Books in English

By:  Rob Ptacek, Mark Coats, Col. (Retired, US Army), Todd PtacekToday's Lean Leader is designed for use as a quick and convenient reference, or as a training guide to improve your effectiveness in leading, supervising, and coaching employees. It provides valuable insight into the How To's of leadership and supervision. Today's Lean Leader can be used in a variety of ways, some of which are: (1)The guide is valuable for the new or veteran leader - supervisor (2) Remarkably, the guide in the hands of the workforce makes the task of leading and supervising all the easier when everyone is on the same page on these basic principles.

First of its kind! The Simply Lean Pocket Guide is the integration of Lean and the PDCA methodology. The interactive Tinker Town case study allows you to take problem solving with a Lean twist to your next performance level. The most basic premise of Lean is to simply and effectively problem solve.   The Simply Lean Pocket Guide is a step-by-step approach to the implementation of process improvements using the PDCA model along with a Lean twist.  If you are just beginning to adopt Lean or Six Sigma as a business improvement model, whether you are in the healthcare, financial services, construction, armed services, manufacturing, government, logistics, service, or construction industry, the first thing that should be acknowledged is that the solution to the problem (or improvement target that is to be reached) will be found in the intellect of the people who are working the process.  Therefore, as a trainer, consultant (internal or external), or departmental head, the focus to improve a situation would be to “somehow” work with that group (and their intellect) and find a solution.  However, that “somehow” is not always easy to attain and will require some guidance along the way.  Simply Lean will provide that guidance ensuring root causes and wastes are eliminated in creating a Leaner, problem-free process.

By: Todd Sperl, Rob Ptacek, Jayant Trewn (PhD)The A3 Pocket Handbook for Kaizen Events allows team members to be literally and figuratively on the same page when participating in an improvement event.  This allows more ownership, while at the same time preserving organizational knowledge.  The improvement methodology used (i.e., Six Sigma D-M-A-I-C, PDCA, etc.) will relate to the A3 Report that is conveyed in this publication.  (The A3 Report is designed to help you “tell the story” in a logical and visual way and act as a road map for continuous improvement and problem solving initiatives.) The purpose of this pocket handbook is to:

1. Ensure all team members have a quick reference for Lean Six Sigma definitions.
2. Compliment, as a mini-workbook, the Practical Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare and The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Guide XL books as well as any other training materials used in an improvement event.
3. Provide a road map for continuous improvement projects if no other methodology (i.e., PDCA, D-M-A-I-C, etc.) is used.
4. Provide Lean Thinking Statement assessments at the end of each section for employees to “think” Lean and continue their engagement.
5. Be a repository of thoughts, ideas, and any action items that may be assigned, etc.
6. To retain organizational knowledge by being a personal detailed log of the Kaizen Event to be shared and/or referenced later.