In its first 25 years there have been many definitions of 'Lean,' typically centered around cost reduction or tool/technical in nature. But the idea of "Humans striving to better flow value to a customer" is a mindset that should perhaps underlie all of them, and may be a better place to start our thinking.

1. WHAT IS “LEAN” ABOUT?
By Mike Rother
and Jeff Liker
January 2015

2. The word "Lean" was coined in 1990, as a new paradigm
of management that led to Toyota’s enduring success.
That's now 25 years -- or about one generation -- ago.
With this SlideShare we'd like to raise three issues for
us in the Lean Community to think about. Our goal is
to stimulate some reflection, thought and discussion
as the Lean Community marks its 25th anniversary and
looks ahead.
REFLECTION
& LOOKING
AHEAD
It's 2015!
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3. • Toyota has been profitable for over 55 years, missing
only one year—that of the Great Recession.
• Toyota became the world's most successful auto company
in vehicles sold, brand equity and market value growing
organically.
• Many companies have had long runs of exceptional
customer satisfaction and bottom-line results because
of their Lean efforts, even if management changes
sometimes then derailed those efforts. These include:
Lean Has Had Lots of Successes
 Lantech
 Danaher
 U.S. Synthetic
 Thedacare
 Herman Miller
 Goodyear Tire
 Zingerman’s Mail Order
 Embraer
 Autoliv
 John Deere
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4. On the Other Hand...
Jim Womack’s recent 25-year reflection on Lean:
Most management decided they could outsource Lean…
"Please go do it, here’s your budget, and please get some
results, we won’t be too precise about that, and now I will
be on to the next issue." And of course that is unlikely to
produce much of a result… It produces something, but it
doesn’t produce what we had intended, which was that
this would become the core way that managers think.
Planet Lean Interview, UK Lean Summit, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYi6gkFYYpU
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5. A Reflection on Lean in Three Acts
Each point we present
includes slides + a short video
1) A First Definition of "Lean"?
2) Lean = Exceptional Human Endeavor
3) Striving for Efficiency is Not Enough
Read the slides, watch the videos
and see what you think
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6. In the past 25 years we've often tried
to define Lean by listing things like its
elements and principles.
A different kind of definition is less about
"things" associated with Lean and more
about describing the mindset of Lean.
For example, the following definition,
published in the February 2014 issue of
Quality Progress, could make a good
'first definition' of Lean.
(1) A First Definition of "Lean"
“Lean is the permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer”
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7. What We Mean by 'First Definition'
What is Lean??
“Lean is the permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer”
This first definition focuses on what we are trying to do,
while many start with a definition of how to approach it
“We do that by..." "It involves..."
A 'first definition'
+
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Further
definition

8. Start with Some Sense of Direction
“Lean is the permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer”
Why might a description of Lean like this
be useful to precede ones that describe
Lean elements, results & principles?
In organizations that see strategic advantage in continually
improving, leaders should articulate customer-related
challenges that create focus and passion. Just saying Lean is
about its elements or “developing people,” “continuously
improving,” "problem solving," “cost reduction,” “efficiency”
or "doing more with less" often turns into the uninspiring
add-on programs that Jim Womack decries.
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9. Source: "Lean practitioner’s definitions in max 3 words"
www.linkedin.com/groups/Toyota-Way-4797470?gid=4797470&mostPopular=&trk=tyah
Common Lean Definitions Miss
Some Essential Lean Thinking
More For Less • Strong Problem Solvers • Chase the Waste
• Bias for Action • Quality, Cost , Delivery • War
on Waste • Make Value flow • Cost Reduction System
• Use resources effectively • Logical, efficient workflows
• Flow, synchronization & leveling • Process Improvement
These are not bad definitions, but they only emphasize
Lean results, elements & people-as-problem-solvers
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10. This first definition by its nature requires elements
like continuous improvement and developing
people’s improvement capability.
For example, developing
capability gets pulled by
the overarching challenge of trying to get ever closer
to a 1x1 flow of value to the customer. If one takes
on that challenge, it will then demand that an
organization develop and mobilize the human
capabilities of its members and teams.
In Other Words, Let's Not Put
the Lean Elements Before Customers
"The permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer"
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11. Let’s take a closer look
at this elevator-speech
definition
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12. Permanent and better mean never-ending
and on-going, because any situation can be
further improved.
You’ll never, ever be at the ideal state of
your distant vision…. and that is the beauty!
The permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer
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13. Struggle is recognizing that you may learn
something from each step. It's about striving for
the next Target Condition through the grey zone
of uncertainty -- where you are not always right --
and realizing that there will be another Target
Condition after that.
You take a step, encounter new information,
evaluate it, revise your understanding based on
what you learn, and plan the next step toward
the Target Condition accordingly.
Without struggle we are only doing what we
already know… and what our competitors know.
The permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer
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14. To flow is not simply to ‘provide.’ For instance,
it’s not just holding items in inventory in the
hope that you'll have on hand what a customer
wants, but rather to create and provide what
the customer wants when they want or need it.
This ideal of such a pure 1x1 flow may not be
entirely reachable, but it gives a perpetual
target to those organizations who view this as
strategic.
The permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer
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15. The concept value is defined by deeply
understanding customers, and evolves
over time.
The permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer
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16. To each customer means that at the end of a
value stream there’s a single customer with
particular wants or needs.
Toyota has a saying: “We make millions of cars,
but the customer buys only one.” From our
perspective we may think we are supplying many
customers, but turn that around to the
customer’s perspective and there is only one.
The permanent struggle to
better flow value to each customer
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17. Although a definition of Lean is not necessarily a
‘mission statement,’ the following video by Dan
Heath about mission statements gets at a point
being made here.
On Next
Page
Video 1

18. To aspire, strive or reach.
A conscientious or concerted
effort toward an end.
Purposeful or industrious
activity; enterprise.
(2) Lean =
Exceptional Human Endeavor
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19. Let's Face It...We Are Almost Always
in the Unpredictable Learning Zone
Whether reacting to deviations from standards or striving
for a new level, the Lean mindset & approach is roughly
the same in each case... it involves a scientific process of
testing and possibly adjusting as you strive to reach a
goal. Why? Because you never know for sure how you
are going to get there, until you get there and look back.
Predictable Zone
Current
Knowledge
Threshold
Next
Target
Condition
Unpredictable / Learning Zone
?
We want
to be here
next
?
19

20. On Next
Page
Video 2
We often think we are in the predictable zone when
in reality we're in the unpredictable learning zone.

21. (3) Striving for Efficiency
is Not Enough
Over the last 25 years the Lean community seems
to have internalized and operated on the idea that
Toyota's growth and prosperity stemmed from
eliminating waste for greater efficiency. We've been
selling Lean as a cost-reduction tool for so long that
most leaders probably think that is its only goal.
Today we know that Toyota's success came from
striving scientifically to achieve many types of
challenging goals, not just cost reduction.
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22. What Do You Want to Achieve?
Focusing on waste elimination and cost reduction
alone is no guarantee of business success. The Lean
idea of 'value' involves understanding your customer
& environment, defining a strategic direction that
will set you apart in delivering customer value, and
mobilizing the organization in that pursuit.
A narrow focus on minimizing waste
and cost alone is ultimately not what
will help organizations meet the
challenges they face and differentiate
themselves from competitors.
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23. We often miss this point. It is many ideas that
through experimentation develop into one winner!
Experimenting
our way forward
Increasing Knowledge
Innovation in All Areas of the
Organization is the Result of Experiments
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24. On Next
Page
Video 3
The third video is 16 minutes long, but well worth
watching by anyone in the Lean community. Professor
Clayton Christensen talks about the limits of efficiency
improvements and the need to also pursue strategic
breakthrough objectives.

25. Best Wishes
for a 2015 filled with
experimenting, learning
and success!
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