No.
To drive home the point, check out this video:
OK, So What Does “LEAN” Stand For?
People often ask if Lean, as in Lean manufacturing, Lean healthcare, etc. should be spelled in all-caps like LEAN.
Or, they don't ask and they just do it.
I see “LEAN” far too often in emails from hospitals, case studies, and articles online, but usually not in news sources.
I tend to capitalize the L in Lean as it's arguably a proper noun, much as people often capitalize Six Sigma or the Toyota Production System.
But it shouldn't be LEAN in this context, as it's not an acronym (unless people are making a cynical joke like “
Lean grammar cop signing off…. :-)
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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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[…] often ask me where the term “Lean” comes from. It’s not an acronym, so it shouldn’t be spelled “LEAN” (but it often is). Lean is not a synonym for “lacking or […]
I have just seen some comments on LinkedIn regarding this and would like to add a comment about “the importance of understanding the history and context” of stuff, as opposed to how it is interpreted and used by a few, promoted by organisations for their own use etc.
In 1995 (shortly after Lean Thinking was published Womack and Jones – the fathers of the Lean movement) LEAN was an acronym (L- leadership and learning, E etc.) and introductory workshops and .ppt presentations used the acronym to help people understand what Lean was about (the codification of the Toyota Way) and it generic application to all business and sectors.
Lean should be used with a capital L because as the title to the book and the subject (holistic) itself it is a proper noun. I do not spell my name david!!.
Thanks, I didn’t know that history. I know LEI doesn’t spell it as “LEAN” today. I do agree with you that it’s a proper noun.
It bothers me when I see people write “lean Six Sigma” – capitalizing the one without the other (ASQ does this and it annoys me). They are both proper noun terms when used that way.
BTW, I’ve asked the Institute of Industrial Engineers magazine editor about why they say lean Six Sigma and he says that’s what the AP Style Guide says. Annoyingly inconsistent.
Thanks to NYU for saying it should be Lean in their style guide:
Thanks to Brent Brewington for pointing it out.
[…] It’s the least important detail here, but Lean is not an acronym. […]
[…] event and it’s too bad I can’t make it this year. I love the folks at GBMP, even though Lean is not an acronym […]
Thank you. Couldn’t agree more!
This has always been a question of mine because I have noticed this issue, and I’m glad I am not the only one that has seen all of these variations. Very interesting to learn about the history as well in the comments.