Lean Thinking

James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones argue that companies stall because managers lose sight of what the customer actually values. The first part sets out five principles: specify value, map the value stream for each product family, make the remaining steps flow, let the customer pull, and pursue perfection by removing muda, or waste. The second part follows firms that made the change, among them Porsche, Showa Manufacturing, Wiremold, Lantech and Pratt & Whitney. A final part gives the order of steps for applying lean thinking, stressing that value streams should be mapped first so effort goes where it matters most.

It appears on a reported list of 12 books that Jeff Bezos expects Amazon employees to read.