This book follows Art Byrne’s 2012 book, The Lean Turnaround, How Business Leaders Use Lean Principles to Create Value and Transform Their Company, and The Lean Turnaround Action Guide, published four years later. The Answer Book is a curated collection of the monthly articles he wrote for the Lean Enterprise Institute “Lean Post.” In these articles Art addressed a question reflecting one of the many questions regarding the success he had through the application of lean practices at the Wiremold Company, and in his subsequent role at private equity firm J.W. Childs improving operations within portfolio companies.

For people unfamiliar with Art Byrne’s career, he first experienced the potential impact of what we now call lean practices while at the General Electric Company in 1982. In his next role at Danaher Corporation, he began working with the Shingijutsu consultants to apply lean in production operations. This was followed by a decade-long role as CEO at Wiremold, from which Art shared the impact of lean practices on company performance. The articles in the Answer Book are organized into five sections, reflecting the focus of each set of articles. This is helpful, as while the book can be read sequentially, each article stands on its own and can be read independent of the other articles. So, if your interest is in Art’s perspective on how establishing the organizational structure for a lean company, department, or project you can start with the fourth section.

The strengths of the book include clear descriptions of how Lean practices support improved on-time deliveries, reductions in deficits, productivity gains, and resulting dramatically improved financial performance. In a nine-year period Wiremold increased operating profits by 13.4 times by focusing on customer value. The value was largely in dramatic reductions in product delivery lead times that provided Wiremold with a service and pricing competitive advantage the non-Lean companies in their segment could not match.

A theme that recurs in the book the importance of Lean facilitating speed in service of the customer, whether this is speed of production, or speed in the delivery of a service. Supporting this theme is the idea that quality improvements, elevated morale, and cost reductions complement well-designed workflows that promote the faster delivery of goods and services to the customer.

There are two ways to read this book. One is to read it sequentially, and the other is to use it as a shared discussion resource with your team at work. I recommend both. When reading it sequentially you will find some of the stories and facts repetitive. That may annoy some people, though I recommend treating the repetitiveness as emphasis on the practices and principles that produced the greatest results for Art.

The book is an excellent resource for shared discussion groups, also known as Study- Action Teams. To use the book for shared discussions, I recommend the discussion leader select one to three articles that focus on a theme you wish to explore. The articles will not directly apply to construction or design, which is a benefit, as this forces readers to look beyond the mechanics of what Art is describing into the principles that inform his descriptions. This will lead to a discussion on how the team can apply the principles to their work. Then select an action from your discussion to see how it may improve some part of your work.

One of the challenges with Lean implementation at many builders and design firms is that the implementation lacks a strategic focus. This lack results in a missed opportunity to serve clients better, through a faster, economic, and high-quality delivery of buildings. For leaders that want to engage Lean principles to radically improve their businesses and support clients far better, The Lean Turnaround Answer Book: 40 Years of Lean Observation is a resource that will provide inspiration.

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