What company doesn’t want energized workers, delighted customers, genuine efficiency, and breakthrough innovation? The Lean Mindset shows how lean companies really work–and how a lean mindset is the key to creating stunning products and delivering amazing services.   Through cutting-edge research and case studies from leading organizations, including Spotify, Ericsson, Intuit, GE Healthcare, Pixar, CareerBuilder, and Intel, you’ll discover proven patterns for developing that mindset. You’ll see how to cultivate product teams that act like successful startups, create the kind of efficiency that attracts customers, and leverage the talents of bright, creative people.   The Poppendiecks weave lean principles throughout this book, just as those principles must be woven throughout the fabric of your truly lean organization.     Learn How To Start with an inspiring purpose, and overcome the curse of short-term thinking Energize teams by providing well-framed challenges, larger purposes, and a direct line of sight between their work and the achievement of those purposes Delight customers by gaining unprecedented insight into their real needs, and building products and services that fully anticipate those needs Achieve authentic, sustainable efficiency without layoffs, rock-bottom cost focus, or totalitarian work systems Develop breakthrough innovations by moving beyond predictability to experimentation, beyond globalization to decentralization, beyond productivity to impact Lean approaches to software development have moved from novelty to widespread use, in large part due to the principles taught by Mary and Tom Poppendieck in their pioneering books. Now, in The Lean Mindset, the Poppendiecks take the next step, looking at a company where multidiscipline teams are expected to ask the right questions, solve the right problems, and deliver solutions that customers love.  

Table of Contents:
Preface    ix About the Authors   xi   Introduction   1 Lean Is a Mindset   3 How Mindsets Work   4 The Fabric of Lean   6   Chapter 1: The Purpose of Business 11 The Rise of Rational Economics   11 Case: Who Are Our Customers?   15 The Rise of Rational Work Systems   19 Case: Working Together at Ford   23 Cooperative Work Systems   26 Case: When Workers Are Volunteers   32 Questions to Ponder   36   Chapter 2: Energized Workers 39 Full Potential   39 A Challenge That Changed the World   45 The Science of Expertise   55 When Can We Trust Intuition?   64 Questions to Ponder   69   Chapter 3: Delighted Customers    71 Ask the Right Questions   71 Solve the Right Problems   75 Design a Compelling Experience   81 Develop the Right Products   92 A Design Toolbox   96 Questions to Ponder   99   Chapter 4: Genuine Efficiency    101 What Is Efficiency?   101 Lessons in Flow: Ericsson   102 Lessons in Speed: CareerBuilder   110 Lessons in Learning: Lean Startup   115 Build the Right Thing: Spotify   119 Questions to Ponder   129   Chapter 5: Breakthrough Innovation    131 Seeing the Future   131 Focus   135 Change the Focus   141 An Innovation Checklist   155 Questions to Ponder   158   Epilogue    159   References   163   Index    169