Creating Value is a practical, story-driven guide to building organizations where people are empowered, processes are continuously improved, and value is created for every stakeholder—employees, customers, and owners. Drawing from more than 30 years of hands-on transformation work across more than 40 companies and 1,000+ workshops, John Rizzo distills a holistic business system grounded in respect for people, presence at the workplace, and relentless attention to improving value streams.

The book begins with Rizzo’s formative experience at Crouse-Hinds, where listening to a machine operator’s simple suggestion—“move the machine six inches”—ignited a cultural shift and demonstrated the profound impact of respecting those who do the work. This moment becomes the foundation for his approach: observe the work, listen deeply, and improve continuously. Rizzo contrasts this people-centered method with today’s frequent “value extraction” mindset—short-term financial engineering, siloed decision-making, and a view of employees as expendable. Instead, he presents a long-term model where operational excellence, problem solving at the source, and frontline empowerment drive enduring value.

This book is especially valuable for leaders at all levels—from CEOs to plant managers, CI professionals, and frontline supervisors—who want to create organizations that learn faster, solve problems at the root, and build cultures of respect. It’s equally relevant for those outside manufacturing, including teams in healthcare, administrative services, retail, property management, and technology. Anyone interested in Lean thinking, operational excellence, developing people, or building resilient organizations will find the content immediately applicable. Rizzo’s cross-industry stories make clear that the principles work everywhere because people and processes exist everywhere.

It’s worth reading because Rizzo avoids abstract theory and instead delivers proven, real-world lessons from decades of transformation work. He makes the case that excellence isn’t created by tools or slogans but through a holistic business system—strategy deployment, value stream analysis, daily improvement, standard work, and quality at the source—all tied together by humility and respect. The book provides not just methods but a compelling philosophy: create value by empowering people. In an era when many organizations chase quick wins or financial engineering, Rizzo offers a roadmap for leaders who want sustainable improvement, healthier cultures, and stronger long-term performance.

A central theme throughout the book is the power of a holistic business system—not isolated kaizen events or tool-focused Lean programs, but a fully integrated management approach that includes being present at the Gemba, aligning through strategy deployment, mapping and improving value streams, developing management systems, and relentlessly eliminating waste. These components reinforce one another and enable breakthrough performance: dramatic quality gains, shorter lead times, improved safety, stronger financial performance, and higher employee engagement.

The book is filled with real-world stories from manufacturing, healthcare, service industries, retail, and property management—each illustrating the universal applicability of the system. Whether improving the flow of dirty linens in a commercial laundry, reducing distance traveled in a medical implants factory, or reshaping how an HVAC manufacturer approaches quality, Rizzo shows that the system works everywhere. Ultimately, Creating Value is a call to action for leaders to adopt a long-term, people-first mindset. It shows that the path to sustainable competitive advantage is not through cutting costs but through developing people, perfecting processes, and aligning around what truly creates value.