To find out how lean can be leveraged across an organization, MA Senior Editor Stephanie Neil e-mailed with John Shook, a senior adviser to the nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute, where he writes a weekly column, “Lean Management.” Shook learned about lean management while working for Toyota for nearly 11 years, helping it transfer production, engineering, and management systems from Japan to North America. His most recent book is Managing to Learn: Using the A3 management process to solve problems, gain agreement, mentor, and lead.
Q: What is the state of lean in the manufacturing community?
A: Many manufacturers have adopted or at least tried to implement lean in their direct production operations. Fewer have adopted lean thinking in critical areas, such as engineering, R&D, sales and marketing, or support functions, such as finance, IT, or human resources. Companies that have not yet adopted lean thinking in those areas tend to struggle eventually. Companies that embrace lean thinking throughout are showing progress even in these tough times.
Q: What are the top three business drivers influencing the adoption of lean programs?