This is a tricky entry. There is a lot of corporate politics, personal opinion, and vague memories that go into it. This consulting group, however, is important to the development of Lean in the US, so deserves a place in this list. A bit of background. In the rapid growth Read more…
The Lean Global Network is a collaboration organization that boast the membership (as of 2020) of 30 institutes around the globe. This includes both the Lean Enterprise Institute in the US and the Lean Enterprise Academy in the UK. Its stated goal is “making things better by advancing lean thinking Read more…
LEI is a non-profit based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1997 by James Womack. Its mission is listed on the website as “Make things better, through lean thinking and practice.” It does publishing and training events, and has a wealth of information on its website. One of LEIs Read more…
James Womack is one of the leading proponents of Lean in the US. He co-authored The Machine That Changed the World and Lean Thinking, two of the most widely read books on the topic of continuous improvement. He also founded the Lean Enterprise Institute and remains (as of 2020) a Read more…
John Francis (Jack) Welch (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was a long-tenured CEO during the heyday of General Electric (GE) from 1981-2001. While in charge of the company, shares rose a massive amount, around 4,000%. His legacy is both revered and hated by different people. He changed the Read more…
Sakichi Toyoda (February 14, 1867 – October 30, 1930) was the founder of Toyoda, though originally, it was not an automobile manufacturer. It was called the Toyoda Loom Works. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Toyoda was an inventor and created an automatic loom that stopped itself when a string Read more…
Kiichiro Toyoda (June 11, 1894 – March 27, 1952) was the son of Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyoda Loom Works. Kiichiro Toyoda was the man responsible for shifting the course of Toyoda from being a textile company to becoming an automobile manufacturer.
Eiji Toyoda (Sept 12, 1913 – September 17, 2013) was, at the time of his tenure, the longest serving president of Toyota. He was the nephew of Sakichi Toyoda, the man who founded Toyoda Loom Works, the predecessor of the automotive version of the company. Eiji Toyoda reportedly visited the Read more…
Shigeo Shingo (January 8, 1909 – November 14, 1990) is one of the early pioneers of the Toyota Production System. He worked with Taiichi Ohno, though there is some question as to how instrumental he was in the development of this new way of thinking. The debate ranges from him Read more…
Daniel T. Jones is one of the pioneers in Lean thinking. He co-authored The Machine That Changed the World and Lean Thinking. Jones is the founder of the Lean Enterprise Academy, part of the Lean Global Network that also includes the Lean Enterprise Institute.
Jeff Hajek is the author of this reference guide you are reading and Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?, a primer on Lean for frontline employees. He also publishes the Velaction.com website, which contains an extensive online directory of Lean terminology and the Gotta Go Lean Blog. He is a Read more…
Frank (July 7, 1868 – June 14, 1924) and Lillian (May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) Gilbreth were each forward thinkers in manufacturing in the early 20th century. They were closely linked to time and motion studies and created a set of 17 motions they could uniquely identify during Read more…