Book Review: Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade

Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade written by Robert Martichenko is a not your typical lean book. It's written from the perspective of the author visiting his daughter's 1st grade class and discovering methods for teaching and managing the classroom that seem very similar to the Toyota Production System.

Adopting a Lean culture plays itself out in a variety of ways within this elementary school, but more important than the specific ways in which it manifests itself, are the principles behind it. The author’s writing style interweaves the experience of first grade for the first time with points of reflection on lean principles.

I’ve had a similar experience as the author visiting my own kids’ elementary schools. There are examples of 5S, standard work, visual controls, and many other systems. I could easily relate to the authors’ viewpoints.

Great concept to tell the Lean story. It’s a short, simple to read, and easily understood book. Good introduction to Lean concepts presented in an accessible and practical manner.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Lean. If you are a practitioner there are good examples used as a reminder and if you are new to Lean this book illiterates the concepts well in familiar situations.

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