Defining Lean: A beginner's guide to Lean Management
Joshua Zloof
Lean + (Business Term) = Success
Over the last couple years, I've heard a lot of people refer to their startup as Lean. Outside of San Francisco, there are many other organizations and industries that have converted or are trying to convert their processes to Lean as well - Lean Retail, Lean Finance, Lean Services, etc. When I ask people what it means, I sometimes hear a lot of misinformation: cost-cutting, running a tight ship, layoffs, lasting 3 years on seed-round funding, etc. All of these ideas sound pretty scary, and luckily they are dead wrong. Despite it's name, Lean does not mean operating with little or fewer resources. Furthermore, Lean is not a cure-all for all business problems in all industries, rather it has a specific purpose with pro's and con's. After spending a few years consulting for companies on Lean best practices while at McKinsey and the last couple applying the same principles to the tech world & product development within Breadcrumb, I want to give my take on the subject.
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