Guest Post: The Top 10 Lean Books of All Time

Do you know what lean manufacturing is? If not, then you haven’t heard of one of the most important and useful ways to manage a manufacturing enterprise. The concept of lean manufacturing arose from the work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Toyota's production system. Initially, lean was created by Toyota to conduct business in a more effective way. The techniques they have been using are the six basic “lean” principles, which can be suitable for any business or production process.

These principles are used to improve the efficiency of manufacturing operations and include the elimination of waste, continuous development, respect for humanity, levelized production, just in time production, and quality built in. The advantages of lean manufacturing are so great that more and more companies, startups and entrepreneurs tend to adopt them as soon as possible.

If you’re interested in learning more about lean, you search for suitable literature on this topic. In recent years, there have been so many publications on lean change management that it is sometimes difficult to choose the best ones. Therefore, we have prepared for you a top of the best books on lean management.

The Best Lean Books for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

In order to learn more about lean, we’ve prepared 10 most efficient and informative books recommended you read as well.

1. The Machine That Changed the World.

A book produced by James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos is, in fact, the beginning of everything connected with the lean production. You will be able to read the entire history of lean in the automotive industry. The book was created thanks to the enormous work of the authors, who analyzed the production system of Toyota, explored their basic lean principles and demonstrated their usefulness in any industry.

2. Lean Thinking.

A valuable creation again by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones that can be considered as a complement or continuation of their first book. This publication contains practical information on lean production. This book is more like a collection of the basic lean principles for the companies management, rather than a collection of step-by-step manuals with the use of lean manufacturing techniques.

3. The Lean Turnaround.

The book “The Lean Turnaround” is one of the best entrepreneur books of all time. Art Byrne, the author of this book, managed to determine the real lean strategies for entrepreneurs thanks to his numerous examples and practical results. 

4. The Toyota Way.

One of the premium lean management books free download is “The Toyota Way” written by Jeffrey Liker. Before the publication of this lean book in 2003, all the other authors focused on the technical aspects of Toyota Production System. The Toyota Way consists of 14 lean principles, which can be used as methods of managing an organization in the lean style.

5. The Toyota Way Fieldbook.

With the help of David Meier, Jeffrey Liker published the second part of the previous book. The Toyota Way Fieldbook contains the same 14 lean principles, but with a more detailed description and implementation (helpful tips and steps, troubles to avoid and reflection questions).

6. The High-Velocity Edge.

Steven Spear’s work on lean manufacturing was primarily called “Chasing the Rabbit.” To manage writing this book, Steven analyzed the work and production of such organizations like Toyota, Alcoa, and the United States Nuclear Navy. In the end, he figured out four important factors of improvement that became the core ideas of the book: problem solving, system design, knowledge sharing and people development.

7. Getting the Right Things Done.

To get the right strategy for entrepreneurship, you should certainly read this book by Pascal Dennis. It provides a guide for planning and executing the strategy deployment, and teaches you how to properly use your strategy to achieve greater goals in any industry.

8. Creating a Lean Culture.

An accessible and convenient book for those who want to get acquainted with lean management in the shortest possible time. The work of David Mann comprises four crucial lean principles: the leader standard work, visual controls, staff discipline, and daily accountability process.

9. Toyota Kata.

 “Toyota Kata” written by Mike Rother has the privilege over other lean books and publications since it interprets Lean as a set of simple rules for the overall improvement of an organization at all levels.

10. Real Lean Volume 1.

The top guide for lean manufacturing is the book “Real Lean: Volume 1”, published by Bob Emiliani. If you decide to take a course on Lean in your company, you are provided with the main strategies, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as the goals of adopting this enterprise management concept.

About Author: 

Lisa Griffin is a blogger and freelance writer whose lifestyle credo is "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."