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An easy read with practical anecdotes throughout the text.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road
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Embarking on a lean journey is similar to hitchhiking -- there are many roads on which to wander and no single one is right for all. This book reveals the most critical lessons learned over the authors' combined 30-plus years of exploring lean highways and shares stories based on real-world applications. The authors focus on areas where most lean efforts fail to illustrate steps to take to reenergize, accelerate and sustain a lean transformation. The book's ten chapters cover lean principles and thinking, lean leadership moves, the roadmap for lean transformation, common pitfalls of lean journeys, building an operating system, lean accounting, lean material management, lean in service organizations, and how individuals can apply lean to improve themselves. The book concludes with interviews of lean practitioners on the front lines of change at Chrysler, Ross Controls, DTE Energy. RSR Corporation, and Nemak.
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Genres
managementbusiness
216 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1,2005
This edition
- Format
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216 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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December 1, 2005 by Society of Manufacturing Engineers
- ISBN
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9780872638310
- ASIN
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0872638316
- Language
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English
About the author
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As Founder of JFlinch, Jamie Flinchbaugh has helped purpose-driven leaders craft effective, resilient organizations at over 300 companies. Leveraging more than 30-years of experience and helping build over 20 companies, Jamie collaborates with leaders and their teams to bridge capability, strategic, cultural, and systems gaps so that they can safely span potential pitfalls and have a purposeful impact on their organizations.
Jamie has helped leaders across a wide spectrum of industries including healthcare, utilities, technology, consumer products, and professional services, including Harley-Davidson, Intel, Mars, Amazon, Crayola, Fidelity, Whirlpool, among many others.
Jamie is the author of People Solve Problems, The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem and co-author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean, Lessons from the Road and is the host of the podcast, People Solve Problems and the co-host of the Lean Whiskey podcast. He currently lives in Bucks County, PA with his wife, Jill Triani. Together they have three children, Emma, Jack, and Ben.
Jamie has helped leaders across a wide spectrum of industries including healthcare, utilities, technology, consumer products, and professional services, including Harley-Davidson, Intel, Mars, Amazon, Crayola, Fidelity, Whirlpool, among many others.
Jamie is the author of People Solve Problems, The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem and co-author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean, Lessons from the Road and is the host of the podcast, People Solve Problems and the co-host of the Lean Whiskey podcast. He currently lives in Bucks County, PA with his wife, Jill Triani. Together they have three children, Emma, Jack, and Ben.
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Did you know that everything you need to know about Lean is conveniently, improbably and irritatingly arranged in groups of five? Five phases, five dimensions, five keys, five factors, etc.
Between the forced five groupings (unfortunately no Fox Force Five) and the dry writing style, readers of this book will acquire some truly useful and information about Lean but will also most likely alternate between boredom and annoyance.
Great concepts with a flawed execution. I'll be keeping it for reference, but doubt that I'll ever have the patience to read it cover-to-cover again.
Between the forced five groupings (unfortunately no Fox Force Five) and the dry writing style, readers of this book will acquire some truly useful and information about Lean but will also most likely alternate between boredom and annoyance.
Great concepts with a flawed execution. I'll be keeping it for reference, but doubt that I'll ever have the patience to read it cover-to-cover again.
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Best book on lean that I have read. Of course I only read 2.
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Flinchbaugh uses some different terms, but his lessons were identical to my lessons from my Toyota mentor. As a professional colleague, I can say his thinking is identical to my own, his experiences similar, and his commitment to Lean second to none. One of my favorite Lean books.
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READ MAR 2022
Good book for anyone considering embarking on a lean approach. Authors do a good job of focusing in the principles and idea of "lean thinking" to achieve culture change versus lean as a "program" to be implemented.
Good book for anyone considering embarking on a lean approach. Authors do a good job of focusing in the principles and idea of "lean thinking" to achieve culture change versus lean as a "program" to be implemented.
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As a lean leader in my organization and a Six Sigma Black Belt, here are my impressions:
Oh No, Not Another Book About Lean!
Admittedly this was my first thought. But I've long admired Mr. Flinchbaugh's blog and his seemingly honest, straightforward, and technically sound approach to lean; so I figured I'd give it a try. The first section is a basic lean overview, but it does offer an interesting distillation of lean into a few basic principles. Even several years into a lean journey of my own, I found it to be a good perspective on the journey and its key guideposts. I found it especially helpful to be reminded of the importance of "high agreement".
Advice for Lean Leaders
The book also touches on one of the most important topics of lean transformation, leadership. Although I do not have nearly the depth or breath of experience in leading lean that Mr. Flinchbaugh has, my experiences align almost perfectly with the book's principles. I think this is a great synopsis of effective leadership, and I think that everyone in a lean leadership position should hear this message.
Charting Your Course
I've personally seen the enormous galvanizing power of both a roadmap and, as the book puts it, an operating system. These are crucial tools in getting going effectively, and I think chapters 4 and 5 do a good job of not letting us forget that.
Number Crunching
Chapter 6 reminds us that cost accounting can be a real impediment to lean transformation. I like that the subject is broached and that we can have the conversation. And I hope we see more progress in the area of lean accounting in the near future.
Material Movement
I like that this chapter doesn't focus solely on kanban; but rather it talks about more fundamental keys to making material flow, like eliminating waste and making things visible. I was pleasantly surprised by this approach and learned a lot.
You Want Fries With That?
I was especially interested in the chapter on service, since I've been spending more and more time trying to improve transactional processes. This was the first time I've seen a clear and concise breakdown of the elements necessary to effectively manage a lean transformation in a non-manufacturing environment. I found it very helpful.
Look in the Mirror
I get laughed at all the time for trying to find innovative ways to use lean in my personal life. So the chapter on "Personal Lean" hit very close to my heart. There's great stuff in there, including some very helpful tools. I like that someone else recognizes the tremendous value in walking the walk. I think this goes hand-in-hand with good leadership.
Case Studies
I always enjoy these, and there are some great ones at the end of the book.
Summary
I think Mr. Flinchbaugh has written a solid and comprehensive book on lean, and I would recommend it to anyone who is contemplating or who has set out on a lean journey of their own. No one can truly show the way, but in the pages of this book you'll find the knowledge necessary to plot your own course.
Oh No, Not Another Book About Lean!
Admittedly this was my first thought. But I've long admired Mr. Flinchbaugh's blog and his seemingly honest, straightforward, and technically sound approach to lean; so I figured I'd give it a try. The first section is a basic lean overview, but it does offer an interesting distillation of lean into a few basic principles. Even several years into a lean journey of my own, I found it to be a good perspective on the journey and its key guideposts. I found it especially helpful to be reminded of the importance of "high agreement".
Advice for Lean Leaders
The book also touches on one of the most important topics of lean transformation, leadership. Although I do not have nearly the depth or breath of experience in leading lean that Mr. Flinchbaugh has, my experiences align almost perfectly with the book's principles. I think this is a great synopsis of effective leadership, and I think that everyone in a lean leadership position should hear this message.
Charting Your Course
I've personally seen the enormous galvanizing power of both a roadmap and, as the book puts it, an operating system. These are crucial tools in getting going effectively, and I think chapters 4 and 5 do a good job of not letting us forget that.
Number Crunching
Chapter 6 reminds us that cost accounting can be a real impediment to lean transformation. I like that the subject is broached and that we can have the conversation. And I hope we see more progress in the area of lean accounting in the near future.
Material Movement
I like that this chapter doesn't focus solely on kanban; but rather it talks about more fundamental keys to making material flow, like eliminating waste and making things visible. I was pleasantly surprised by this approach and learned a lot.
You Want Fries With That?
I was especially interested in the chapter on service, since I've been spending more and more time trying to improve transactional processes. This was the first time I've seen a clear and concise breakdown of the elements necessary to effectively manage a lean transformation in a non-manufacturing environment. I found it very helpful.
Look in the Mirror
I get laughed at all the time for trying to find innovative ways to use lean in my personal life. So the chapter on "Personal Lean" hit very close to my heart. There's great stuff in there, including some very helpful tools. I like that someone else recognizes the tremendous value in walking the walk. I think this goes hand-in-hand with good leadership.
Case Studies
I always enjoy these, and there are some great ones at the end of the book.
Summary
I think Mr. Flinchbaugh has written a solid and comprehensive book on lean, and I would recommend it to anyone who is contemplating or who has set out on a lean journey of their own. No one can truly show the way, but in the pages of this book you'll find the knowledge necessary to plot your own course.
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I was a little hesitant to read a book on lean with a title like this, but one look at the table of contents had me interested enough to give this a try despite the gimmicky name. I was pleasantly surprised with the contents, and although I wouldn't call the material new and groundbreaking in general, it was clear that the content came from someone who has actually successfully been doing lean a long time (and by successfully, I mean that he has learned from his mistakes).
As the OpEx leader for the site, I am now always seeking good texts to share and discuss as a team. We as a leadership team attempt to read relevant texts together on operational excellence, and this one will probably to the third of four identified so far (2 have been read, this one begins late October 2009 using this text with a 4th book identified for 1Q2010).
Pro:
+ I think that the authors have been doing lean and continuous improvement for a long time... little things tell me so
+ Several interesting tips/tricks that I've been using a long time, but which I've not seen written/taught elsewhere
+ A chapter on lean pitfalls (a great conversation starter for leaders in our upcoming book group)
+ A chapter on lean accounting, albeit too short to be majorly useful (see cons section)
+ I appreciated the last chapter that interviewed lean practitioners... creates a sense that even the successful stumble and have regrets
+ Seemed to attempt to adopt and be in alignment with "principles, systems, tools" language from the Shingo prize (but often substituted "thinking" for "principles")
Con:
- Statements about unused creativity having no place in the 8 wastes is totally distressing! It is the premier waste that harbors all the others!
- Less coverage of lean itself... more about pitfalls, tips, leadership requirements, etc.
- Lean accounting chapter was too short and vague... for this topic look elsewhere
- Encouraging others to read this book was a real chore - the title is a real turn off, even for the most open-minded people. Why oh why did you do this???
- Not the most eloquently written book and was choppy at times. Some sentences appear like random fragments.
- Chapter summaries were not as good as other texts, and would like bulletized lists of items to be at the front of the chapter so that you know where it is going (tip: read the summary first)
- Why is every key topic broken into 5 sub-topics? Randomly one would think that some might actually be 6... or 4... or 7 even. I get the "more than 5 rule" but seriously, this a text. I think that we can handle more complexity - be true to the topic (we teach 17 principles of OE for example).
Bottom line: Generally solid, recommended for your reading groups. See my guide on "creating a thinking organization" for more. Of 30-40 books on excellence, this fails in the top 5 or so... wonderful must-have!
As the OpEx leader for the site, I am now always seeking good texts to share and discuss as a team. We as a leadership team attempt to read relevant texts together on operational excellence, and this one will probably to the third of four identified so far (2 have been read, this one begins late October 2009 using this text with a 4th book identified for 1Q2010).
Pro:
+ I think that the authors have been doing lean and continuous improvement for a long time... little things tell me so
+ Several interesting tips/tricks that I've been using a long time, but which I've not seen written/taught elsewhere
+ A chapter on lean pitfalls (a great conversation starter for leaders in our upcoming book group)
+ A chapter on lean accounting, albeit too short to be majorly useful (see cons section)
+ I appreciated the last chapter that interviewed lean practitioners... creates a sense that even the successful stumble and have regrets
+ Seemed to attempt to adopt and be in alignment with "principles, systems, tools" language from the Shingo prize (but often substituted "thinking" for "principles")
Con:
- Statements about unused creativity having no place in the 8 wastes is totally distressing! It is the premier waste that harbors all the others!
- Less coverage of lean itself... more about pitfalls, tips, leadership requirements, etc.
- Lean accounting chapter was too short and vague... for this topic look elsewhere
- Encouraging others to read this book was a real chore - the title is a real turn off, even for the most open-minded people. Why oh why did you do this???
- Not the most eloquently written book and was choppy at times. Some sentences appear like random fragments.
- Chapter summaries were not as good as other texts, and would like bulletized lists of items to be at the front of the chapter so that you know where it is going (tip: read the summary first)
- Why is every key topic broken into 5 sub-topics? Randomly one would think that some might actually be 6... or 4... or 7 even. I get the "more than 5 rule" but seriously, this a text. I think that we can handle more complexity - be true to the topic (we teach 17 principles of OE for example).
Bottom line: Generally solid, recommended for your reading groups. See my guide on "creating a thinking organization" for more. Of 30-40 books on excellence, this fails in the top 5 or so... wonderful must-have!
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A decent guide at a reasonable price. Makes a fairly quick read and a reference guide.
This was pretty much what I was looking for at the time.
This was pretty much what I was looking for at the time.
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