The Lean Enterprise: Designing and Managing Strategic Processes for Customer-Winning Performance

What is a "lean" enterprise? According to the authors of this breakthrough book, it's a company that has organized and focused itself around only a few key processes rather than spread itself over a complex hierarchy.

In a "fat" company, the focus is on departments (such as sales, quality control, or research). In a lean organization, the focus is on a few big-picture processes, such as developing new business.

This change in emphasis is the critical difference between innovative firms and the lethargic pack of also-rans. This eye-opening book:

** explores "process management" as a corporate strategy -- and how to implement it
** presents insightful case studies of several companies and their journeys toward process-driven competitive strategies
** explains the four primary processes vital to all companies

Dan Dimancescu (Cambridge, MA) is the founder of the Technology and Strategy Group and an adjunct professor at Boston University. He is the author of World-Class New Product Development (Amacom) and Seamless Enterprise. Peter Hines (Cardiff, Wales) is deputy director of Cardiff Business School's Lean Enterprise Research Center, and Nick Rich is a senior research fellow at the same university.