Collection: Black Belt books

Most managers solve problems. Toyota’s best managers teach their people to solve problems. That fundamental difference—who teaches and who thinks—explains why Toyota has produced generations of strong...

You know there’s waste in your processes. You can feel it. But you don’t see it. Not really. And you can’t improve what you don’t see. That...

You’ve been tasked with implementing Lean. You’ve studied the theory, completed the training, and drawn up a plan. And then reality sets in. Middle management...

Your processes are running more smoothly. You’ve created a smooth workflow. And yet, as soon as customer demand fluctuates, the pressure on your system spikes. Inventory levels rise, delivery times increase, and that sense of control...

Your products eventually reach the customer. But at what cost? Excess inventory, unreliable delivery times, emergency shipments, and constant crisis management between warehouses, suppliers, and sales. These aren’t just bad-luck problems,...

"Learning to See" is the standard workbook for Value Stream Mapping: the method that helps you identify where value is created in your production process and where it is not. The workbook was...

In this sequel to The Gold Mine, the authors, Freddy Ballé and Michael Ballé, tell a compelling story that teaches the reader the most important Lean lesson of all: how to transform...

You’ve designed a pull system. Flow cells are set up, kanban cards are hanging on the board, and the future state map looks promising. And yet, in practice, it’s not working....

Your processes are running more smoothly. You’ve created a smooth workflow. And yet, as soon as customer demand fluctuates, the pressure on your system spikes. Inventory levels rise, delivery times increase, and that sense of control...

This practical workbook takes you into the depths of Value Stream Mapping, specifically focused on optimizing the extended value stream across organizational boundaries. "What do you think is the...

You’ve designed a pull system. Flow cells are set up, kanban cards are hanging on the board, and the future state map looks promising. And yet, in practice, it’s not working....

Most managers solve problems. Toyota’s best managers teach their people to solve problems. That fundamental difference—who learns and who thinks—explains why Toyota has produced generations of strong...