Download or read book The Toyota Engagement Equation How to Understand and Implement Continuous Improvement Thinking in Any Organization written by Tracey Richardson and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2017-05-19 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The formula for Lean success! Toyota veterans reveal how to build continuous improvement into your company’s DNA Ever since Toyota introduced the revolutionary Toyota Production System (TPS), businesses have tried to replicate Toyota’s success. Few have succeeded over the long term. What businesses have failed to realize is that TPS calls for a fundamentally different way of thinking. Now, at long last, here is a straightforward guide that make sense of the thinking culture behind Toyota’s phenomenal success. In its pages, authors Tracey and Ernie Richardson speak from the heart as Toyota employees who worked in the Kentucky factory when the company was first introducing its people-first approach in the U.S., and went on in the ensuing decades to teach Lean thinking around the world. In The Toyota Engagement Equation, the authors take you through Toyota’s own journey of discovery. This deep dive into the company’s game-changing work practices reveals how employees were developed, how they were taught to spot and define problems through standardization, how they were coached to solve them, and how they were encouraged to improve their thinking as they moved forward. And you’ll see how Toyota developed this simple but profoundly effective approach into an overall management system—and how you can achieve amazing results in your company through the same system. In the world of Lean design and implementation handbooks, The Toyota Engagement Equation stands out as a fresh, unique, and authoritative guide to building your business into the Toyota of your industry. As the authors see it, TPS has now evolved to the “Thinking People System!”

Download or read book The Toyota Way Fieldbook written by Jeffrey K. Liker and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2005-10-19 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Toyota Way Fieldbook is a companion to the international bestseller The Toyota Way. The Toyota Way Fieldbook builds on the philosophical aspects of Toyota's operating systems by detailing the concepts and providing practical examples for application that leaders need to bring Toyota's success-proven practices to life in any organization. The Toyota Way Fieldbook will help other companies learn from Toyota and develop systems that fit their unique cultures. The book begins with a review of the principles of the Toyota Way through the 4Ps model-Philosophy, Processes, People and Partners, and Problem Solving. Readers looking to learn from Toyota's lean systems will be provided with the inside knowledge they need to Define the companies purpose and develop a long-term philosophy Create value streams with connected flow, standardized work, and level production Build a culture to stop and fix problems Develop leaders who promote and support the system Find and develop exceptional people and partners Learn the meaning of true root cause problem solving Lead the change process and transform the total enterprise The depth of detail provided draws on the authors combined experience of coaching and supporting companies in lean transformation. Toyota experts at the Georgetown, Kentucky plant, formally trained David Meier in TPS. Combined with Jeff Liker's extensive study of Toyota and his insightful knowledge the authors have developed unique models and ideas to explain the true philosophies and principles of the Toyota Production System.

Download or read book The Workforce Engagement Equation written by Jamison J. Manion and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Workforce Engagement Equation is for the hands-on leaders engaged in the frontline of affecting change those who bear the scars of past failed initiatives yet continue to persevere. Describing the science behind the "Art of Managing" process improvement, it will help you bridge the gap between strategy and tactics and allow you to take concrete

Download or read book The Engagement Equation written by Christopher Rice and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Create a culture of engagement and build high-performance culture The Engagement Equation explains the drivers of employee engagement, and how you can use improved engagement to execute strategy, reduce costs, and meet your organizational goals. This book describes a unique engagement model that focuses on individuals' contribution to a company's success and personal satisfaction in their roles. Aligning employees' values, goals, and aspirations with those of the organization is the best method for achieving the sustainable employee engagement. The Engagement Equation is designed to provide a framework that will help you move the needle on engagement. Explains how to plan and execute a sustainable organization-wide engagement initiative Shows how to avoid the engagement survey analysis-paralysis trap Shares ways to align employee contribution with strategy Encourages leaders to pay attention to and better understand your organizational culture, and much more Ultimately, it's the daily dynamics at play in your team, your division, and your organization that matter most.

Download or read book The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership Achieving and Sustaining Excellence through Leadership Development written by Jeffrey K. Liker and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2011-11-21 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Missing Link to Toyota-Style Success—LEAN LEADERSHIP Winner of the 2012 Shingo Research and Professional Publications Award “This great book reveals the secret ingredient to lean success: lean leadership. Not only is it a pleasure to read, but it is also deep and enlightening. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in lean: it’s both an eye opener and a game changer.” —Michael Ballé, Ph.D., coauthor of The Gold Mine and The Lean Manager “This will immediately be recognized as the most important book ever published to understand and guide ‘True North Lean’ and the goal of perpetual business excellence.” —Ross E. Robson, President and CEO, DnR Lean, LLC, and the original Director of The Shingo Prize “An excellent book that will shape leadership development for decades to come.” —Karen Martin, Principal, Karen Martin & Associates, and author of The Kaizen Event Planner About the Book: TOYOTA. The name signifies greatness— world-class cars and game-changing business thinking. One key to the Toyota Motor Company’s unprecedented success is its famous production system and its lesser-known product development program. These strategies consider the end user at every turn and have become the model for the global lean business movement. All too often, organizations adopting lean miss the most critical ingredient—lean leadership. Toyota makes enormous investments in carefully selecting and intensively developing leaders who fit its unique philosophy and culture. Thanks to the company’s lean leadership approach, explains Toyota Way author Jeffrey Liker and former Toyota executive Gary Convis, the celebrated carmaker has set into motion a drive for continuous improvement at all levels of its business. This has allowed for: Constant growth: Toyota increased profitability for 58 consecutive years—slowing down only in the face of 2008’s worldwide financial difficulties, the recall crisis, and the worst Japanese earthquake of the century. Unstoppable inventiveness: Toyota’s approach to innovative thinking and problem solving has resulted in top industry ratings and incredible customer satisfaction, while allowing the company to weather these three crises in rapid succession and to come out stronger. Strong branding and respect: Toyota’s reputation was instrumental in the company’s ability to withstand the recalls-driven media storm of 2010. But what looked to some to be a sinking ship is once again running under a full head of steam. Perhaps the Toyota culture had weakened, but lean leadership was the beacon that showed the way back. In fact, writes Liker, the company is “as good and perhaps a better model for lean leadership than it ever has been.” of innovation and growth. Yet, Industry Week reports that just 2 percent of companies using lean processes can likewise claim to have had long-term success. What the other 98 percent lack is unified leadership with a common method and philosophy. If you want to get lean, you have to take it to the leadership level. The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership shows you how.

Download or read book The Toyota Way Fieldbook written by Liker and published by Tata McGraw-Hill Education. This book was released on 2005-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jeffrey Liker first revealed the management principles Toyota's worldwide reputation for quality and reliability in the international bestseller The Toyota Way. Now, he and Toyota veteran David Meier take those lessons a step further with The Toyota Way Fieldbook. You'll receive the diagnostic tools, worksheets, and exercises--many adapted from Toyota originals--so you can craft the most effective approach for your organization. Learn how to develop a long-term philosophy of cost reduction, build a culture that stops to fix problems quickly, develop leaders that live your system, and transform your company into a true lean learning organization that continuously improves, meets the needs of its customers, and positions itself for long-term success.Most importantly, you'll understand the thinking behind lean tools and approaches so you can implement Toyota's 4P Model for success in your organization:Philosophy--The company is a vehicle for adding value to customers, society, the community, and its associates.Process--When leaders follow the right process they get the right results, including long-term cost-reduction and quality improvement. People and Partners--Add value to an organization by challenging its people and partners to grow and become more skilled and confident.Problem solving--Continuously solve root problems to drive organizational learning.

Download or read book The Toyota Way written by Jeffrey K. Liker and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2003-12-22 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to speed up business processes, improve quality, and cut costs in any industry In factories around the world, Toyota consistently makes the highest-quality cars with the fewest defects of any competing manufacturer, while using fewer man-hours, less on-hand inventory, and half the floor space of its competitors. The Toyota Way is the first book for a general audience that explains the management principles and business philosophy behind Toyota's worldwide reputation for quality and reliability. Complete with profiles of organizations that have successfully adopted Toyota's principles, this book shows managers in every industry how to improve business processes by: Eliminating wasted time and resources Building quality into workplace systems Finding low-cost but reliable alternatives to expensive new technology Producing in small quantities Turning every employee into a qualitycontrol inspector

Download or read book Construction Disputes Seeking Sensible written by CLARK and published by London School of Economics and Political Science. This book was released on 2021-11-25 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reflects the author's fifty years' experience in international construction projects and the management and resolution of disputes. During those fifty years, Wayne Clark's aim has always been to guide parties towards sensible and clear communication, nurturing relationships and seeking early solutions to their differences. His primary goal is to help parties avoid unnecessary conflict - a theme that is clearly evident throughout this book. While two chapters are devoted to preparing construction claims to persuade a tribunal - and in so doing persuade the other side to reach an amicable settlement - the book covers a much wider scope: from the building owner's dream through to the contractor handing over the completed project, wise contract administration, settlement negotiations, the third-party resolution process and, finally, arbitration. During each of these stages, the theme is for the parties to continually seek ways to resolve their differences. The book also introduces the idea of the 'shadow arbitrator', who, if commissioned early in the dispute process, can guide parties and legal counsel to prepare claims and arbitral pleadings that will persuade a tribunal - and encourage the parties to find sensible solutions.

Download or read book Measures of Success written by Mark Graban and published by Constancy, Inc.. This book was released on 2019-03-11 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 260-page, full-color book that will help you: STOP REACTING TO NOISE. START RESPONDING TO SIGNALS. Measures of Success shows business leaders how. A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR HOW TO MANAGE YOUR METRICS Organizations depend on metrics for their business. Question is, are they helping people do the right things? Or, encouraging them to overreact to every uptick, downturn, and change? In other words, reacting to noise. Noise is present in every metric. But, it's our reaction to noise that causes waste and stress. Too often, people don't recognize this. Like feeling stuck on a rollercoaster you no longer enjoy. We do and explain things that don't help us improve. At the cost of doing things that do. No need to be jittery about every change in a metric. Not by a long shot. Measures of Success shows a better way to chart and manage your metrics, in any organization or setting. For your business processes and activities, you need to know what's working, what's not, and what to change. And why. Then, you can determine what to stop doing, what to start doing, what to keep doing. So you can... Jump off the metrics rollercoaster, by responding to signals. Systematically. Sustainably. Learn how to identify meaningful signals in a metric. To respond just right. Or perhaps, not at all. You'll learn how with methods easy to understand, making it obvious what activities to do next. Loads of vivid stories and clear examples from healthcare, software companies, and more. With compelling case studies from the news and personal lives, too. "What gets measured gets managed." We've all heard that. But did you ever learn how to manage a metric? This ain't about gaming the system or fudging the numbers. This is about delivering real value, understood by everyone, and proven with data. Learn a better way to manage your measures. WHO IS MEASURES OF SUCCESS FOR? EXECUTIVES AND LEADERS...in healthcare, manufacturing, and services. Who know what to measure, and are now ready to learn how to manage those measurements. And... WILLING TO... Challenge and change the way things are done today Motivate workers to think and do them better tomorrow Coach people, versus telling them what to do Be responsible for results, not hold others accountable Encourage people to collaborate, not compete Help people sleep better at night because they're improving their work during the day TO BE CLEAR Measures of Success is not for leaders who'd rather give orders. Then, blame others when things go south. That whole hit the target or else thing... won't create real change, nor real value. But that ain't you, right? AFTER READING MEASURES OF SUCCESS ...you'll be able to answer three critical questions for your business. Are we achieving our target? And, how often? Occasionally? Consistently? Are we improving? And, can we predict our future performance? How do we improve? And, when do we react? When do we ignore? When do we improve? ...AND HOW CAN WE PROVE WE'RE IMPROVING? How would you feel if you could answer these questions for your business? Measures of Success shows you how. PROCESS BEHAVIOR CHARTS This book teaches you a proven method for filtering out noise, so we can identify signals. This means we waste less time chasing our tail and more time responding to signals that really matter, heading off small problems before they become big, or showing that we've boosted performance in significant and sustainable ways.

Download or read book The Toyota Way Fieldbook written by Jeffrey K. Liker and published by McGraw-Hill Companies. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed to help companies learn from Toyota; this strategic guide builds on the philosophical aspects of Toyota's operating systems by detailing concepts and providing practical examples that leaders need to bring success-proven practices to life. --

Download or read book Transforming Leader Paradigms written by James E. Luckman and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2019-05-29 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An easy read with clear examples and engaging stories, this book is a treat for leaders who are interested in totally transforming the way they work. Luckman and Flory help leaders and organizations shift from a solutions mindset to a problem-solving culture that results in flow and growth where everyone in the organization can become a winner. Anand V. Tanikella, Vice President R&D, Abrasives Worldwide, Saint-Gobain Luckman and Flory explain how to create a platform for change and a culture of meaningful continuous improvement through what they call "Problem Solving for Complexity." This approach is about engaging everybody in the organization to improve every aspect of how work gets done. Read this book if you want to be a real change leader, not just the person who goes around talking about the need for change. Robert Kessiakoff, Coach/Consultant, Partner LTGe, Sweden [This book] describes how the leader, through changing his or her own behaviors and practices, can transform an organization that is slow to adapt into one that solves problems organically. The book is an important read for leaders and managers at all levels. Peter Ward, Senior Associate Dean for Academics, Richard M. Ross Chair in Management, Professor of Management Sciences, Director, Center for Operational Excellence, Ohio State University Organizational transformation is difficult, and despite expensive continuous improvement programs, most change efforts fail. This pattern, James E. Luckman and Olga Flory argue, is due to the fact that most change efforts start with senior leaders assigning an external or internal consulting group to attempt to drive change from the top down. Leaders today can no longer roll out solutions in the hopes of seeing better results. What they can do is play an active role in helping to transform their organization from "blanket solutions" thinking to learning how to solve complex business problems in a rapidly changing world. Drawing upon decades of leadership experience and years of research with executives across many different industries, Luckman and Flory make a persuasive case that most companies have not been able to stay ahead in what is an increasingly turbulent business environment because they simply have not made the cultural changes required to do so. In discussing how to facilitate this culture change, the authors share a model for leadership designed to guide an organization to extraordinary new levels of performance by focusing on three key areas: building a framework for problem-solving, encouraging respectful communication, and accelerating the pace at which the organization learns. The result is more energized team members who are dedicated to their daily work in an organization that is better positioned to achieve operational excellence. Readers will also find powerful stories from executives who have effectively changed their approach to leadership, all of which serve to inspire more leaders to take the leap and become "problem-solvers for complexity." Transforming Leader Paradigms is a book about strengthening every organization’s capacity to solve complex business problems. But, more importantly, it’s about what leaders must change in themselves to help their team members solve problems methodically, start to look at the world differently using complexity theory, and understand what it means to create real value for customers. For leaders who are willing to examine their own behaviors, this book is a welcome change from the steady stream of business books on the market that emphasize charismatic and/or heroic leadership as the key to achievement and success.

Download or read book Lean Leadership BASICS written by Michael Meyers and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-12-20 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains how to sustain lean, or, continuous improvement practices. It introduces the BASICS® lean leadership development path, combining the "human aspect" with published BASICS® lean tools. It lays out the methodology to empower, lead, and drive ongoing improvements in your business. The book includes engaging stories and case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of shop floor management tactics, including visual management tools, gemba walks, standard work, time analysis, kanban, 5S, and more.

Download or read book FDA s Drug Review Process and the Package Label written by Tom Brody and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-12-01 with total page 671 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FDA's Drug Review Process and the Package Label provides guidance to pharmaceutical companies for writing FDA-submissions, such as the NDA, BLA, Clinical Study Reports, and Investigator's Brochures. The book provides guidance to medical writers for drafting FDA-submissions in a way more likely to persuade FDA reviewers to grant approval of the drug. In detail, the book reproduces data on efficacy and safety from one hundred different FDA-submissions (NDAs, BLAs). The book reproduces comments and complaints from FDA reviewers regarding data that are fragmentary, ambiguous, or that detract from the drug's approvability, and the book reveals how sponsors overcame FDA's concerns and how sponsors succeeded in persuading FDA to grant approval of the drug. The book uses the most reliable and comprehensive source of information available for writing FDA-submissions, namely text and data from NDAs and BLAs, as published on FDA's website. The source material for writing this book included about 80,000 pages from FDA's Medical Reviews, FDA's Clinical Pharmacology Reviews, and FDA's Pharmacology Reviews, from one hundred different NDAs or BLAs for one hundred different drugs. Each chapter focuses on a different section of the package label, e.g., the Dosage and Administration section or the Drug Interactions section, and demonstrates how the sponsor's data supported that section of the package label. Reveals strategies for winning FDA approval and for drafting the package label Examples are from one hundred FDA-submissions (NDAs, BLAs) for one hundred different drugs, e.g., for oncology, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and neurological diseases This book uses the most reliable and comprehensive source of information available for writing FDA-submissions, namely, the data from NDAs and BLAs as published on FDA's website at the time FDA grants approval to the drug

Download or read book Lean Construction Management written by Shang Gao and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-05-23 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents a mixed research method adopted to assess and present the Toyota Way practices within construction firms in general and for firms in China specifically. The results of an extensive structured questionnaire survey based on the Toyota Way-styled attributes identified were developed and data collected from building professionals working in construction firms is presented. The quantitative data presented in the book explains the status quo of the Toyota Way-styled practices implemented in the construction industry, as well as the extent to which these attributes were perceived for lean construction management. The book highlights all the actionable attributes derived from the Toyota Way model appreciated by the building professionals, but alerts the readers that some attributes felled short of implementation. Further findings from in-depth interviews and case studies are also presented in the book to provide to readers an understanding how these Toyota Way practices can be implemented in real-life projects. Collectively, all the empirical findings presented in this book can serve to enhance understanding of Toyota Way practices in the lean construction management context. The readers are then guided through to understand the gaps between actual practice and Toyota Way-styled practices, and the measures that they may undertake to circumvent the challenges for implementation. The book also presents to readers the SWOT analysis that addresses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats towards the implementation of the Toyota Way in the construction industry. The book prescribes the Toyota Way model for use in construction firms to strategically implement lean construction management. The checklist presented in the book enables readers to draw lessons that may be used additionally as a holistic assessment tool for measuring the maturity of firms with respect to their Toyota Way implementation. Consequent to this, management would then be in a better position to develop plans for Toyota Way implementation by focusing on weak areas, strengthening them, and thus increasing the likelihood of success in the implementation of the Toyota Way. In a nutshell, this book provides a comprehensive and valuable resource for firms not only in the construction industry but also businesses outside of the construction sector to better understand the Toyota Way and how this understanding can translate to implementation of lean construction/business management to enhance profitability and survivability in an increasingly competitive global market place.

Download or read book Bringing scientific thinking to life written by Sylvain Landry and published by Editions JFD. This book was released on 2022-06-10 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FACING CHALLENGING GOALS AND UNPREDICTABLE PATHS? PRACTICE SCIENTIFIC THINKING! Your team’s ability to learn and adapt is paramount, and scientific thinking is the key to unlocking this invaluable skill. The bad news: It's not our natural default position as adults. The good news: There’s a simple and proven approach to developing it in any organization or team—including yours—called Toyota Kata. Professor Sylvain Landry lays out a straightforward management practice that enables each level of your organization to apply scientific ways of thinking and working, to achieve whatever goals you’re pursuing. “This book is that good!!! I can’t wait to have leaders read it! Sylvain shares his journey with Kata in a way that transported me into it. He brings a clear understanding and a powerful message on how to go about it, in a short and easy-to-read format. I consider this essential reading for anyone looking to start scientific-thinking practice in their organization.” – Tony Hren, Senior Director,Danaher Business System, Danaher Corporation “A practical and easily digestible book on Toyota Kata that’s perfect for our managers and their teams.” – Kasper Bødker Mejlvang, General Manager,Novo Nordisk Denmark & Iceland “If I'd had this book before I got into Kata it would have increased my understanding of how to get started. A great precursor to initial training and practice.” – Andrea Simpson, Senior Operations Director and Process Improvement, NEA Baptist Health System “As a leader of an organization, the challenge of improving is hard to sustain. This MUST-read book highlights how top organizations fuel their journey, and even enjoy the trip, by managers shepherding practice of scientific thinking in their teams.” – Dan Bergeron, President & CEO of SigmaPoint Technologies “A compact book every manager who wants to coach high performance should read. Take it along on your next flight.” – Professor Jeffrey Liker, author of the bestseller The Toyota Way “We develop many thinking habits at work, which makes the workplace the world’s largest classroom and managers its teachers. What skills and mindset are you conveying in your team? Read this book and realize how important your work with your team is.” – Mike Rother, author of the bestselling Learning to See,Toyota Kata and The Toyota Kata Practice Guide

Download or read book Rapid Mass Engagement Driving Continuous Improvement Through Employee Culture Creation written by Frank Devine and published by McGraw-Hill Companies. This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dramatically improve business outcomes through a culture-change strategy that combines proven leadership, engagement, and continuous improvement methods Providing everything you need to boost individual, team, and organizational performance, Rapid Mass Engagement delivers a new, more effective approach to creating a solid corporate culture that fuels long-term business success. Continuous improvement expert Frank Devine has been helping top companies develop effective business cultures for decades, and now he shares his secrets with you. Devine walks you through the process of strategically combining leadership, engagement, and continuous improvement to turbocharge profitability and drive business sustainability. Chapters include: Rapid Mass Engagement: Results and Differentiation Culture Change Overview and Methodology Engaging Employees Around Purposeful Work Ownership and Accountability: Why Values Alone are Insufficient Leadership that Moves the Dial Sustainable Change Presenting data and first-hand accounts from senior business leaders proving the effectiveness of his approach in the real world, Devine addresses the yearning for purpose, authenticity, and trust among employees with a bottom-up, socially impactful, commercially realistic approach to social conflict and divisiveness.

Download or read book The Lean Manager written by Freddy Ballé and published by Lean Enterprise Institute. This book was released on 2011-09-15 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this groundbreaking sequel to The Gold Mine, authors Michael and Freddy Ballé present a compelling story that teaches readers the most important lean lesson of all: how to transform themselves and their workers through the discipline of learning the lean system. The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation reveals how individuals can go beyond the short-term gains from tools, and realize a deeper, sustainable path of improvement. Full of human moments that capture the excitement and drama of lean implementation, as well as clear explanations of how tools and systems go hand-in-hand, this book will teach and inspire every person working to make lean a reality in their organization today. This book will help you learn both the how of doing lean, as well as the why behind the tools, enabling you to become lean. Lean is the most important business model for competitive success today. Yet companies still struggle to sustain enduring and deep-rooted business success from their lean implementation efforts. The most important problem for these companies is becoming lean: how can they advance beyond realizing isolated gains from deploying lean tools, to fundamentally changing how they operate, think, and learn? In other words, how can companies learn to go beyond lean turnaround to achieve lean transformation? The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation, by lean experts Michael and Freddy Ballé, addresses this critical problem. As we move from what Jim Womack, author, lean management authority, and LEI founder, calls “the era of lean tools to the era of lean management,” The Lean Manager gives companies a definitive guide for sustaining their ability to learn and improve operations and financial performance, while continually developing people. “The only way to become and stay lean is to produce lean managers,” says Womack. “Every isolated effort will recede—or fail—unless companies learn to use the lean process as a way of developing individual problem-solvers with the ownership, initiative, and know-how to solve problems, learn, and ultimately coach new individuals in this discipline. That’s why this book matters so much.” The Lean Manager, the sequel to the Ballé’s international bestselling business novel The Gold Mine, tells the compelling story of plant manager Andrew Ward as he goes through the challenging but rewarding journey to becoming a lean manager. Under the guidance of Phil Jenkinson (whose own lean journey was at the core of The Gold Mine), Ward learns to use a deep understanding of lean tools, as well as a technical know-how of his plant’s operations, to foster a lean attitude that sustains continuous improvement. Where The Gold Mine shows you how to introduce a complete lean system, The Lean Manager demonstrates how to sustain it. Ward moves beyond fluency with tools to changing his behavior as a manager and leader. He shifts from giving orders and answers to asking the right questions so people identify and address problems. He learns how to use tools to unleash the creativity and motivation of people, so they learn how to solve problems as well as coach and teach others to solve problems. Ward learns how to create lean managers. “I am excited and have hopes that this book will enlighten readers about what it really means to live a business transformation that puts customers first and does this through developing people,” said Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way and professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. “People who do the work have to improve the work. There are tools, but they are not tools for ‘improving the process.’ They are tools for making problems visible and for helping people think about how to solve those problems.”