Better Thinking, Better Results: Case Study and Analysis of an Enterprise-Wide Lean Transformation

This is the only book I know that shows how to manage the transformation of a company from traditional manufacturing to a thoroughly lean organization. The book contains a detailed case study of the lean journey of the Wiremold Corporation (and it's managers) from the early 1990's to the present day. Addressing such issues as the kaizen culture, lean as a people process, customer-focused product development, providing value for your customers, and lean accounting; this book goes way beyond the tools & methods of lean manufacturing to the practical implementation of lean management. I would recommend this as a "must read" for any management team serious about lean transformation.

This exceptional book covers all the aspects of a successful Lean transformation, explained into a rich mix of: sequence of events, Lean theory and testimonials from the ones involved. This mix makes the book easy to read and greatly facilitates the understanding. It helped me realize the huge gap between what Bob Emiliani calls Fake Lean and Real Lean, and why successful Lean transformations are so rare. Great reference!

Fantastic book for learning about the lean transformation of a company. A must read for any lean professional.

Good Book.

Book can be very informative specially in my case where I was clueless about Lean. The one thing that I did not like is that it was very very repetitive. I guess it being an informational book I would want to hear more facts and not just read the same things over and over. It has lead me to read other books about Lean and TPS.

Very informative and helpful. This book addresses lean as a business solution, not just for manufacturing. I have been working at adapting it in my business.

it was helpful~!

I've always considered the first edition of this book to be the best real-world example of how to execute a lean enterprise transformation. The story of Wiremold is one of the unfortunately rare cases of a group of executives that understand that lean is not only about continuous improvement, but also respect for people. The operational and financial results that Art Byrne and his Wiremold team achieved are stunning and inspirational. This second edition also includes an update that describes what has happened at Wiremold after Legrand purchased the company. Unfortunately it's a sad story of reverting back to the old batch and queue methods and losing operational excellence. But Bob Emiliani is able to turn that negative outcome into a very thought-provoking lesson for all of us on how tenuous and fragile lean enterprise excellence can be.