Recently, I saw Jim Womack give two talks at the Global Lean Healthcare Summit. One was a talk that could have applied, about Lean in a general sense, to a manufacturing audience as well as a healthcare crowd.

One point Jim kept bringing up was the need for simple definitions of Lean. Most of you are probably familiar with the five principles of Lean from the book Lean Thinking.

Not that it was a terribly complicated definition, but now Jim is talking about Lean as three principles. As he puts it, “If you like the definition, use it, otherwise you can come up with a different one.”

• Purpose - start with a definition of your purpose, why are you in business?
• Process - define your processes and work toward perfection constantly, focus on your processes, not just on results
• People - Involve and develop your people.

It’s reminiscent of a different Toyota “3P” model.

What models or frameworks do you use for giving people a brief overview into the Lean approach?

Other Posts That Might Add Value:

• Who Coined the Term “Lean”? And Where is He Today?
• John Shook to Replace Jim Womack as CEO of Lean Enterprise Institute
• Jim Womack: “Tipping Point” for Lean Healthcare?
• Guest Post: You Don’t Have to be Lean to be Good
• Notes from Dr. Brent James at the Shingo Prize, Part 1 – MD/Admin Split

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