The Sensei Way at Work follows in the wake of dozens of successful business books on the Toyota production system, lean enterprise, and the Toyota Way, yet it is unique. It identifies the five keys that sustain successful lean production in Western enterprises—a challenge that has stymied business leaders, managers, and lean coaches for decades. The first reason for our frequent inability to sustain the initial gains of lean startups is a misunderstanding of the Japanese term "kaizen mind." Many mistranslate it as a "hunger" for business efficiency and cost reduction. In fact, kaizen mind is a psychology of "mindfulness" joined with "creativity." And once evoked by a sensei, it can be applied (without training) when a leader mandates that employees and managers solve quality problems and redesign the work together. The second reason is our need to develop new change leaders who know "the way." A sensei immerses prospects in a series of challenges until they learn to do the work of change with the mind of a leader, that is, from the states of presence, flow, and compassion. Lasting organizational transformation becomes possible, even inevitable, when its leaders learn the five keys and realize "one big thing" in the Sensei Way.

What is a lean sensei and what exactly do they do? That is the key question at the heart of this important new book sharing the secret of Lean thinking, which Dan Jones calls "the alternative business model for our age." Jones explains that "behind all the tools for operational excellence and the different management system needed to support their use, lies a much deeper challenge: to develop the human potential of everyone to create a culture of accelerating continuous improvement to meet today's changing circumstances. Learning is at the heart of lean." The Lean Sensei provides both a conceptual and hands-on toolkit for developing lean leaders-and becoming one yourself. It will challenge you to reflect on how you coach; share mindful questions that improve your awareness of what to look for; and keep both you and your students focused on the signs, symptoms, and syndromes that can slow your lean success. This book, written by six lean pioneers who have experienced and followed the path of the Sensei, shares a radical vision of how to flourish with this approach. They argue that Lean is a system of gaining competitiveness by continuously developing people, and as such, sensei play a vital role in helping others deepen their thinking every day. To be effective in transforming processes and the people who operate within them, any sensei "must first learn to transform yourself," they write. "No one can do lean for you. It is up to you. But you will also need a Sensei to help you discover new ways of seeing and acting, and to help everyone learn to adapt to a rapidly changing world. These lean pioneers discovered what Senseis really do. Learn from them before you search for your own Sensei." - Daniel T. Jones, co-author of The Machine That Changed The World, Lean Thinking, Lean Solutions and The Lean Strategy

In this groundbreaking sequel to The Gold Mine, authors Michael and Freddy Ballé present a compelling story that teaches readers the most important lean lesson of all: how to transform themselves and their workers through the discipline of learning the lean system. The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation reveals how individuals can go beyond the short-term gains from tools, and realize a deeper, sustainable path of improvement. Full of human moments that capture the excitement and drama of lean implementation, as well as clear explanations of how tools and systems go hand-in-hand, this book will teach and inspire every person working to make lean a reality in their organization today. This book will help you learn both the how of doing lean, as well as the why behind the tools, enabling you to become lean. Lean is the most important business model for competitive success today. Yet companies still struggle to sustain enduring and deep-rooted business success from their lean implementation efforts. The most important problem for these companies is becoming lean: how can they advance beyond realizing isolated gains from deploying lean tools, to fundamentally changing how they operate, think, and learn? In other words, how can companies learn to go beyond lean turnaround to achieve lean transformation? The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation, by lean experts Michael and Freddy Ballé, addresses this critical problem. As we move from what Jim Womack, author, lean management authority, and LEI founder, calls “the era of lean tools to the era of lean management,” The Lean Manager gives companies a definitive guide for sustaining their ability to learn and improve operations and financial performance, while continually developing people. “The only way to become and stay lean is to produce lean managers,” says Womack. “Every isolated effort will recede—or fail—unless companies learn to use the lean process as a way of developing individual problem-solvers with the ownership, initiative, and know-how to solve problems, learn, and ultimately coach new individuals in this discipline. That’s why this book matters so much.” The Lean Manager, the sequel to the Ballé’s international bestselling business novel The Gold Mine, tells the compelling story of plant manager Andrew Ward as he goes through the challenging but rewarding journey to becoming a lean manager. Under the guidance of Phil Jenkinson (whose own lean journey was at the core of The Gold Mine), Ward learns to use a deep understanding of lean tools, as well as a technical know-how of his plant’s operations, to foster a lean attitude that sustains continuous improvement. Where The Gold Mine shows you how to introduce a complete lean system, The Lean Manager demonstrates how to sustain it. Ward moves beyond fluency with tools to changing his behavior as a manager and leader. He shifts from giving orders and answers to asking the right questions so people identify and address problems. He learns how to use tools to unleash the creativity and motivation of people, so they learn how to solve problems as well as coach and teach others to solve problems. Ward learns how to create lean managers. “I am excited and have hopes that this book will enlighten readers about what it really means to live a business transformation that puts customers first and does this through developing people,” said Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way and professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. “People who do the work have to improve the work. There are tools, but they are not tools for ‘improving the process.’ They are tools for making problems visible and for helping people think about how to solve those problems.”

An intimate portrait of the human side of leadership, The Sensei Leader is about discovering the leader in each of us, in all of us--regardless of title, rank or position. The Sensei Leader is based on the author's transformation from loser to leader; from drug abuser and dropout to Black Belt and Sensei. This is not, however, an autobiography. Rather, the author draws on his experiences and his extensive study of philosophy and martial arts to craft a highly personal portrait of an effective leader. The Sensei Leader provides a practical guide to the essential characteristics of the true leader with particular emphasis on Courage, Compassion and Wisdom. The book also highlights 8 Strategies and 5 Tactics every leader can use to be more effective.