ABSTRACT
The first question I always ask when I begin a seminar or an event with a company is: “What is Lean?” I ask everyone to say whatever comes to their mind and always get a wide variety of responses. This simple exercise demonstrates that Lean usually means different things to people, and the common thread to their responses is that people usually answer the question based on their role in the company or the department in which they work. One of the keys to financial success with Lean is that it has to mean the same thing to everyone in the company.
