Lean Communication: Applications for Continuous Process Improvement

Four decades ago, the most progressive companies, particularly those in the manufacturing sector, embraced an aspirational notion stoically named Zero Defects. It was a broad corporate call to action in an era with no Internet, elongated supply chains, multicultural, multilingual, cross-generational work teams, or multiple time zones. It was to ensure product improvement, decrease in work-related accidents, and greater profits earned when less mistakes were made.

Today with the kaleidoscope of disruptive forces in business transactions, the speed of commerce, and the ferocious level of competition for consumer loyalty and business survival—the cost of an enterprise's faulty communication can literally make or break a product. The digital age allows consumers to be informed instantaneously, which in turn has accelerated the change in tastes, decreased the life cycle of products and services, and is driving the need for companies to keep up. This book is an introduction to concepts associated with Lean methodologies and how these can be adopted to uncover waste and drive improvements in the interactions between participants in an organization.