Book Review: Lean Made Simple

I just finished reading Lean Made Simple by Ryan Tierney which is an excellent guide for anyone looking to implement Lean principles in a practical and straightforward way. Ryan breaks down the concepts into actionable steps that are easy to understand and apply, even for those just starting their Lean journey.

Ryan Tierney leads operations at small, family run business making medical chairs with his brothers in Northern Ireland. After some business struggles and looking for answers Ryan came across Paul Aker’s videos about 2 Second Lean which turned his intrigue in Lean to a fascination.

Ryan documents the steps he took to create a vibrant, world-class Lean culture that has attracted the attention of industry leaders from around the world including Toyota, Lexus, Coca Cola, Caterpillar and even Royalty!

By doing the basics consistently and committing to these 12 steps you will be able to positively impact the people you serve, your organization and your community.

Step 1 – It starts with the leaders

Step 2 – Hold a morning meeting

Step 3 -Create a Lean leaders group

Step 4 – Create an example area

Step 5 – Teach your people to see waste

Step 6 – Introduce improvement time

Step 7 – Introduce yokoten

Step 8 – Make improving easy

Step 9 – Solve your inventory problems

Step 10 – Create standard operating procedures

Step 11 – Implement total ownership

Step 12 – Connect with other Lean enthusiasts

 Each chapter has Ryan’s recommendations, answers to burning questions, and prompts to make you think about your own organization to get you started creating your Lean culture. Ryan also shares a number of resources with QR codes to further your learning like podcasts, YouTube videos, and other literature at LeanMadeSimple.com/bookresources.

A very easy to read book at only 152 pages, this is a quick read in about 90 minutes. Ryan packs this book full of simple but very practical and highly effective tips to start the transformation of any company towards a more engaging, more efficient, more fulfilling place to work. 

This is a must-read for anyone wanting to transform their organizational culture.

Get your copy here.