Reviews

I LOVED IT!

I read the book you gave me on the way to a conference I was attending. I LOVED IT! And I have put a lot of your principles into place and BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE ALREADY. First, in my office (everything is now labeled and into its own place). Second in my home (fun to be there now), and third in my yard (a work in progress now that it’s spring, but already things are happening).

On a personal note, I’m now 65 and feel like I am running out of time (still healthy, still excited about life, work, and fun), yet, I can see friends all around me winding down, retiring, and seems to me like their giving up. But, as my days seem to be going faster, I have found that the Lean methods are actually giving me something very precious, MORE TIME! Already, things are getting so much in order around me that I actually have more time to accomplish things that I previously thought I didn’t have time for. Thank you Paul!

Response: Thanks Mike!

Links to Videos?

Hi Paul,
I am enjoying the audio version of your book. I am about half way through and I had a question. Is there a listing of the videos for each chapter? I would be nice to have a web page with the videos that you recommend organized by chapter. I am listening to the book in the car and I often forget the exact name of the videos you recommend by the time I get to the office.
Thanks for listen and for writing the book. I am looking forward the the second half.

Response: Thanks for sharing such a great idea. On the Videos Menu, go to 2 Second Lean Chapter Videos. There you will find links to all the videos/documents mentioned in the book (broken down by chapter).

Just finished your book

Hi Paul,

I just finished your book, “2 Second Lean”, and loved it! I found it, as well as your lean videos, very inspirational; however, I have a question.

You have a great structure to your organization which I see as the foundation to success in this culture. My question is, which came first, structure or culture?

Where I am coming from is, my organization is just beginning our journey into lean. We have 6S’d most areas (a few yet to go), educated the employee/owners on basic skills such as conflict resolution and problem-solving tools. We have begun to install self-directed work teams across the organization. What we struggle with is the learning curve. Some people understand lean thinking, embrace it and live it. Others struggle to create the basic structure or foundation of their day and/or area to a point that they back-slide on 6S fundamentals and are unable to expand lean thinking. Their lean eyes are closed.

Your morning meeting is an example of what I am talking about. Did you one day very early in your journey say, “Hey guys. This is the way I think we should go and here is what we are going to do.” or did the team say this?

Did you direct and educate at the beginning or did you let the teams lead you were you needed to go? I feel like I am stepping on the respect for people principle of lean if I come up with the plan yet I feel like we’ll never change thinking if we don’t direct the focus and beginning steps until education and use changes the culture to a point where the leadership is being led instead of the other way around.

Thank you for your time and thank you for bringing lean down to a fundamental level that “newbies” can wrap their mind around.

Sincerely,

Tony Mace

Response: Hi Tony: Please see my video response, dated today, in my blog: http://www.2secondlean.com/2011/general/2-second-lean-qa Thanks, Paul

Ideas are flowing

I read the book on my first flight of travel to Orlando and then spent the entire rest of the trip so inspired and could not stop the ideas from flowing! I am planning to buy several more for our leaders. Thanks!

you exceeded customer expectations

Carina the book that you sent me was a stellar read! Not receiving all of my order was my Lucky day. Can\'t wait to get out into my workshop and apply the Lean principles. As a retired engineer and manager that used the principles of TQM ( http://logistics.about.com/od/qualityinthesupplychain/a/TQM.htm ) during my career I can see that 2 Second Lean is a forward leaning concept. Thanks Carina, you exceeded customer expectations.

Just finished reading the book!!!

Just finished reading the book!!! First of all thanks for the great read!! I gobbled it down on a flight to Denver. At the core we think very similarly, parallel lives or something like that... I\'ve read all the books you mention and tackle new books each week. I\'m a lean purest at heart. We started the journey at Bradley but it was profit motivated and by its very nature couldn\'t / wouldn\'t last. I hope to re-ignite it as Pres and do it for the right reasons. People, people, people you either see and love the value / genius or you don\'t.. If the timeline here is too short trust me I\'ll buy another business and rival your best!!!

Questions...

Read through the book twice and watched all the videos. I run a small
1500 sq ft. 2 man shop and we have been doing 2 second improvements for
about a week now (we don\'t have a bathroom in the shop so I couldn\'t
start there): Small stuff like putting shadow boards in the toolchest,
taking an area and assigning a place for everything, cleaning the shop,
etc. It has really started to help though I have a few questions not
covered.

You stated the consultants re-arranged everything into U-Shaped
manufacturing cells. Any resources or insight into when this should
happen and general guidelines to go by when re-arranging? We have a lot
of wasted motion and I would like to change to a cell model if it saves
us the motion.

In several videos you mention PLP? (maybe POP?) boxes that look like
partitioned boxes that contain all the materials to build 1 product.
Why do they get created and how do the fit the lean model?

Response: Hi Nate: So glad you liked the book. In response to your u shaped cells question, I created a video!!! You will find it on our Video Page under Fastcap. Check it out!!!

We call them POP boxes and use them to organize part and products together for one piece flow.

Paul I love the book. I have bought other books about how to grow your business and save money!! Make Money!!!! And I always get half way through and put it down, because everything becomes so complicated. Down load this, buy that, read this Blah Blah Blah!!!!

I love the book because it's really common sense and Easy!!! Paul you did great, I'm starting today!!!!

Love your book!

We met a while back at a YPO event in Louisville. Love your book! So much good stuff presented in such a refreshing and fun way. Your organization and home are incredible and your enthusiasm is infectious. Wish I\'d been more aware of you and your organization earlier as I would have pestered you the entire time in Louisville. It was my intention to pass the book and cd around our organization but honestly after digging into it decided I\'d rather let folks here have a copy to keep so I\'ll be in touch with Carina in your customer service department to get more! Keep up the good work, you serve as an inspiration to many folks!

Loved it

For my money, few people in the Lean community come close to matching Paul Akers when it comes to enthusiasm and passion for spreading the gospel of Lean, and in his new book "2 Second Lean," he doesn't disappoint. You can't help but be fired up from just reading (or listening, if you have the audiobook) the story of Paul and Fastcap's Lean Journey; the book could easily be re-titled "Chicken Soup for the Lean Practitioner's Soul." Paul addresses the many books in the Lean cannon that are dry, and in truth, there are some that come to mind that I've had to force myself through. But by teaching Lean in the context of his own personal story, focusing on the cultural and leadership underpinnings and less on the "toolkit," and infusing it all with his excitement for the subject, Paul has crafted an engaging gem.
I "read" the audiobook, and I have to recommend that version, since there are many points where Paul goes "off script" to throw in an anecdote or clarification, which definitely added to the experience. And for someone on the go, audiobooks are a must, so it is great that the print version and audio version have been produced simultaneously.
Taking a page from his own book, Paul has kept the book compact and focused on value-adding content, which means that there's no excuse not to read it and be inspired.