If Taiichi Ohno rejoined the living, what would he have to say about Lean? The conversation might go something like this: Bob Emiliani: Hello Ohno-san. I am happy to see you. I have a lot of questions that I hope you will answer. Taiichi Ohno: Can you not think for yourself? Emiliani: I can, thanks to you and some others. Then, please let me just ask just one question. It seems you have become aware of this thing called “Lean.” What do you think of it? Ohno: Yes, I am aware of it. But I do not understand it. Why did people not take the Toyota production system and adapt it to their own circums ..read more

If Taiichi Ohno were alive today and witnessing what Lean has become — from a generic term for Toyota Production System (TPS) in 1988 to a product that sells quite well but does little to alter the status quo — I think he would be quite unhappy. Ohno-san reportedly hurt himself with Toyota executives more senior than him for bringing TPS to the world. He sacrificed his own interests for our benefit by writing three books (here, here, and here), creating the New Production System Research Association in Japan, and launching Shingijutsu Consultants (here and here). He gave us these great gifts ..read more

Lately, I have been thinking more about these words I write in the blog post “Lean Zombies:” When one looks at all the great management thinkers over the last 100 years — from Taylor, the Gilbreths, to Follett, Mayo, Deming, Ohno Drucker, Argyris, Kanter, Senge, Schein, etc. — they have all had senior leaders’ attention (and lucrative consulting work) at one point or another. But whatever they may have taught executives has proven to be largely non-transferable from one generation of leaders to the next. All of this great thinking has proven to be largely ephemeral; curiosities that do n ..read more

Mark Graban recently hosted James P. Womack on his podcast titled: “Jim Womack’s Observations and Reflections on the Evolution of Lean.” Dr. Womack made a few interesting comments that are worthy of some analysis. Let’s begin here: So [it is] quite amazing to me that the book [The Machine That Changed the World, published in 1990] says very clearly, if you really want to get the full result, you need to do the whole system. And nobody got that… So it’s interesting what people hear, and the same thing with the Lean Thinking book, that what they heard was all tools… So that’s one of the curiou ..read more

I am excited to bring you this great new feature! Introducing “Bob’s AI Book Chatbot.” As you know, I have written 28 books across a variety of subjects. Perhaps you, like many others, would like a way to obtain useful information but you do not have the time to read a book. The AI Book Chatbot will quickly help you get the information you need. So don’t let time constraints or a dislike of reading books stop you from getting the information that you need to succeed! The AI Book Chatbot gives you 24 hour access to US$635 worth of books for only US$20. And you can ask unlimited questions! There ..read more

Pull requires a significantly different type of CEO leadership than push. Click here to learn more ..read more

When you love something too much it can prevent you from seeing problems that you need to see. Love is blind. Many people are so in love with Lean that they are essentially “Lean groupies,” which I define as: Excessively devoted fans of Lean celebrities who intently and uncritically follow their words and work and heap praise on them to gain their attention and affection. The folks whom Lean groupies admire, as well as devotion to Lean itself, rigidly defend Lean against intrusion of anything that could tarnish the luster of Lean or its celebrities. This is commendable from the perspective ..read more

Today I posted these two items on LinkedIn (click here and here to view them). Note: To the simple minds, this blog post expresses war and hate. To the intelligent, it merely points out the facts. Which are you? Research? ? As far as know… The number of peer-reviewed research papers since 2000 = 0 The number of research books or monographs since 2000 = 1; the ill-titled 2019 book, “The Birth of Lean” ? https://bobemiliani.com/words-and-facts-matter/ But in fact, n= 0 given that book is a republication of a 2001 Japanese book. What I see is the avoidance of research. But, I do see a business ..read more

Many years ago I learned the term “materiality” in accounting practice. It is defined as: Materiality is an accounting principle which states that all items that are reasonably likely to impact investors’ decision-making must be recorded or reported in detail in a business’s financial statements using GAAP standards. Essentially, materiality is related to the significance of information within a company’s financial statements. If a transaction or business decision is significant enough to warrant reporting to investors or other users of the financial statements, that information is ‘material ..read more

Welcome to my book chatbot! I have written a lot of books and perhaps you, like others, would like a way to obtain some useful information but you do not have the time to read a book. That AI Book Chatbot will help you get the information you need. The AI Book Chatbot gives you access to US$635 worth of books for only US$20 and for up to 40 questions. AI chatbots are a new technology. Please read the terms and conditions for chatbot use which describe important information regarding limitations of use, copyrights, “fair use” of chatbot responses, and the proper format for citing chatbot respo ..read more