Gemba Walks

by James P. Womack, John Shook (Foreword)

The life of lean is experiments. All authority for any sensei flows from experiments on the gemba [the place where work takes place], not from dogmatic interpretations of sacred texts or the few degrees of separation from the founders of the movement. In short, lean is not a religion but a daily practice of conducting experiments and accumulating knowledge." So writes Jim Womack, who over the past 30 years has developed a method of going to visit the gemba at countless companies and keenly observing how people work together to create value. Over the past decade, he has shared his thoughts and discoveries from these visits with the Lean Community through a monthly letter. With Gemba Walks, Womack has selected and re-organized his key letters, as well as written new material providing additional context. Gemba Walks shares his insights on topics ranging from the application of specific tools, to the role of management in sustaining lean, as well as the long-term prospects for this fundamental new way of creating value. Reading this book will reveal to readers a range of lean principles, as well as the basis for the critical lean practice of: go see, ask why, and show respect. Womack explains: * why companies need fewer heroes and more farmers (who work daily to improve the processes and systems needed for perfect work and who take the time and effort to produce long-term improvement) * how "good" people who work in "bad" processes become as "bad" as the process itself * how the real practice of showing respect comes down to helping workers frame and solve their own problems * how the short-term gains from lean tools can be translated to enduring change from lean management. * how the lean manager has a "restless desire to continually rethink the organization's problems, probe their root causes, and lead experiments to test the best currently known countermeasures" By sharing his personal path of discovery, Womack sheds new light on the co

Genres: Management, Business, Technology, Leadership

348 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Bob Wallner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My feelings are a little mixed on Gemba Walks Audiobook. There are some things I REALLY liked and one major obstacle I strongly disliked.

First the Pros of this Audiobook which are many.
This book is a collection of Dr. Womack's writings over the last 10-12 years as he was the President of LEI. His insight captured in many of these writings helped spur the Lean Movement. I really enjoyed how he has taken the time to deeply reflect on his writing noting just his successes but also more importantly his failures or incorrect writings. Dr. Womack is probably his own toughest critic and what seemed like gold to him a decade ago, he picks apart with a fine tooth comb. This example of how to improve through deep understanding is paramount to true lean understanding and I do appreciate Dr. Womack opening up to what was going on in his mind.

I liked how the essays were 5-10 minutes long. This gave easy cutoff and pickup points during various parts of my commute. I really enjoyed how the book was organized into "like" essays. This organization made the book easy to follow.

So what is the flaw of this Audiobook? It's pretty much the flaw of all Dr. Womack's audiobooks - they are read by him. Dr. Womack is an Academic and his style of narration comes through as academic speaking at people not talking to people. I would have much rather had someone else (a professional narrator) read his books. I find that Dr. Womack's voice is too monotone (enter Ben Stein). Adding character and personality to the essays, would have great impact on their appeal to me.

[Kostiantyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the comments to the chapter “The Value of Mistake”: “…for me the experience was invaluable in converting from lean dreamer to a lean realist”. Probably I expected something like that looking at the book named “Gemba Walks”. But I did not learn any “kung-fu” from it.

First of all, because this is not a brand new book, but a collection of Womack’s blog posts. There is nothing wrong with publishing a collection of posts as a book. But if you have already read all the posts before, then the book will be less interesting. I’ve been following Womack’s blog so this is exactly my case.

Second, the book does not describe how to do the Gemba walks. It talks a lot about a lot of important things but doesn’t describe or give guidance for the Gemba walks. Still, it’s a great foundation for managers who, by the way, have to go to Gemba.

Long story short. Main theses from the book:
• It is very important to go to Gemba. The importance cannot be overstated.
• Never go to Gemba alone – engage peers and subordinates.
• It is very important to focus on the value stream. But it’s even more important to focus on value and people.
• The point above is a crucial role of management.
• Basic stability is more important than pull.

Only 5 bullets. But you can narrow it down to 3: go and see, ask “Why?”, show respect. Each step is easy, but it can take years to master. Can this book help you learn them faster? I’m not sure. But it’s worth a try.

[Jorė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lean for me often seems like another boys club where they have their secret language, rituals and generally way of thinking. And it's much about what boys like to do, building a better car, talking about building a better car, thinking about building a better car. At the same time, whenever I encounter it in real life, there's a gap between understanding the potential and hearing the bullshit alarm in my head. The map is not a territory and using fancy words or methods doesn't mean you are really achieving improvement. But as I know close to nothing about what this lean stuff actually is, my go-to strategy is to keep my opinions to myself.

Now the book. No bullshit here. It is a collection of essays written over the years which gives some fragmentation, but it's ok. More importantly, it has plenty of good thinking and its up to the reader to take the bits that are relevant and do own further thinking.

I needed to quickly grasp the essence of how some parts of management / internal communication can be improved in manufacturing settings and this book was a great help. Go see, ask why, show respect is a lovely concept which every one of us should use more often. There's much attention to the failures and those moments when my alarms turn on - it's good to understand how and why those initiatives to improve fail.

And there are essays that gave great input for my own thinking. It's like lots of things that intuitively were starting to feel important from me, out of the experience, out of my own daily observations and some conversations happening here and there. Oh, so other people have already been thinking about this for a long time and trying this and that - this is always a nice realisation. For example, there's this huge conversation if creative work is a process that can be split into smaller parts and then improved. Can we learn something from problem-solving in the factory or healthcare settings? I think it is a way more interesting way of learning than sticking with analysing practices of other pr/ marketing/ advertising/ whatever agencies.

At the end of the day, the goal is the same for everyone: "But what about simply doing our everyday work more effectively so that more value can be created with the same effort and resources?"

[Amanda Varella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book make us think how wonderful would be to live in a Lean world. Unfortunately we don't live in a place like this. Despite this, it shows many stories of lean implementation, in real factory floors. It's amazing how the principles applies to knowledge work. As the world does not become lean, let's learn how to do and make our part. This book is one of the readings that teaches about this.

[Kathy Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gemba walking is the way to gain insight into how your company functions. Womack has the intuition to see under rocks that weigh a company down. This book is a good start to pursue Lean Methodology.

[Davina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find Lean thinking to be consonant with my own core beliefs. This is a great selection of essays delving in to lean thinking. The focus on purpose and respect are very important to me. I think of how many times I've done something, "because I said so" without purpose or respect. Now, paying someone to dig a hole in the ground, and paying another to fill it it, can be respectful, if you're trying to put some money in their pocket without giving them a handout. But, in business, because we've not thought through a process holistically, nor have really asked why we're doing something, we create waste. Yes, you can create too much documentation. Yes, you can have too many quality checks, just as you can have too few. Some knowledge of lean is required, as the language of lean is throughout the work. I really respect the authors body or work, and his passion for the subject. This work isn't easy. And, I've too often seen quality being a cover for cost cutting. Yes, we cut waste, we must, but in service to delivering a better product. I you really want to save money, close the business down, then once you've exited leased, sold off assets, then you have no expenses. Else, adopt a purpose driven, holistic thinking about creating results with your customer in mind. What else would you do?

[John Klinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mandatory reading before trying to take ideas from "The Machine that Changed the World" or "Lean Thinking". There was so much lost in the original lean wave; we would be crazy to not study the lessons learned decades afterwards- with dozens of "quick wins" scattered throughout. As an example- page 17 lists the 10 questions Womack asks when taking a value stream walk. Who wouldn't want to know that framework?

[Jessica Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a year or so ago and liked it. The concept makes sense and helps a business maintain success. I recommend it for anyone wanting to get a better concept and develop a critical thinking in the work place.

[Mike Thelen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Evolving Excellence, a collection of Jim Womack's blog posts while head of LEI.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until I read this book, I had no idea how different "lean" is from the lean that is practiced in the software industry.

This booked helped me when I was feeling overwhelmed by operations and trying to reason about how to get processes under control in a complex organization. It taught me valuable principles that I know I'll use for many years to come, and many of them are as much about bringing change to organizations as they are about solving problems.

I often refer back to specific the essays when I encounter situations and challenges similar to the ones described in the book. These essays are available online and include:

* Fewer Heroes, More Farmers
* Who's Responsible
* Becoming Horizontal in a Vertical World

I'd venture to guess that if you like these essays, you'll like this book.

The only thing I'd caution about the book is that it's a long book of essays. They're not tied together towards a particular end. It's fine if you're fine to meander through the land of lean, but you may want something more directed if you're in a hurry.

[Fred Leland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book on the importance of getting up and out of the office to interact with your fellow workers and those you provide a service to. Walking the Gemba reminds me of what i call Leadership By Wandering Around,which is a slight adaptation of Tom Peters, Management By Wandering Around. Walking the Gemba's focus is mainly centered on manufacturing processes but i think it would also be adaptable to other disciplines as well. An interesting book that got me to thinking about how it may apply to my profession law enforcement in leaning out some of the processes, policies and procedures so prevalent.

[Bob Schatz]

This was a great book for people making transitions to agile practices in IT/SW/Systems development. James Womack was co-author of The Machine That Changed The World, the book that defined "Lean". This is a collection of his stories of companies he's worked with over the past 30 years. For those of you relatively new to the world of Lean/Agile, getting frustrated at how long some changes take, have a look at the stories from companies that have been adopting lean practices for decades. It's like a look into the future. Highly recommended.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays is a serviceable introduction to the basics of lean manufacturing epitomized in the Toyota Production System.

[Vishnupriya Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights. Loved the stories and experiences.

[Stephen Macintyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent way to gain Lean perspectives. Manufacturing centric.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Below expectations