Better Thinking, Better Results
Case Study and Analysis of an Enterprise-Wide Lean Transformation
- Books
- Published Papers
- For Lean Educators
- Odds 'n Ends
Books on Lean Management
- WHERE LEAN LEADERS COME FOR PRACTICAL NEW IDEAS -
- "Having collected and studied 300+ books on continuous improvement, Lean, and six sigma the last 19 years, your books stand out as original."
- "I am consistently impressed by the quality and insight of your books and papers."
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These books are essential reading for managers contemplating or currently practicing progressive Lean management, especially those in technology, pharma, biotech, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, insurance, private equity, financial services, education, and government. Click on the covers to learn more about each book.
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Papers on Lean Leadership
- Where Lean Leaders Come for Great New Ideas -
These papers are widely recognized as important contributions to the body of Lean knowledge and contain essential insights on how to correctly lead a Lean business. They will help you improve your understanding and practice of Lean management.
Frank George Woollard: Forgotten Pioneer of Flow Production
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani and P.J. Seymour
Forthcoming in Journal of Management History, late 2010
Frank George Woollard (1883-1957) established a low-volume flow production system in the British motor industry in the mid-1920s that contained most of the elements of Toyota's post-1950 production system. Woollard's work is so significant that the timelines for discoveries and attributions of key accomplishments in Lean management must be revised.Historical Lessons in Purchasing and Supplier Relationship Management
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Journal of Management History, 2010
Purchasing goods and services is an important aspect of Lean management. This paper provides a very interesting historical background of non-zero-sum (win-win) purchasing and supplier relationship management as advocated by pioneering purchasing practitioners in the first half of the 20th century compared to current-day widespread zero-sum (win-lose) practices.
The Equally Important "Respect for People" Principle
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
REAL LEAN, Volume Three, 2008 (Appendix I)
This paper shows how the "Respect for People" principle has been around since the dawn of progressive management (ca. 1900), but was conceptualized differently and given different names over the years.
Standardized Work for Executive Leadership
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 2008
This paper provides the rationale for managers to adopt standardized work for their own daily activities, and presents a practical construct that managers can immediately use.Origins of Lean Management in America: The Role of Connecticut Businesses
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Journal of Management History, 2006
This paper discusses the history of Lean management in America and describes the important roles that Connecticut businesses played in adopting and disseminating Lean management nationwide.Executive Decision-Making Traps and B2B Online Reverse Auctions
Highly Commended Paper Award Winner
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2006
Here's why Lean leaders would never, never, never ever think of using reverse auctions on their suppliers.Leaders Lost in Transformation
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani and D.J. Stec
Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 2005
Describes the many ways in which managers can easily lose their way in a Lean transformation and suggests practical actions that can be taken to stay on track.Using Value Stream Maps to Improve Leadership
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani and D.J. Stec
Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 2004
This is a groundbreaking, even revolutionary, paper that re-purposes value stream maps to be used as diagnostic tools to identify specific leadership problems and provide practical direction on how to improve.Linking Leaders' Beliefs to their Behaviors and Competencies
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2003
This paper illustrates the tight coupling between leaders' beliefs, behaviors, and competencies, and shows how leaders who wish to progress from the current state of conventional management to the future state of Lean management must change their beliefs - and that changing only one's behaviors is insufficient.Redefining the Focus of Investment Analysts
Citation of Excellence Award Winner
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
TQM Magazine, 2001
This paper provides the logic and rationale for investment analysts to instead become muda analysts. They should analyze nonfinancial measures first because that is where the money really is. In doing so, they would provide superior guidance to executive teams.A Mathematical Logic Approach to the Shareholder vs. Stakeholder Debate
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2001
A simple yet rigorous analysis that corrects a common misunderstanding among business leaders, investors, educators, and others. Recognizing this fundamental error is critical to the correct application of the "Respect for People" principle in Lean management.The False Promise of "What Gets Measured Gets Managed"
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2000
This is an important paper for both new and advanced Lean practitioners. Using simple mathematical logic, it disproves the popular adage "what gets measured gets managed." This is important because Lean practitioners must use a few appropriate quantitative metrics and also improve their understanding and use of qualitative data and information. Businesses new to Lean management will typically overemphasize quantitative information and use metrics rooted in batch-and-queue processing.The Oath of Management
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2000
A solemn oath that every Lean leader should subscribe to. "Do no harm."Cracking the Code of Business
Highly Commended Paper Award Winner
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2000
This paper utilizes the principles and tools of Lean management to decode the CEOs mandates and deliver practical, solutions-oriented tools to employees to help achieve stretch business goals, and also shows how to align the management system and organizational behaviors.Lean Behaviors
Outstanding Paper Award Winner
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Published in Management Decision, 1998
A groundbreaking, even revolutionary, paper that shows why leadership behaviors must be consistent with Lean management system. Inconsistencies result in behavioral waste, which adds cost but adds no value. This is the paper that coined the terms "Lean behaviors" and "behavioral waste."Continuous Personal Improvement
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Journal of Workplace Learning, 1998
Shows how Lean tools and processes can be applied to the challenge of improving one's interpersonal, managerial, and leadership skills. Discusses how the management system in use, Lean, can be applied to personal development, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for complex organizational behavior, organizational development, or leadership models that can be difficult understand to apply actual workplace settings.
"Principles for Responsible Business"
by The Caux Round Table, 2009
Non-zero-sum business principles that every Lean business must subscribe to in support of the "Respect for People" principle. Very similar in content to Toyota's CSR POLICY: "Contribution towards Sustainable Development," but which can be adopted (unabridged) by any business.
Papers for Lean Educators
These papers will be of interest to teachers in higher education. The papers listed below, in addition to those listed in "Papers" tab, will be useful as reading assignments in courses on Lean management, operations management, supply chain management, and human resources (particularly courses on organizational behavior and leadership). Educators have successfully used our books as required reading in their courses, particularly Better Thinking, Better Results, and the REAL LEAN series.
Frank George Woollard: Forgotten Pioneer of Flow Production
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani and P.J. Seymour
Forthcoming in Journal of Management History, late 2010
Frank George Woollard (1883-1957) established a low-volume flow production system in the British motor industry in the mid-1920s that contained most of the elements of Toyota's post-1950 production system. This paper is based on newly discovered journal papers, his long-forgotten 1954 book, Principles of Mass and Flow Production, newly discovered archives, and new first-hand testimony from a close friend and from a long-time family friend. Woollard's work is so significant that the timelines for discoveries and attributions of key accomplishments in Lean management must be revised.Historical Lessons in Purchasing and Supplier Relationship Management
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Journal of Management History, 2010
Purchasing goods and services is a very important aspect of Lean management. This paper provides a very interesting historical background of non-zero-sum (win-win) purchasing and supplier relationship management as advocated by pioneering purchasing practitioners in the first half of the 20th century compared to current-day widespread zero-sum (win-lose) practices. Educators who teach operations management or supply chain management are encouraged to use this paper in their courses to broaden students' perspectives of the history of purchasing and supplier relationship management.Kaizen Team Leader Guide
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Unpublished work, 2009
For use by educators to conduct kaizens for improving academic courses and degree programs.Origins of Lean Management in America: The Role of Connecticut Businesses
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Journal of Management History, 2006
This paper discusses the history of Lean management in America and describes the important roles that Connecticut businesses played in adopting and disseminating Lean management nationwide. Educators who teach operations management are encouraged to use this paper in their courses to broaden students' perspectives of the history of Lean management.Improving Management Education
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Quality Assurance in Education, 2006
Discusses how management education can be significantly improved by correcting several obvious deficiencies in courses and degree programs to create a highly differentiated educational experience that is more relevant to student's needs and the organizations that employ them.Using Kaizen to Improve Graduate Business School Degree Programs
Highly Commended Paper Award Winner
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Quality Assurance in Education, 2005
A groundbreaking paper that describes how to conduct kaizens for academic courses and degree programs. Discusses the first-ever kaizens in higher education, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Hartford, Conn. campus) in 2002-2003. Use with the Kaizen Team Leader Guide.Improving Business School Courses by Applying Lean Principles and Practices
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Quality Assurance in Education, 2004
A groundbreaking paper that describes how faculty can apply Lean principles and practices to the design and delivery of their courses (any course), for the purpose of improving student satisfaction and to better prepare students for employment.Is Management Education Beneficial to Society?
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2004
Examines US-style management education and presents important opportunities for improvement will deliver greater benefits to society while simultaneously promoting the interests of business and their stakeholders.A Mathematical Logic Approach to the Shareholder vs. Stakeholder Debate
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2001
A simple yet rigorous analysis that corrects a common misunderstanding among faculty and students, and also is a key prerequisite for understanding how to correctly apply the "Respect for People" principle in Lean management.The False Promise of "What Gets Measured Gets Managed"
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2000
This is an important paper for business school students. Using simple mathematical logic, it disproves the popular adage "what gets measured gets managed." Managers will make better decision when use fewer, more meaningful metrics and when they use an appropriate balance of quantitative metrics and qualitative data and information.The Oath of Management
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani
Management Decision, 2000
A solemn oath that every business school professor should require their students to subscribe to.
"Principles for Responsible Business"
by The Caux Round Table, 2009
You should introduce this to your students no matter what you teach. It is an expression of non-zero-sum business principles that every Lean business must subscribe to. Very similar in content to Toyota's CSR POLICY: "Contribution towards Sustainable Development," but which can be adopted (unabridged) by any business.
Odds 'n Ends
Here some things that I think will find interesting and useful.
Relationship Between the "Continuous Improvement" and "Respect for People" Principles
Test your knowledge of Lean management. See if you can put at least one item in each of the 55 cells. Once you achieve that, try putting 3 items in each cell, then 5, and so on. There is no rush to complete this matrix. Just keep thinking and working on it.
The Cost of Waste, Unevenness, and Unreasonableness
An estimate of the cost of WUU for a hypothetical company, and what you could do with the money if large amounts of WUU were eliminated. Does not include the cost of behavioral waste.
Emiliani's Lean Management Scratchpad
One reason why senior managers have difficulty practicing REAL Lean every day is because they lack visual controls - reminders - of what to do. Send this .pdf file to your commercial printer to make 50-page scratch pads that people can use in meetings to take notes on, to print meeting agendas, etc. The words in the background will serve as useful reminders of what to do, questions to ask, etc. [Please do not edit; use as-is.] Let me know how you like it!
"If the worker hasn't learned, then the instructor hasn't taught."
TWI folks are fond of this saying. While as a teacher I completely agree with the sentiment, is this really a true statement? I determine the truth of this statement using mathematical logic.
Lean Word Search Puzzle
See if you can find all 37 words.
Lean Crossword Puzzle
Enjoy it.
"The Spirit and Social Significance of Scientific Management"
A wonderful description of Scientific Management (Lean management's direct antecedent) by Morris Cooke, a close colleague of Frederic W. Taylor. Written in 1913, a few years after Scientific Management became widely known by the public, Cooke makes clear the importance of the worker and how they must be respected. A must-read for anyone who thinks that Taylor and his colleagues had as their intent to turn workers into unthinking robots. That outcome was the result of narrow-minded managers and unscrupulous consultants who misunderstood and misapplied Scientific Management and turned it into a mean-spirited, zero-sum exercise in maximizing efficiencies at workers' expense. The parallels to modern-day Lean management are stunning.
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