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, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups.
Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
Latest posts by Mark Graban (see all)
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…?”