principles for human relationships and the management of physical resources.

Lean Thinking was launched in the fall of 1996, just in time for the recession of 1997. It told the story of how American, European, and Japanese firms applied a simple set of principles called 'lean thinking' to survive the recession of 1991 and grow steadily in sales and profits through 1996. Even though the recession of 1997 never happened, companies were starving for information on how to make themselves leaner and more efficient. Now we are dealing with the recession of 2001 and the financial meltdown of 2002. So what happened to the exemplar firms profiled in Lean Thinking? In the new fully revised edition of this bestselling book those pioneering lean thinkers are brought up to date. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones offer new guidelines for lean thinking firms and bring their groundbreaking practices to a brand new generation of companies that are looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.

How well does your organization respond to changing market conditions, customer needs, and emerging technologies when building software-based products? This practical guide presents Lean and Agile principles and patterns to help you move fast at scaleâ??and demonstrates why and how to apply these paradigms throughout your organization, rather than with just one department or team. Through case studies, youâ??ll learn how successful enterprises have rethought everything from governance and financial management to systems architecture and organizational culture in the pursuit of radically improved performance. Discover how Lean focuses on people and teamwork at every level, in contrast to traditional management practices Approach problem-solving experimentally by exploring solutions, testing assumptions, and getting feedback from real users Lead and manage large-scale programs in a way that empowers employees, increases the speed and quality of delivery, and lowers costs Learn how to implement ideas from the DevOps and Lean Startup movements even in complex, regulated environments

Efficient operations and powerful innovations are not limited to seasons of growth and high demand. Going Lean introduces the powerful yet unexpected mind-set that’s reshaping the rules for business competitiveness: Lean Dynamics TM. This approach, based on the now-famous Toyota Production System--empowers companies to thrive in virtually any environment--even when sudden shifts occur or they experience unpredictable conditions. Through a detailed exploration of this approach, readers will learn how to: become broadly effective in creating and sustaining value; 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 based on “pull,” or external demand that consistently introduces new innovation; strive for perfection; and deliver industry-leading returns. Led by a new breed of companies--Toyota, Walmart, and Southwest Airlines--this innovative mind-set changes the game for businesses everywhere. Going Lean teaches readers how their companies--big or small--can leverage this revolutionary thinking to measure and achieve real results.

Winner of a Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research Training Within Industry, by Donald Dinero, explores a crucial piece of a Lean initiative that has been overlooked throughout U.S. industry. The Training Within Industry (TWI) program developed by the United States during World War II has

“Disconcertingly thought-provoking.” —TechCrunch "Nineteen disruptive, disturbing and divergent voices ... an honest portrait of a network of gender-oppressed people leaning every which way." —Feministing "Everyone who hires or manages anyone in tech ought to read the remarkable book Lean Out. If tech companies are unwelcoming places, to hell with them. Start your own company and run it better." —The Los Angeles Times Why aren’t the great, qualified women already in tech being hired or promoted? Should people who don’t fit in seek to join an institution that is actively hostile to them? Does the tech industry deserve women leaders? The split between the stated ideals of the corporate elite and the reality of working life for women in the tech industry—whether in large public tech companies or VC-backed start-ups, in anonymous gaming forums, or in Silicon Valley or Alley—seems designed to crush women’s spirits. Corporate manifestos by women who already fit in (or who are able to convincingly fake it) aren’t helping. There is a high cost for the generation of young women and transgender people currently navigating the harsh realities of the tech industry, who gave themselves to their careers only to be ignored, harassed and disrespected. Not everyone can be a CEO; not everyone is able to embrace a workplace culture that diminishes the contributions of women and ignores real complaints. The very culture of high tech, where foosball tables and endless supplies of beer are de facto perks, but maternity leave and breast-feeding stations are controversial, is designed to appeal to young men. Lean Out collects 25 stories from the modern tech industry, from people who fought GamerGate and from women and transgender artists who have made their own games, from women who have started their own companies and who have worked for some of the most successful corporations in America, from LGBTQ women, from women of color, from transgender people and people who do not ascribe to a gender. All are fed up with the glacial pace of cultural change in America’s tech industry. Included are essays by anna anthropy, Leigh Alexander, Sunny Allen, Lauren Bacon, Katherine Cross, Dom DeGuzman, FAKEGRIMLOCK, Krys Freeman, Gesche Haas, Ash Huang, Erica Joy, Jenni Lee, Katy Levinson, Melanie Moore, Leanne Pittsford, Brook Shelley, Elissa Shevinsky, Erica Swallow, and Squinky. Edited and selected by entrepreneur and tech veteran Elissa Shevinsky, Lean Out sees a possible way forward that uses tech and creative disengagement to jettison 20th century corporate culture: “I’ve figured out a way to create safe space for myself in tech,” writes Shevinsky. “I’ve left Silicon Valley, and now work remotely from home. I adore everyone on my team, because I hired them myself.”

Draws conclusions for the future of the industry in the USA.