List $30.00

Written by James P. Womack & Daniel T. Jones - audio book performed by James P. Womack - Abridged Nonfiction - 4 COMPACT DISCS - 4.5 hours

Publisher, Simon & Schuster Audioworks (December 2000)

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Expanded, updated, and more relevant than ever, the bestselling business classic by two internationally renowned management theorists shows how companies of any size in any industry can seize opportunities in the post-bubble economy.

Lean Thinking begins by helping listeners to identify value, asking, "What does the customer really want?" instead of "What can we try to convince the customer to accept?" Lean thinkers then identify the value stream -- every step required to move a specific good or service from initial concept into the hands of the customer -- for each product and ask if each step really creates value. Those that don't -- the great majority -- are then removed, and the remaining steps are conducted in continuous flow at the pull of the customer, as the firm manages toward perfection. As a consequence, lead times, costs of all sorts, and defects shrink, while responsiveness to customer needs and selling prices increase.

Many companies are searching desperately for a sustainable formula for renewed growth and success. Lean Thinking is that formula -- a proven blueprint and specific action plan that will help any company stabilize its position and grow steadily while better serving its customers, employees, suppliers, and investors.

An insightful look at the hottest new business trend from the author of The Machine that Changed the World.

In their landmark book The Machine That Changed the World, James Womack and Daniel Jones, two of the top industrial analysts is the world, explained how companies can dramatically improve their performance through the lean production approach pioneered by Toyota. Lean Thinking extends these ideas to provide a rallying cry for today's corporate leaders.

After a decade of downsizing and reengineering, most companies in North America, Europe, and Japan are still stuck, searching for a formula for sustainable growth and success. The problem, as Womack and Jones explain in Lean Thinking, is that managers have lost sight of value for the customer and how to create it. What's needed is lean thinking -- a groundbreaking new mindset that is revolutionizing the way of the modern business world.

Using case studies of lean companies around the world who have energetically embraced leanness in pursuit of their own perfect enterprises, Womack and Jones explain this exciting new concept in fascinating detail.

Clearly demonstrating the simple ideas behind lean thinking that can breathe new life into any company in any industry. Lean Thinking offers a new way of thinking, being, and doing for the serious manager -- one that will change the world.