Most executives lead Lean transformations using the same leadership beliefs, behaviors, and competencies they relied on throughout their traditional leadership careers. That, more than any technical shortfall, is why so many Lean transformation efforts produce disappointing results.
Practical Lean Leadership offers executives a step-by-step guide to closing that gap. Built on years of industry practice and research recognized by the University of Toyota, it presents a coherent leadership development process from fundamental concepts through daily practice and performance feedback.
The book introduces the frameworks Lean Behaviors®, Behavioral Waste®, Continuous Personal Improvement™, and Standardized Work for Executive Leadership. along with an improved definition of leadership, a chapter on fifty common errors, and value stream mapping applied to leadership itself.
Self-study exercises close each chapter, and a detachable visual control card consolidates the key concepts for daily reference. A workbook built for doing, not just reading.
M.L. "Bob" Emiliani is a professor at Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn., where he teaches various courses on Lean management. Prior to that Bob worked in the consumer products and aerospace industries for nearly two decades. He held management positions in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain management, and had responsibility for implementing Lean in manufacturing operations and supply chains.
He has authored or co-authored a dozen papers related to Lean leadership including: "Lean Behaviors" (1998), "Linking Leaders' Beliefs to their Behaviors and Competencies" (2003), "Using Value Stream Maps to Improve Leadership" (2004), "Origins of Lean Management in America: The Role of Connecticut Businesses" (2006), and "Standardized Work for Executive Leadership (2008). Five of his papers have won awards for excellence.
Bob is the principal author of the book Better Thinking, Better Results: Case Study and Analysis of an Enterprise-Wide Lean Transformation, (second edition, 2007), a detailed case study and analysis of The Wiremold Company's Lean transformation from 1991 to 2001. It won a Shingo Research Prize in 2003 as the first book to describe an enterprise-wide Lean transformation in a real company where both principles of Lean management - "Continuous Improvement" and "Respect for People" - were applied.
He is also the author of REAL LEAN: Understanding the Lean Management System (Volume One) and REAL LEAN: Critical Issues and Opportunities in Lean Management (Volume Two), both published in 2007; and REAL LEAN: The Keys to Sustaining Lean Management (Volume Three), published in 2008.
Bob earned engineering degrees from the University of Miami, University of Rhode Island, and Brown University.
