PREFACE

FOR SOME READERS, calling this a “fieldbook” will set the wrong expectation. To them, the term might imply a step-by-step guide to going lean; they might expect to find little more than a compilation of templates and checklists for implementing today’s proliferation of discrete tools and activities whose direct application seems too often interpreted as the path to “leaning” the corporation.

The Going Lean Fieldbook does not follow this model.

Those who read my previous book, Going Lean, will recognize that such a focus would not make much sense. Going Lean showed that a much more complex context exists; that using a direct, “cookbook” approach for applying the techniques and practices made famous by Toyota is not the answer. It showed that what might succeed in gaining quick benefits amid simpler, steady conditions does not scale up well to address vast operations producing complex products within a dynamic environment.

The fundamental challenge extends beyond removing waste that is most visible—activities, delays, or materials that consume time and resources but do not contribute value—or mapping value streams, or applying techniques to improve standardization and orderliness. Instead, moving forward first requires taking a step back—taking a fresh look at the business conditions, the corporate mindset, and the management framework within the complex and sometimes chaotic environment in which one must operate—and then addressing the reasons these cause waste to accumulate in the first place.

In other words, going lean is not a matter of tweaking the status quo; it means completely rethinking the way business operates in order to advance within today’s challenging conditions—the way Toyota began its efforts half a century ago.

Going Lean sparked a new way of looking at lean. Using examples backed by data, it showed why going lean means much more than excelling at day-to-day cost-cutting—the most frequent target of its tools and practices. Instead, it requires building dynamic capabilities that promote stability and consistency, even amid today’s uncertain and ever-changing conditions, in order to make these outcomes possible. This means extending its application beyond the traditional limits of managing operations—promoting innovation and advancing broader strategic possibilities.

But such a view of lean—appropriately known as lean dynamics because it leads to very little waste and is highly responsive to change—also underscores the reality that a different path is needed. Lean dynamics raises new questions; for instance, how does one go about understanding the range of conditions that a company might face within today’s dynamic environment? How well are individual corporations or public institutions equipped to deal with uncertainty and sudden change—and what changes will they need to make to meet these conditions? How can they adapt the costly improvements they might have already made, in order to fit them to this solution?

What managers, practitioners, educators, and workforces desperately need is a structured methodology, based on real cases, to sort through the complexities—a methodology that shows where they are, what direction they must go, and the specific actions that others have found to be important to making this transformation.

The Going Lean Fieldbook is intended to help. It offers a new model intended to fill this gaping void, building on the proven methods of lean manufacturing and the groundbreaking principles of lean dynamics first introduced in Going Lean. This book provides practical implementation ideas based on lessons from companies across different industries with different starting points and constraints. This information can help corporations and public institutions build a comprehensive lean strategy that overcomes even the most severe challenges and creates the sustainable excellence.

Intended as a companion book to Going Lean, this book can also serve as a stand-alone resource, a guide for grasping both theory and practical application. It offers a way for seeing through the rhetoric to understand the breadth of what is possible for businesses ranging from manufacturing, to medical, to government and even educational institutions. In conjunction with Going Lean it is intended to provide deeper insights into lean dynamics, helping people in different positions and with a range of backgrounds to recognize the urgent need for change that is critical for so many organizations today.

Beginning with a summary of the underlying principles of lean dynamics, The Going Lean Fieldbook highlights the series of levels corporations tend to attain as they mature through their journey toward lean dynamics transformation. Using specific cases and practical examples, it offers insights into creating a structured implementation approach leading to a critical and comprehensive dynamic strategy. It shows how integrating other methodologies and capabilities, from Six Sigma to information technology, can help, generating even greater potential for substantial, lasting benefits.

Simply stated, The Going Lean Fieldbook is intended as a tool to help businesses and institutions begin their successful journey to lean dynamics—a guide for understanding the range of challenges they must prepare to face in developing their path, starting from the various points in the current states of lean efforts. It can guide managers who are seeking to hire lean consulting firms by helping them understand which among the many “brands” of lean they wish to pursue, what goals to set, and how to measure progress and hold all involved accountable for results. And it can help guide an organization as it builds a strategy and methodology for proceeding on the journey to going lean—a critical but often neglected precursor to embarking on specific lean activities, which can define whether a lean effort will succeed.