2 Second Lean (How to Grow People and Build a Fun Lean Culture at Work & at Home

by Paul A. Akers

2 Second Lean will flip your world right-side up. It's a practical way to improve your life every day by making a simple 2 second improvement. Join author, business expert, radio show host, and international speaker, Paul A. Akers, as he takes you on a LEAN journey that will transform every aspect your life... from your home to the office. **2nd Edition includes Six New Chapters

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management, Audiobook, Productivity, Self Help, Leadership

136 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2011

Reviews

[Stefan Hull · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I thought this was a hokey self-help book for the manufacturing world and I understandably resisted reading it until I had to fill 20 hours in a car by myself and was left with little excuse. I was very surprised by how much I liked it.

The author lays out a simple plan to identify and eliminate waste (could be an unneeded process or physical waste, there are 8 categories) and thereby increase productivity and grow a thriving company. The plan itself is incredibly simple (only 3 S’s) and has been incredibly successful for some major corporations. Toyota has been doing something like it for decades.

I loved how Akers describes work as honorable. I love how he values his employees growth over profit as his main impetus in implementing the lean process. I love how his company’s mission is to provide something that increases the value of his customer’s lives, and profit is just a happy by-product of a job well done.

You can apply this book anywhere, but harried moms might be the first group I would recommend it to. Applying it to home life was eye-opening for me. Essentially, on a daily basis, find what bugs you and do something about it (that something is discussed at length in the book). Not complicated, but it does take discipline.

The audiobook had a bunch more material than the hard copy and he would go off script often with some great nuggets. I would start there.

[Amanda NEVER MANDY · Rating 3 out of 5]

For work I have to get so many education hours in a year and thankfully reading to obtain them is an option. Too bad it's not from a list of my choosing because we all know how absolutely relatable that would be.
Two second in a title for an educational book sounded perfect. Not enough to bore, just enough to enlighten. True to it's name, it was a quick and painless read. What I walked away with, throw out your waste. What my imagination heard and will forever link it to, "BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!"

Thanks Monty Python for making me the office leper yet again.

[Jason Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hard time buying this book initially due to the clearly self published nature of it, and flipping through it that image holds (the paper, the photos interspersed, the bad formatting) but the content is absolutely solid. There is actionable content and great tips that I've already used in my work life. It breaks "lean" down in a way that helps to get past the jargon and actually do.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lean is all about the elimination of the 8 deadly wastes:
- Overproduction
- Overprocessing
- Motion
- Waiting
- Transportation
- Inventory
- Rework of defects
- Unused employee genius

Results:
- Operational excellence
- Low turnover
- Customer retention
- Consistent reduction in cost
- Consistent increase in quality
- Continuous innovation
- A fun place to work

Continuous improvement comes from "fixing what bugs you" every day!

Rating: 4/5

- Your pride will blind you to what you most need to learn.
- Show me your checkbook and where you spend your money and I will show you what you value.
- Start small, dream big!
- Build it in and it is difficult to change.

[Josh Hull · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book and particularly the concepts. It’s very applicable to all of life and I’ve already completed a few of my own two second improvements! Hopefully many more to come.

Having an intro to the basic concepts of lean manufacturing was really helpful to give me new categories to think of waste and inefficiency. I’m really thankful for that!

If I could sum it up in one sentence it would be: Fix what bugs you!

[Caren · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author spent more time hyping his own products/company and restating the title than he did making new revelations. It would have been lean to condense this short book down to three chapters .The links to the videos will take you to some of the most banal content allowed on Youtube.

[Tyson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and full of dumb jokes and shameless self-promotion. My boss required my team read this book.

[Effie Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a diamond in here, but a lot of rough to sift through too.

I read this book because I'm genuinely interested in continuous improvement / "lean", and not because I was forced to. A colleague recommended it, saying it was much more readable than the Toyota Way which he considers "too academic". I am now regretting my choice as 2 Second Lean is full of fluff. There are a few good pieces of advice on how to implement lean, but they are buried in long winded anecdotes and a constant barrage of boasting. You might think that would make the book too long. On the contrary, it's totally anemic, a very thin read even in the third edition with multiple extra chapters. Unfortunately being short does not mean that the scant pages are packed with good information.

Most worrying, to me, is the cult-like attitude Akers adopts. A lot of his advice sound like the precepts of a religion rather than practical advice. For instance, he speaks repeatedly about how one should not try to force others to be Lean, but instead focus on one's own waste. Never criticise others for being wasteful! Look first to the waste in thine own eye. Except, I guess, if you're a manager or own your own company, at which point you have to force all your employees to undertake Lean and fire those who don't. This sounds like a very nasty setup to me, one that forbids you from criticising anyone above or around you, but encourages criticising those below you.

Akers, who has never attempted Lean at any position lower than owner of his own company, has no useful advice for low level grunts pursuing Lean in a culture that has not embraced it. Instead he says, if you are a lean superstar you will very quickly succeed and be promoted to a level where you can implement lean reforms. Pray to Lean, worship Lean and you will be rewarded...

One anecdote near the end stuck out to me particularly. Akers insists that anything that stops work is bad, and cites as an example, traffic lights. But what is better than the traffic light? Why, the noble roundabout of course! Roundabouts are magical and everyone always understands them. As someone who has actually lived with roundabouts, I had to shake my head hearing this.

There are a few useful titbits in the middle and it does give you a broad overview of the concept of continuous improvement. If you are interested in CI/Lean but afraid of reading, this book should serve as a good primer on the subject, but I would definitely treat Akers' boundless enthusiasm with a pinch of salt.

Also, don't pay for this book like I did. The eBook and Audiobook are available for free off his website.

[Erin Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the core information was useful, my attention was continuously split between the goal of each chapter, the little jokes, and the images with huge captions. I’m sure it’s already been said, but for a book dedicated to eliminating waste, it seemed to meander and repeat quite often.

[Benjamin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mandatory reading for work training. Not my cup of tea.

[Ian Keim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. Akers takes the LEAN philosophy and applies it to EVERYTHING. His micro approach to Lean is super fascinating and will definitely shape the way I think about anything when it comes to productivity.

My random takeaways:
-“Money suffocates creativity”

-Employers make a mistake when they hire hands and don’t utilize people’s minds

-“Lean is the art of subtraction, not addition”

-Time is the great equalizer. Everyone begins with 86,400 seconds in their bank account each day.

-2 second lean (Akers) is better than Kaizen events (Toyota) according to Akers. I think I mostly agree.

-2 second lean is not something to tell your friends about. Make your life so great and efficient that people ask why.

-Organization is not Lean.

-The question “what bothers you” will expose areas in your life/work which are ripe for 2SL improvement.

-2 second lean is a whole life concept, not just a manufacturing concept.

[Ishi Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, concise, and helpful book.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yas finally done

[Lauren Reed Harland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great principles but the book just feels and sounds goofy.

[Denia Vázquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considero que la cultura Lean va mucho de la mano con liderazgo situacional. Lleva ambos a tu vida en todas las esferas, y crearás cosas magníficas.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Paul Akers is quite enthusiastic about Lean and his enthusiasm is infectious. This is the perfect book to read if you are interested in Lean principles and how to incorporate them into any aspect of your life- but you tend to fall asleep reading technical books, looking at statistics, and trying to interpret various charts and maps. The chapters of Akers' book are brief, written in layman's terms, include color photos, sum everything up at the end, and are actually pretty entertaining. He also includes several links to YouTube videos and other relevant, illustrative information.

Noteworthy quotes:

"Lean does not make things more difficult. Lean is focused on intentionally simplifying any process....Lean is not about working harder and more frantically, but about making things simpler. It is not just about making everything faster, but about improving the quality of everything you do. It's rarely a huge or drastic change, but baby steps in an endless drive to continuously improve everything every day."

"Lean is about fixing what bugs you."

"Everybody wins- another benefit of Lean."

"...I asked the VP of (of Toyota) a very direct question, 'What is the most important thing for Toyota?'...Without hesitating, he said, 'The most important thing for Toyota is people. Toyota is all about teaching and training people and building a culture of continuous improvement."

"My mistake had to do with my incorrect focus on processes. I needed to focus on building a culture of people who understand and embrace continuous improvement."

"He understood that if you made things simple, there was a much greater chance of people understanding and implementing the ideas."

"When money is no object we abdicate our most powerful resource: our ideas. It just gets too easy to throw money at problems and yet we see time and time again that money often creates problems rather than solving them."

"When humility becomes a central attribute of the Lean leadership, a vortex of creativity and buy-in will follow. When there is a culture where people know there is not an egomaniac in charge, they begin to grow and thrive."

"This is the spirit of a Lean culture. When the leader is willing to be corrected and has no ego issues with sharing credit, that same generous and supportive spirit flows between everybody."

"...I should have been making videos six years ago, but I got paralyzed because I wanted everything to be perfect. I bought all kinds of film gear and lighting and software, but I never made a video because I was waiting for everything to be perfect. Then I realized the folly of that. If you just do it, you'll learn so much by 'just doing it.' That is really the story of 2 Second Lean. If you just make a small improvement, you'll learn so much that the next improvement will be that much better."

"We are very deliberate in how we hire people. We look for two characteristics- people who are humble and curious. We want people who don't act and feel like they know it all. We want people who are naturally curious about life."

"Focus on you. Focus on eliminating your waste.... When people see how much your area has improved, how much easier your work is, how much more they can depend on you, how consistent you are and how the quality of your product improves, they will want to know how you are doing it. Then you can show them. And then they will be eager to learn and begin their own Lean journey. But do not try to get your wife, your dog, your hamster, your cat, or your co-workers to do Lean."

"My Favorite Principles: Make people the center focus of your life. Pursue the right thing over profit. The profit will follow. Teach and train..."

"You can organize waste."

"Lean has been misunderstood to be the methodology of taking away jobs, making things sterile with little or no creativity. Lean is the opposite of that. Rarely, if ever, does it take away a single job. It creates boundless opportunities and continual employment, adds longevity for existing employees and growth for new people to be brought into the company."

"When I go to hire someone, I always hire for character and teach for skill. I can teach anybody to do the job, but character is a rare commodity."

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking to be well versed in the lean toolbox, this will disappoint. If you're looking for a simple introduction that will be easy to give to entry level staff, this is a good resource. Audiobook is best as it is read by the author and his enthusiasm is infectious.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

You may find a good blog post or Wikipedia article more informative than this book.

The concepts are sometimes dumbed down to the extreme. The examples are simplistic and keep repeating the same ideas over and over. The author's deeds are narrated with a lot of self-satisfaction. At some point, I expected Paul to tell us how he improved his peing process by removing his pants first.

The author explained that the the book was written in a really lean manner. The editor reviewed the content in no time. I didn't need a full chapter to convince me about that: it shows.

I've been listening to the audio version which really sounds like a long infomercial.

As many books of the genre, this one reads like a 200 pages business card.

Sorry if this review sounds negative but it's a paying product. If it was free, I would probably give it 2 stars.

Note: I maybe biased in my review because I work in the software industry where the lean concepts are pretty common and accepted nowadays. Probably this book is more adapted to complete beginners who just want to get a superficial understanding of the topic.

[Paul Hambrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio version of the 3rd edition.

What a great concept for any business or organization. I've always intuitively been attracted to lean work, preferring to not waste time or motion ever under any circumstances.

For example, when I have to leave the house for the office, I HATE making more than one trip to the car. I try to make the morning go so that I can leave the porch and get in the car once.

This book inspired me to "Start in the Bathroom" so I went to Lowe's and Oreck and got a set of shelves and an Oreck vacuum cleaner so that my office can be cleaned and the supply closet organized more efficiently.

Get this book and start by making your own life and immediate environment lean.

I definitely recommend the audio version of the book because Akers has many asides and they are all gold.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't groundbreaking work - it's a common sense approach to reduce wasted time and effort. There are tons of silly examples of how the author has shaved seconds off his daily routines - such as installing a light in his closet so he can easily match his shirts and slacks when dressing in the morning. That just seems excessive to me. There was also an example of installing a sprinkler and drain system in his backyard to wash off the underside of his lawnmower, because it took too long to use a regular hose and squirt it underneath. The principles of Lean are good, but this book is not

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is easy to read. The concepts explained seem solid. However, I did not like the shameless selfpromotion of the author and of his business.

[Markus Ganchinho · Rating 5 out of 5]

For people that are trying to learn abour Lean Methodologies, Paul Akers shows a very humble, fun and exciting perspective about it. You won't learn about Lean in an academic way so don't expect to learn specific tools or concepts. Instead, Paul tries to show in this book how Lean is supposed to be taken: as a life tool and a life way of thinking, not just a work tool meant to increase profit.

If you think of Lean as something meant to merely increase profit in your workplace, you will fail to implement Lean. Paul shows this very well. This book teaches you how Lean is supposed to be seen and taken in your life, how Lean can be used as way to inspire people around you, how can you create a Lean culture inside of your workplace and so on.

Once you've been inspired by Paul Akers' story and experience on Lean, you are now able to learn Lean in a more academic way, and some more structured tools to use later on on your workplace.

This book is rather small, with around 150 pages with several images to go along with it, so it is very fast and easy to read the book entirely. Strongly recommend people to use this book as a start of their Lean journey: a journey that never ends.

P.S.: I've read and heard the Portuguese translation of this book and I was able to feel Paul's excitement and humility about Lean and how much it changed his life. Paul said that life should be more about giving and not as much about taking, that's why his books and audios can be found in his website for free. If you ever feel that Paul taught you something make sure to do the same as well for the next person. It's all about giving.

[Jonathan H. MONTES · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 Second Lean by Paul A. Akers provides a fresh and simple approach to implementing lean principles in both professional and personal life. The core message is that making small, incremental changes daily (even ones that only save two seconds) can lead to significant long-term improvements. Akers emphasizes that lean isn’t just for manufacturing or business; it’s about making life more efficient and enjoyable by eliminating waste and enhancing productivity.

The first 60 pages of the book offer the most value, as they introduce key lean concepts, particularly the 5S system (Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain), which is central to the lean approach. Akers also shares numerous practical examples from his own experience in transforming his company, FastCap, into a lean-driven operation. The tone is light and enthusiastic, which makes the concepts feel accessible and actionable.

However, as you progress through the book, the content starts to feel repetitive, with much of it focused on reinforcing earlier ideas rather than introducing new concepts. The latter sections of the book could be seen as filler, which may make readers feel like they’re revisiting the same points.

Despite this, 2 Second Lean stands out for its energy and practicality. If you’re new to lean, this book can inspire you to start making small improvements immediately. While the book may lack depth in terms of more technical lean theory, Akers’ straightforward approach and passion make it a good introductory read. You’ll need to explore further or experiment on your own to fully develop lean processes, but this book provides an excellent starting point.

[Sindre Dyngen · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Actual review starts after first paragraph*

I have read many Lean books in my life, from the Toyota Way, to Lean Six Sigma for Dummies. The one thing that has been problematic is translating what the books say into real life, especially since I never worked in a place where Lean is already established, this required a lot of effort from my side being the "outside" person coming in and telling people how to their processes. To give an example in my last company it took me around 3 years to be respected enough that middle and senior management started coming to me for advice.
Now I changed industry, I need to do it all again! what I did before does not fit anymore!

At first the book looks goofy and not "heavy" enough to take serious, but Paul Akers book 2 second Lean is a very motivating book because it is easy to read, it contains many videos as part of the learning process, it describes Lean as a very practical thing, and starts you off with very simple improvements: "just improve 2 seconds each day".
The perspective often used is from the Owner or leader point of view, sharing their struggles, and I am more of a "in house consultant". I will take Paul Akers (and many others advice) and focus on what I can do to Improve my work life better. When you start thinking about what you are in control of, it is actually more than you would think. My first task for myself after coming back from the Christmas holidays will be to fix the printer room, it is a room everyone uses but there is no owner ship there and its really messy. I´m sure it bugs a lot of people.

This is a highly recommended book, cheap, easy to read, clearly worth the investment

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honesty is the best policy, and I plan to be honest. This was not my favorite read. Sure, the lessons were good, but the message came off sort of like it was for first time employees of the company rather than a help book. Having to get all the way to the end before LEAN was broken down for us was sort of frustrating. However, this doesn’t mean the lessons learned along the way were hopeless. To be lean is to eliminate what bugs you, going one at a time, and standing on it’s two foundational principles: eliminating waste and continuous improvement.

I don’t wish to ramble, but the last few chapters held all of the pertinent information. The five principles: sort, straighten, shine, standardize, and sustain are the basic pathway for a Lean idea to emerge. The three pillars, identifying waste, continually improve, and document keep a basis of how to identify where a lean culture can spring ideas and continue. The short definitions of favorite words help to shine a new perspective. A term like deflection is spun around to be about the positives in honoring others (though I have thoughts about some clarification this needs). But out of all the things in this book, one sentence stuck out to me in my own personal faith-in-life journey:
“Your pride will blind you from what you most need to learn.”

[Roberto Monge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un tema muy interesante en como llevar un negocio, sino también como aplicar esta filosofía en la vida cotidiana. Paul hace un buen trabajo explicando de manera simple, con un lenguaje fácil de entender y sobre todo apasionado por lo que ha vivido al aplicar esta filosofía en tu vida. Su energía se siente en cada capítulo. Tuve la fortuna de estudiar Ingeniería Industrial con una especialización en Lean Manufacturing y se que aprender el tema puede ser tedioso, muy teórico, y en muchas ocasiones enfocado en la fabricación y producción de bienes. Pienso que una persona que no tenga conocimientos previos no tendrá ningún problema entendiendo el mensaje del libro, aunque si pienso que se debe tomar como una introducción porque falta profundización en detalles de como realmente funciona especialmente en distintos entornos. Algo que le agradezco al autor es que agrego al final de cada capitulo la idea principal que queria transmitir, lo cuál hace mas fácil el aprendizaje. También es un gran detalle que agrego los QR con enlaces a videos que ha grabado a través de los años para justamente profundizar más en los conocimientos. Como conclusión, si has escuchado hablar de esta filosofía recomiendo ampliamente este libro para empezar a conocer más y si logra cautivarte estoy seguro que encontraras mucho valor al aplicarlo en tu vida.

[David Inwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book exaggerates when it says 90% of what we do is waste, but we are indeed pretty wasteful with our time, and this book has some great ideas about how to change that.
I'd like to add one caveat to it though, which is: Don't compromise employee safety or data security while doing daily pushes for extra efficiency. I worry that if a company is constantly pestering their employees to go faster, faster, faster, and if the company is trusting employees to "come up with their own ideas" and "occasionally fail," then some employees will eventually experiment with not putting safety gear on in order to save two seconds, or they will try having shorter passwords on their computers in order to not "waste time" typing them over and over. This would be a recipe for disaster, and the book doesn't give nearly enough of a warning about it. Aside from that, it was a great book.

[Bradley Arlt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet jesus! I love books that just go down smoothly. Knowledgeable author, interesting way of writing, and then at the end you feel like you learned something.

My only complaint is that the title of the book made me delay reading it. I've seen too many Lean attempts get twisted into a time obsession, and sometimes I'm not trying to optimize time. Sometimes I'm trying not to get injured, or trying to wash and dry the most clothes in a day. These are about spending time.
But 2 Second Lean is not about time. It is about eliminating waste. And that I can get behind. Because making something faster is less wasteful, but so is making it less bad for employees.

And the spoiler alert. Lean is about treating you employees well.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better operational books on small run (lean) manufacturing, as it’s actually applicable in most places. Akers drives me nuts, but that’s kinda the point, he also takes some things to the extreme, in this Americanized version of Kaizen.
1. Have employees make 2 second improvements every day
2. Solve for ease
3. Reduce waste
4. Sweep, short and systematize everything everyday
5. Give employees ownership (rotating AM meeting, celebrating wins, talk through problems....Bathroom cleanliness is the ultimate manifestation of this)
6. Ask “is this benefiting the customer“
7. Don’t over complicate things