Anatomy of a Lean Leader : As Illustrated by 10 Modern CEOs and Abraham Lincoln

By Jerry Bussell

Leaders of lean-thinking organizations require some unique, even contradictory traits. They must be servants as well as trailblazers, good listeners and mentors as well as visionaries and team players. While traditional companies might be able to get by with old-fashioned, command-and-control managers, lean organizations need the talents, enthusiasm, and opinions of every person. This means that leaders must serve the people and the processes while guiding everyone toward fulfilling the organization's true purpose. It is a tall order and, in many ways, a new definition of leadership. For 30 years, Jerry Bussell studied leadership while bringing lean practices to companies such as Medtronic and becoming a passionate, well-known advocate for lean. In that time, he saw many lean initiatives fail through lack of leadership or repeated missteps by those in charge. Realizing that leaders rarely understood the needs of an organization that is becoming highly efficient, self-motivated and improvement driven, he set out to help. In a lean environment, after all, true leadership is not a nicety; it is a necessity. In this book, Jerry identifies the ten essential characteristics of a lean leader and illustrates those traits with stories from modern CEOs and one of this country's greatest leaders, President Abraham Lincoln. Whether you are a CEO or running your first kaizen event, this book will keep you engaged and help you focus on the behaviors and attitudes that are essential to creating the kind of continuous open-loop improvement that is the heart of lean thinking.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0985937009
• ISBN13: 9780985937003
• Release Date: October 2012
• Publisher: UL LLC.
• Length: 177 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up