What do you think?
Rate this book
The Lean CEO: Leading the Way to World-Class Excellence
As organizations strive to do more with less, many are turning to Lean methodology, which is based on the same techniques that propelled the legendary turnaround of Japan's industrial sector after World War II. Few leaders, however, understand that the real secret behind Lean is a comprehensive approach to management that differs significantly from what is taught in business school. Lean initiatives, consequently, are rarely led by senior management, and seldom lead to significant change. The Lean CEO reveals the true power of Lean through in-depth interviews with CEOs who have gone beyond tool adoption and established Lean as a corporate-wide management system. The all-star cast of twenty-eight leaders represents a wide variety of organizations, including global manufacturers Ingersoll-Rand and Barry-Wehmiller, healthcare icons Thedacare and Virginia Mason, the states of Connecticut and Washington, historical icons such as Wiremold, and many more. In a series of provocative chapters, the CEOs tell in their own words how they applied Lean management to deliver sustainable financial results, empower and motivate employees, break down internal silos, and build solid partnerships with customers and suppliers. Their testimony provides a goldmine of practical advice for managers in Lean and non-Lean organizations alike as they share their unique personal insights on topics such as:
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2015
31 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 15, 2017
When I take a few minutes to reflect on "The Lean CEO" what I think about the most is not the excellent examples of Lean done right or the honesty about how hard a journey this can be. Its two words, "people" and "culture". There is nothing more important than your people and you need to change the culture to make this work. Read the book, it will motivate you, if you are a CEO or business owner, to take the journey.
November 26, 2017
A bit dry, even by the standards of business books, but there is much to learn here.
April 27, 2023
A bunch of interviews with CEOs that does not provide major information. If you you read Lean Thinking you won't miss this one
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2015
Lean methodology is one of those things that seems to be either implemented perfectly and reaps great rewards by the dedicated or badly implemented by a “Lean guru” for a company who is jumping on a trend.
Sadly this reviewer has seen and heard about a lot of poor, half-hearted Lean implementations over the years. This book manages to inject a bit of enthusiasm and respect back to Lean. For those who have already went along their Lean journey this book would be a good guide to help confirm you are doing things the right way. For those who are yet to take their first Lean steps, this book might focus your mind and help you deal with a sea of bullshit and bravado that can come along, should you have picked the wrong “guru” to lead the process.
What was particularly great about this book is that the author has conducted many in-depth interviews with CEOs who have successfully introduced Lean as a corporate-wide management system. The move was not plain selling for every company, yet the trials and tribulations have been worth it, with the book giving a mass of practical advice for Lean and non-Lean companies alike.
The author notes (obliquely) the identity problems Lean can face, saying: “Most people … see Lean as merely a set of tactical methods and most organisations that practice Lean do so superficially. Typically, a company might undertake a series of Lean projects to reduce costs, cut down on defects, or solve a bottleneck in a manufacturing process. These isolated attempts rarely result in real change and invariably lead to the abandonment of Lean for the next flavour of the month. Lean's true potential to build world-class performance depends on a commitment to continuous improvement that involves every worker in the organisation and requires uncommon discipline and persistence. The basic tenets of Lean, moreover, challenge many aspects of traditional management theory and call for a mindset that is foreign to most executives.”
Hear hear! One problem is that anyone can set themselves up as a Lean guru – this reviewer included – and spout enough mumbo-jumbo that vaguely sounds credible or part of a “system” and get away with it, especially in smaller companies. Inflexible adherence to something that might be relevant by an automatic welding machine yet inappropriate in a sales office such as the location of a waste bin and a taped-out area where a pen (only one mind, not two and absolutely not three) doesn’t help the cause to Lean adoption. Small and stupid things can stand out, overshadowing the good parts.
Some of the claims made by the author in an almost matter-of-fact manner are stunningly alarming, such as: “a popular rule of thumb in the Lean community is that 95 per cent of Lean transformations fail from lack of senior management support.” Yet Lean is a lot more than being just a production-led efficiency scheme. It has the capability to challenge and change many common business practices such as standard cost accounting, top-down management, emphasis on batch sizes and economies of scale and an obsession with data, notes the author. Here’s the problem! This is at odds with conventional management thinking, something that is still being taught at possibly the majority of business schools worldwide, even in 2015.
This was a gripping, engaging, thoughtful and challenging book. The author notes that Lean is not an easy process even for those who believe in it and want it to succeed. For those who just want another “box to tick” you can imagine the end results are not as potentially lucrative.
Whatever your company’s size and whatever it does, reading this book might be one of your wiser decisions, even if you never will formally implement Lean. You may find that Lean can begin to take over your company by osmosis.
The Lean CEO, written by Jacob Stoller and published by McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071833066, 352 pages. YYYYY
Sadly this reviewer has seen and heard about a lot of poor, half-hearted Lean implementations over the years. This book manages to inject a bit of enthusiasm and respect back to Lean. For those who have already went along their Lean journey this book would be a good guide to help confirm you are doing things the right way. For those who are yet to take their first Lean steps, this book might focus your mind and help you deal with a sea of bullshit and bravado that can come along, should you have picked the wrong “guru” to lead the process.
What was particularly great about this book is that the author has conducted many in-depth interviews with CEOs who have successfully introduced Lean as a corporate-wide management system. The move was not plain selling for every company, yet the trials and tribulations have been worth it, with the book giving a mass of practical advice for Lean and non-Lean companies alike.
The author notes (obliquely) the identity problems Lean can face, saying: “Most people … see Lean as merely a set of tactical methods and most organisations that practice Lean do so superficially. Typically, a company might undertake a series of Lean projects to reduce costs, cut down on defects, or solve a bottleneck in a manufacturing process. These isolated attempts rarely result in real change and invariably lead to the abandonment of Lean for the next flavour of the month. Lean's true potential to build world-class performance depends on a commitment to continuous improvement that involves every worker in the organisation and requires uncommon discipline and persistence. The basic tenets of Lean, moreover, challenge many aspects of traditional management theory and call for a mindset that is foreign to most executives.”
Hear hear! One problem is that anyone can set themselves up as a Lean guru – this reviewer included – and spout enough mumbo-jumbo that vaguely sounds credible or part of a “system” and get away with it, especially in smaller companies. Inflexible adherence to something that might be relevant by an automatic welding machine yet inappropriate in a sales office such as the location of a waste bin and a taped-out area where a pen (only one mind, not two and absolutely not three) doesn’t help the cause to Lean adoption. Small and stupid things can stand out, overshadowing the good parts.
Some of the claims made by the author in an almost matter-of-fact manner are stunningly alarming, such as: “a popular rule of thumb in the Lean community is that 95 per cent of Lean transformations fail from lack of senior management support.” Yet Lean is a lot more than being just a production-led efficiency scheme. It has the capability to challenge and change many common business practices such as standard cost accounting, top-down management, emphasis on batch sizes and economies of scale and an obsession with data, notes the author. Here’s the problem! This is at odds with conventional management thinking, something that is still being taught at possibly the majority of business schools worldwide, even in 2015.
This was a gripping, engaging, thoughtful and challenging book. The author notes that Lean is not an easy process even for those who believe in it and want it to succeed. For those who just want another “box to tick” you can imagine the end results are not as potentially lucrative.
Whatever your company’s size and whatever it does, reading this book might be one of your wiser decisions, even if you never will formally implement Lean. You may find that Lean can begin to take over your company by osmosis.
The Lean CEO, written by Jacob Stoller and published by McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071833066, 352 pages. YYYYY
September 1, 2015
Even if you are familiar with some of the lean transformations covered in The Lean CEO, Jacob Stoller’s new book will yield fresh insights.
Stoller interviews 30-plus CEOs, C-level executives, and change agents who led well-known lean efforts at Wiremold, Lantech, ThedaCare, and Virginia Mason among several others. But the book also explores many less well-known transformations at a variety of industries in the U.S. and elsewhere. Among these are Aluminum Trailer Company, Inc., The Steffes Corporation, E-Leather, A UK startup, and San Benedetto, based near Venice, Italy. (By the way, the stories of Lantech, Aluminum Trailer, Steffes, along with the Ariens Company make up a chapter called “A New Way Out of Financial Crisis,” which has some of the most illuminating and useful information for finance-fixated senior leaders.)
Stoller quotes his executive subjects often and extensively. The result is first-hand testimony from business leaders contesting traditional management practices about everything from accounting to batch size, employee involvement, motivation, leadership, economies of scale, and a raft of other conventional methods.
Not only do these executives reveal their business problems and the various lean approaches they used to help solve them, they also speak openly about their own behavior changes and the behavior changes they see in others. They talk about altered roles, struggles, and how relationships with people improved over time as a result of lean thinking and practice.
The book is organized around “burning platforms,” Stoller says. So you’ll find chapters on “Putting People First,” “Capacity Without Capital Expenditure,” or “Reducing Dependence on the CEO.” Within each are examples from public or privately held industrial or service companies, or nonprofits. Two chapters are reserved for healthcare and government, respectively. The result – always nice for a summer read – is that you can start anywhere that interests you and skip around, if you want.
Stoller has said that The Lean CEO is not a lean primer, which is accurate. But the first two chapters provide an excellent quick overview of essential lean management concepts and their roots that managers who are new to Lean will want to read. More experienced lean thinkers should check them out, too. I found an interesting anecdote about the shaky start to an interview between a TV-producer and crusty quality guru W. Edwards Deming, who shot to fame after being interviewed on the landmark 1980 documentary If Japan Can, Why Can’t We? (Full disclosure: I requested and received a review copy from the publisher.)
Stoller interviews 30-plus CEOs, C-level executives, and change agents who led well-known lean efforts at Wiremold, Lantech, ThedaCare, and Virginia Mason among several others. But the book also explores many less well-known transformations at a variety of industries in the U.S. and elsewhere. Among these are Aluminum Trailer Company, Inc., The Steffes Corporation, E-Leather, A UK startup, and San Benedetto, based near Venice, Italy. (By the way, the stories of Lantech, Aluminum Trailer, Steffes, along with the Ariens Company make up a chapter called “A New Way Out of Financial Crisis,” which has some of the most illuminating and useful information for finance-fixated senior leaders.)
Stoller quotes his executive subjects often and extensively. The result is first-hand testimony from business leaders contesting traditional management practices about everything from accounting to batch size, employee involvement, motivation, leadership, economies of scale, and a raft of other conventional methods.
Not only do these executives reveal their business problems and the various lean approaches they used to help solve them, they also speak openly about their own behavior changes and the behavior changes they see in others. They talk about altered roles, struggles, and how relationships with people improved over time as a result of lean thinking and practice.
The book is organized around “burning platforms,” Stoller says. So you’ll find chapters on “Putting People First,” “Capacity Without Capital Expenditure,” or “Reducing Dependence on the CEO.” Within each are examples from public or privately held industrial or service companies, or nonprofits. Two chapters are reserved for healthcare and government, respectively. The result – always nice for a summer read – is that you can start anywhere that interests you and skip around, if you want.
Stoller has said that The Lean CEO is not a lean primer, which is accurate. But the first two chapters provide an excellent quick overview of essential lean management concepts and their roots that managers who are new to Lean will want to read. More experienced lean thinkers should check them out, too. I found an interesting anecdote about the shaky start to an interview between a TV-producer and crusty quality guru W. Edwards Deming, who shot to fame after being interviewed on the landmark 1980 documentary If Japan Can, Why Can’t We? (Full disclosure: I requested and received a review copy from the publisher.)
April 28, 2015
The Lean management philosophy is important, very important, and holds the key to many problems in the working world. I have realised this since I first encountered it as a delegate in a course, and wanted to know more. I would really like to make it my own, and so I was delighted when an opportunity arose to review this book for Netgalley. I was hoping to learn more about Lean management, about the people who make it succeed, about its effects on people's working lives and their quality of life in general. I was hoping to be inspired. But this book will no more make you inspired about the Lean philosophy than reading the Bible will make you a believer (or the Quran or the major tome of the religion of your choice). There are truths in it yes, and a lot of information, but to be converted, you need to experience a personal journey and undergo a transformation. This you will not find in the pages of a book. Even the author realises that. I am glad I read the book anyway, even though it felt like hard work most of the time.
July 31, 2015
I really enjoyed this audiobook. It does a great job of providing insight into why certain CEOs have choosen to embrace lean. The author concedes that this book is not geared for lean practitioners, but rather is meant for decision makers to show how lean can be a powerful mindset to overcome great corporate issues.
For the practitioner there is one major downside - now I want to go to work for one of these forward thinking CEO's. It makes me sad to know that my CEO along with so many give lip service but no true commitment to Lean. I dream of the environment that the people in this book have created.
I heard a podcast promoting the book where they discuss an appendix that lists reading recommendations. The Audiobook does not have this appendix. The author cites many good sources of reading and is especially enamored with W.E. Deming.
For the practitioner there is one major downside - now I want to go to work for one of these forward thinking CEO's. It makes me sad to know that my CEO along with so many give lip service but no true commitment to Lean. I dream of the environment that the people in this book have created.
I heard a podcast promoting the book where they discuss an appendix that lists reading recommendations. The Audiobook does not have this appendix. The author cites many good sources of reading and is especially enamored with W.E. Deming.
August 14, 2016
Interesting vision about the needed support from the CEO for any Lean transformation. From the book you can derive that without this kind of support any transformation of this kind is doomed to fail...
We need more of this open minded CEOs :)
We need more of this open minded CEOs :)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews