Here's another journalistically-lazy reference to “lean and mean,” this time in an announcement for an Intro to Lean seminar in Florida. Ugh. Lean is not “mean.” Lean calls for respect for employees and not laying them off as a result of lean improvements. It's too bad that the words rhyme. It's also too bad that too many companies misunderstand lean and use it to slash jobs. Oh well.
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Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
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My eleven year old son tells me that when something is “bad” that means it’s really cool, and if he calls something “sick” that means it’s really awesome. Maybe “lean and mean” is really saying “lean with really great flow…?”