The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road

The really nice thing about this book is that it is incredibly "user friendly" and organized in such a way as to almost anticipate the questions you might be asking if considering a LEAN approach in your organization. I found my yellow highlighter flying across the pages and my head nodding, "yep, yep, yep," as I read. The authors emphasis on learning to see, leadership, and the so-called soft skills for implementing LEAN (or any change) really help set a tone and foundation for taking LEAN into your processes and work. This is the kind of book that will not gather dust on your shelf, that you will encourage others to buy, and that you will come back to over and over - each time discovering new "truths," new nuances, new learnings. It is great to be able to listen to those with 30 years experience share their lessons learned and be able to "leap frog" SOME of the pain they experienced as I work to "evangelize" LEAN in my company. I am a big reader. This is one of those books, after reading, I wished I could meet the authors in person to say, "THANK YOU!" You will enjoy it, be challenged by it, and be motivated to TRY IT!

This book drives home some very critical thoughts around "Leadership"...a word that I feel is used too lightly...as it relates to Lean Implementation. In my opinion and based on what I take from this book, leadership is probably the most important aspect of the implementation. Without it you will fail! "It is ideal to have senior leadership actively engaged in the lean journey, not just sitting in a seat, but also driving the vehicle. Unfortunately, senior leadership typically delegates the responsibility of guiding the lean journey to others of lessor authority." This sets up a fall guy rather than forcing leadership to look in the mirror to determine why they are not getting what they expected from lean. Challenge your leasdership to join the journey! The book asks questions like; "Is leadership actively engaged?". This is such a good question but the answer may not be what you want to hear. Being engaged does not mean attending meetings!! "Leaders can not lead if they can not teach." Wow...this is great...and to teach you must know the subject and to know it you must live it. If leaders are not hands on engaged they can't possibly "know" how to drive lean. I could go on and on about the great material in this book but suffice to say...READ IT!! You will absolutely get more than your money's worth.

The Lean Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean is one of very few books on lean enterprise on the market today that really, really "gets it". Authors Flinchbaugh and Carlino focus on the essential truth of lean enterprise, which is organizational learning. This is why your CEO, and not the "lean department," should be leading your lean transformation. Throughout the book, the authors make the point that lean is not just about manufacturing, it is way of managing continuous, evolutionary change in all conceivable dimensions: manufacturing, materials management, accounting, service--even personal life! At core of the book is Flinchbaugh's and Carlino's important concept of a lean business operating system, which--much more than Just-In-Time production--makes lean tick. Why don't more lean gurus write about this? In addition to getting it all right, the authors have wrapped their message in a highly readable, practical package. Don't leave home on your lean journey without the Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean explains and explores lean from the perspective of leadership. Very few books touch on this subject as directly as Flinchbaugh and Carlino do. They guide you down the path of understanding just what it takes to be leader who will succeed in transforming an organization to be a lean enterprise. The subject of lean leadership is a passing topic in a few books, but it is the topic of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean. Leadership for transforming a business, regardless of its size or industry, has key elements to guide it down the path to developing a lean enterprise. Only by improving your own individual leadership ability can you help others to raise their own contribution to a higher level, and in turn, guide your organization to a higher level of existence. Leadership is a conscience effort that must be learned and applied to understand, The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean gives you a proven roadmap to get there.

There are many books on lean transformation that detail the tools and methods, with the better ones discussing the importance of culture and implementation. This book goes a step further by talking about the lessons learned from over 30 years of experience with real companies on the lean journey. The tips and ideas will reinvigorate your lean efforts and help you avoid potential pitfalls.