ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the failure mechanisms due to their destructive power, and their prevalence even in companies many would consider Lean-mature. The failure mechanisms may be hidden and not recognized, so a better descriptor might be blind spot. The eventual financial benefits which result from a Lean transformation are astronomical. Lean requires leadership capability to effectively traverse through the difficulties of a transformation. Lean leadership cannot be considered someone else’s responsibility. As long as company leaders try to delegate Lean leadership responsibility to a functional department or a specific person, Lean will be viewed as “their job,” the role of the Lean Department, and Lean will never take hold throughout the whole organization. Sure, in the early stages of Lean, the Lean coordinator or manager may be the only internal person who is knowledgeable about Lean and has the responsibility of teaching and facilitating the initial Lean activities. Lean is too all-encompassing to be a functional responsibility.
