Lean Enterprise Institute Releases New "Womack on Lean Management" DVD

Online, January 22, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The lean thinking movement is evolving from a "tool age" to a new age focused on lean management, according to management expert and author James P. Womack, Ph. D., in a just-released DVD recording of a recent live video seminar with executives and managers.

"We all need to master and deploy lean tools," says Womack on the new "Womack on Lean Management" DVD. "But just as a carpenter needs a vision of what to build in order to get the full benefits of a hammer, we need to think differently before picking up lean tools to get their full benefits. The key to doing this is lean management."

In assessing the current state of lean, Womack said there has been "a lot of sawing and hammering, mostly aimed at waste reduction in operational processes" But companies have made "limited progress" in creating lean enterprises. The missing elements are lean management to sustain and steadily improve and lean leadership to transform traditional enterprises by introducing lean management.

Lean vs. Modern Management
During the seminar, which was broadcast live on the web on October 13, 2009, Womack explained why and how managers and executives must think and act in new and different ways in lean management systems.

During three Q & A sessions, he answered questions from managers and executives in a studio audience and training rooms around the world. In a special session recorded after the seminar, Womack responded to questions that he couldn't get to during the seminar. The questions represented major themes that attendees wanted to learn more about.

During the seminar and Q & A sessions, Womack addressed:
- Why lean management is the successor to "modern management" systems, descended from methods introduced by Alfred Sloan in the 1920s.
- How modern management became the predominant management model, even while being irreparably flawed.
- Why lean management is a fundamentally different and superior system.
- How you can thrive in this new management system.
- Why attempts to implement lean tools in the context of a modern management system are doomed.
- How to manage and lead in a lean environment and how it differs fundamentally from how you think and act in a traditional management environment.
- What are the three main tools of lean management and how to use them effectively.
- What you can do if you are in an environment that is resistant to change.

Lean Thinking
Jim Womack led the MIT research team that coined the term "lean" to describe Toyota's groundbreaking business system. He is the co-author of such important books as The Machine That Changed the World, Lean Thinking, Seeing the Whole, and Lean Solutions.

"Womack on Lean Management" DVD
- Section 1: What Managers Actually Do
- Section 2: Modern vs. Lean Management
- Section 3: Introduce Lean Management
- Bonus Section: Follow-up Q & A
- Runtime: 127 minutes, 10 seconds
- $299
- ISBN 978-1-934109-26-7

What is Lean?
The terms lean manufacturing, lean production, or lean management refer to a complete business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, suppliers, customer relations, and the overall enterprise that requires less capital, material, space, time, or human effort to produce products and services with fewer defects to precise customer desires, compared with traditional modern management. For background about lean management, visit the What Is Lean section of the LEI web site.