Of all the lean training material out there it appears that we ignore one of the most important aspects, that of convincing our company to start the lean journey.

There is no wonder in my mind as why we fail more often than not in choosing lean and being successful in its implementation.

From the beginning we fail to effectively communicate to our upper management the following:

• What Lean means and how it benefits us
• Why we should adopt Lean as our business model
• What the implementation steps are
• How long it will take to implement it
• How much money it will cost
• What the obstacles are, such as short term losses due to the inventory depletion, etc. and how to prevent and/or prepare
• What resources we should allocate
• What the required training is
• What their role is to ensure a successful lean transformation of the enterprise

This presentation and lean simulation has a unique role: to convince the upper management/executive team of the acute need of choosing LEAN as the business model of choice.

This training material has four main sections:

In the first part we’ll state the current conditions in the world and the consequences for your business

The second section is dedicated to lean definitions, seven wastes, and financial benefits of implementing lean.

The third section covers the future, with emphasis on what makes a company great, your vision and strategy for the future, the lean implementation steps if you choose to pursue this strategy and challenges/obstacles along the way with recommended countermeasures.

Lastly, the fourth section hosts the lean simulation of a fast food operation. Together we’ll compare current process with your proposed process to understand how they may benefit the customer, the employees and the company (shareholders). The group will be divided in small teams (2-3 people) who present their own strategy to the class.

Choosing Lean comes is a downloadable file. Complete notes accompany the file, so you can just read all the information needed for each slide.

For the simulation part, you can make a copy of the tables at the end of the presentation to make it easier for each team to complete the assignment. You can model on a clipboard the tables in the presentation to allow the teams to present their own strategy.

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