So I thought this was a hokey self-help book for the manufacturing world and I understandably resisted reading it until I had to fill 20 hours in a car by myself and was left with little excuse. I was very surprised by how much I liked it. Lean is not mean. It is the coming style of good management. Paul Akers explains how the system blurs the distinction and soothes the frictions between labor and management by enlisting the brainpower of all employees from the top to the bottom. Under Lean we are all management whether in the private or the public sector, Karl Marx would never have approved!

A week earlier the bank president told me it was the best company he had ever seen and now this guy was telling me I didn’t know what I was doing and that I was essentially in a free fall. Title is for identification purposes only and does not imply an endorsement by the Attorney General’s Office or the State of Washington.When money is no object we abdicate our most powerful resource: our ideas. It just gets too easy to throw money at problems and yet we see time and time again that money often creates problems rather than solving them."

Simplified methodology popularized by Paul Akers and the 2 second lean movement. Akers is hotly against 5S, which creates some confusion. My mistake had to do with my incorrect focus on processes. I needed to focus on building a culture of people who understand and embrace continuous improvement." His reluctance was unnerving. He said, Well, I don’t know. I said, Well, what do you think my problem is? He paused, looked around the shop floor and said, Do you want to know the truth? I said, Of course! He said, You don’t know what you’re doing and you don’t know how to manufacture. Ouch. as all the experts and textbooks make it out to be. In fact, as you learn to incorporate a Lean approach to your life, you will see that the more Lean thinking you have in your life, the more you will enjoy life.” ~ Paul A. Akers Surprise! It is probably where you have the most waste in your life and can apply Lean the most effectively.

Customer reviews

This is the spirit of a Lean culture. When the leader is willing to be corrected and has no ego issues with sharing credit, that same generous and supportive spirit flows between everybody." Once you've been inspired by Paul Akers' story and experience on Lean, you are now able to learn Lean in a more academic way, and some more structured tools to use later on on your workplace. I loved how Akers describes work as honorable. I love how he values his employees growth over profit as his main impetus in implementing the lean process. I love how his company’s mission is to provide something that increases the value of his customer’s lives, and profit is just a happy by-product of a job well done.

Ten years ago I began my Lean journey. I had never even heard the word before, but what happened was nothing short of astounding. My wife and I started our company, FastCap, in our garage in 1997. FastCap is a product development company that specializes in producing innovative tools and hardware for cabinetmakers and builders. Why woodworking products? Because I’m a passionate craftsman who lives and breathes for the opportunity to massage a piece of Honduras Mahogany. A great book from Paul Akers – my Lean brother from another mother. Paul shows you that Lean is simple stuff that is fun and really works! 2 Second Lean is a Lean Leadership and Culture story that will help you DO good, FEEL good, and RAISE THE TIDE for your whole organization. Daily routine, with the whole goal of keeping the rope tight (you hear this often) and finding problems. Leads into various improvement activities or 2 second lean improvements.The first three months were hard work. It was like pulling teeth to keep everybody enthusiastic or even interested. We didn’t get everybody on-board and some thought maybe we were a little crazy. Why were we “wasting” this first hour of the day not building product? Why were we standing around in a circle in this crazy morning meeting? But after three months, things started to look pretty positive and then after six months, because we didn’t give up (just like a good diet), things really started looking good. After one year, we were on fire” (p. 54). If you think of Lean as something meant to merely increase profit in your workplace, you will fail to implement Lean. Paul shows this very well. This book teaches you how Lean is supposed to be seen and taken in your life, how Lean can be used as way to inspire people around you, how can you create a Lean culture inside of your workplace and so on. Your thoughts and take-away from this chapter: Lean videos: Chapter Two You Mean I’m Really That Bad? When Cambridge Engineering started their daily meeting they did it for about three months before doing anything else. They did not have their people do 3S and daily improvement until after they established an effective and engaging daily meeting. Keep it Simple and Short! Learn how to operate with the maximum efficiency while creating a productive and positive environment in all that you do. The excellent examples and analysis in this book are a great primer for anyone seeking successful growth.

Second Lean is a tangible embodiment of the principles. It’s fast, effective and delivers tons of value. No consultant-speak or keeper-of-the-faith orthodoxy here, but a deeper, almost spiritual, grasp of being Lean.Have you read 2 Second Lean or are you interested in implementing it at your organization? Thankfully, there are a TON of free videos and resources available on the internet to help you get started.