The Great Lean Mystery

There is a great mystery surrounding the emergence and subsequent promotion of “lean production” beginning in 1988. It is the absence of “Respect for People” for nearly 20 years.

While James P. Womack (Lean Enterprise Institute) and Daniel T. Jones (Lean Enterprise Academy) were the principals leading efforts to promote Lean – the generic name given to Toyota’s production system (TPS) – other organizations, such as the AME and the Shingo Institute also did not recognize “Respect for People” as a requirement for the practice of Toyota-like progressive management.

The awakening finally began around 2007 (an amazing lag of six years after Toyota published The Toyota Way 2001 internal document), but it did not become a force until after 2010, and especially after 2014. Why then? Why not from the start? After all, the information to know that “Respect for People” was a requirement was long in existence.

In my own work beginning in 1994, I found the need to respect people as obvious almost from the start, in part by simply recognizing that workers will not participate in kaizen if it costs them their job. Also, sensei from Shingijutsu taught us of the importance of respecting people on day 1 because workers are the wellspring of ideas and action. And I soon recognized the need for a different approach to leadership that respected people. You can read about that here (click here to read a more comprehensive explanation of what it means to lead with respect). Remarkably, “Lean leadership” did not become an item of interest until 2010.

James Womack spent time with Shingijutsu sensei and should have learned this. He should also have learned this from the research that he did for the book The Machine that Changed the World and the book Lean Thinking – specifically, the 1983 book Toyota Production System by Yasuhiro Monden and numerous other sources dating back to the earliest days of industrial engineering, on which TPS is based. Both Womack and Jones should have learned it from a research associate John Krafcik, a NUMMI employee who coined the term “lean” and a few years later, and from their associate John Shook, a Toyota and NUMMI veteran.

In my research papers and in my books, and also on my blog (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), I have written extensively on how information about “Respect for People” had long been in existence, both from ex-Toyota kaizen sensei, in numerous books, and in speeches by Toyota leaders. Most recently, I shared a 1991 document from a NUMMI employee (here) that showed the contrast between GM and Toyota beliefs and values, and which highlighted the importance of “Respect for People.” Again, the information has long been in existence.

One wonders if “Respect for People” had been recognized and presented explicitly at the start, in 1988, would the spread of Lean and its impact on employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders would have been more favorable? Meaning, less damaging to employees (layoffs) and suppliers (price squeeze), and more favorable to investors (higher returns) and communities (continued presence and growth).

As James Womack and Daniel Jones are the “owners of Lean” (something Raphael Sagalyn told me long ago) and its most visible and enduring proponents, I believe they owe the Lean community an answer to the question, “Why did ‘Respect for People’ emerge only recently as a feature of Lean management?” Maybe they owe the Lean community an apology as well.

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from Bob Emiliani http://www.bobemiliani.com/the-great-lean-mystery/