ABSTRACT
After reading this chapter, you will understand why The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company had to embark on its lean product development journey. As a company, we had grown large and happy during “The Golden Age of Tire Technology,” but our industry did not necessarily challenge us to be faster or more efficient. Fortunately, we had great tire technology and, although we needed to be better, we had begun to piecemeal apply many elements that would eventually support lean product development, for example, project teams, knowledge management, stage gates, and so on, before even knowing what lean was. Depending on your own organization’s progress with lean, you too may have some of these or similar concepts already embedded in your R&D processes, which will accelerate your lean journey.
