9.10.2007

What is your favorite lean book?

Have you read a book about lean that you felt really helped you improve your business? Or one that gave you an understanding of some aspect of lean principles you never had before?


            And why was that book so good?


 


            Here at the Lean Insider blog, we’d like to find out what you believe are the best lean books. Which book (or books) would you recommend to others? Which one had the greatest impact on your lean transformation?


 


            Equally important, why did you find the book so valuable? Was it because it explained lean concepts clearly? Did it provide a step-by-step lean implementation plan? What did it tell you that you didn’t know before?


 


            A blog is a means of sharing insights, and that’s what we’re trying to do. Register (if you haven’t already), log in and post a comment. Your thoughts could be a valuable resource for others trying to decide what to read next.

15 comments:

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
9/10/2007 2:55:02 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
BY: ejtamez

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean" is an excellent title and would recommend to anyone practitioner who is initiating a lean journey.

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
9/10/2007 2:56:20 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: cching

The most influential book during my career has been "The Goal" by Eli Goldratt. Why? It is easy to incredibly easy to read and it helped me see things I'd never seen before.<br><br>(BTW: I really dislike your password rules for this site. I almost didn't register because I doubt I'll remember the password next time I come here. Otherwise, great stuff).

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
9/10/2007 3:35:19 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
BY: dcbliss

"The best one I've read recently is ""Lean for Dummies"" by Natalie J. Sayer and Bruce Williams. It's a great book for beginners, but it also has some nice insight for those who have been working with Lean for awhile."

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
9/10/2007 4:51:01 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: Billie

"I must agree that ""The Goal"" by Eli Goldratt is the most simplistic approach to the understanding of lean. We started our lean journey in 2005, and I'm hopeful that our entire Leadership Team will read it so that we can detect the 'Herbies' that exist on the Shop floor. Read it, and you'll enjoy!"

Ralph Bernstein said...

9/10/2007 6:12:41 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: Joe Ely

Has to be "Lean Thinking" by Womack and Jones. It was so fundamental in setting a course for Lean Implementation that it has to go to the top of the list. W&J have a clarity of thought and insight that is not matched in the Lean community, in my opinion.

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
9/10/2007 6:43:37 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: dmcgan

"There have been several favorites of mine through the years. I'd have to say that my most recent favorite has been "The Toyota Way Fieldbook," by Liker and Meier. The practical nature of this book has struck a cord with some of our management team that no earlier book had been successful in doing."

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
9/11/2007 12:51:44 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: rbohan

Most of the books on lean I've looked at are actually pretty lame. A big problem is that they all assume 1) big company and 2) fairly steady state production. Most of my clients are very small and job shop/custom manufacturing.

That said, "Running Today's Factory" taught me that lean/agile is mostly about reducing variability and "Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop" at least doesn't make the assumptions I mention above.

PS: I agree with the comment above about the password. A non-alphnumberic character in the password? This isn't Fort Knox.

Ralph Bernstein said...

9/11/2007 1:39:48 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: Amos

"There are any number of them that I have learned something specific from or gave me perspective of the journey over the years. Ford's "Today and Tomorrow", Imai's "Gemba Kaizen", Mann's "Creating a Lean Culture", Liker's "The Toyota Way" and several from college in the industrial engineering field. My current book is by Carreira and Trudell, titled "Lean Six Sigma That Works". Thanks."

Ralph Bernstein said...

9/12/2007 1:16:10 PM Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: Lean Insider

We've now adjusted the blog settings to simplify the password requirement. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Ralph Bernstein said...

9/12/2007 4:02:25 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: hrpay

My favorite "Lean" book is "The Toyota Way" by Liker. Some may not consider it purely "Lean" but it gives top management a great view on the issues they deal with and goes beyond the tools.

Ralph Bernstein said...

9/17/2007 12:53:59 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: rbohan

"We've now adjusted the blog settings to simplify the password requirement. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Good idea. I'm guessing you've had a least a couple of folks give up before they actually got registered.

Ralph Bernstein said...

9/21/2007 12:59:05 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
By: shanne

Getting the Right Things Done: A Leader's Guide to Planning and Execution by Pascal Dennis. A lot of books focus on lean tools. As the title suggests, this is a great handbook on leading a lean transformation through a solid strategy deployment process. This book also emphasizes fostering an enviorment problem solivng enviroment. I believe this is a must read for anyone tasked with leading a lean change.

Ralph Bernstein said...

IMPORTED
10/10/2007 3:39:34 PM
Re: What is your favorite lean book?
by: patwelsh

I recently read "The Top Ten secrets of Lean Success" by David Dixon. This is a short book with pointed suggestions for the new implemetor of Lean or a refresher for the long-term Lean manager. Mr Dixon nails it. He has been in the lean consulting business for 25 years and has a great perpective on what is and is not crucial for lean success. The book hits home for the small job shop as well and the large manufacturer. It is available at no cost via the Technical Change Associates website: www.technicalchange.com

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