ABSTRACT
Who the Lean Change Leader reports to is a critical dimension in a company’s Lean journey. If a chief executive officer (CEO) is serious about Lean deployment, he will make sure the Lean Change Leader reports to him. If you are keen on finding an organization deploying Lean, this is one of the first things that you should see. It will give you an idea whether this is a CEO-driven effort or if the CEO has outsourced the deployment to someone else. Unfortunately, there are not too many organizations in which the Lean Change Leader is driven by the CEO. However, a CEO who is committed to efficiency (not cost reduction) will make sure the Lean Change Leader reports to him. Of course, this would mean the Lean Change Leader has to be a seasoned professional who can navigate the pressures and challenges of a top management team. Figure 9.1 provides examples of typically acceptable structures for facilitating enterprise deployment of Lean.
