Mike Rother - author

Author of Learning to See, Creating Continuous Flow and Toyota Kata

Mike Rother is a renowned American researcher, lecturer and author whose work has made a fundamental contribution to the world of Lean Management. His influence extends throughout the world, from academia to the workplace.

Rother is best known for his seminal publications that made complex concepts of the Toyota Production System accessible to a wide audience. Together with John Shook, he wrote the influential workbook 'Learning to See: Creating Value by Mapping the Value Stream' (also known as 'Learning to See'), which is considered the standard manual for Value Stream Mapping worldwide. This book has helped countless organizations identify waste and optimize processes.

He continued his work with the book "Creating Continuous Flow: An Action Guide for Managers, Engineers and Production Associates," a practical guide that shows how to create continuous flow in production processes. This book helps professionals translate Just-in-Time theory into concrete actions, dramatically reducing lead times and increasing efficiency.

He later published the book "Toyota Kata," describing the routines Toyota uses to coach employees to solve problems and strive for continuous improvement. He spent six years examining Toyota's management practices to uncover the essence of their success: teaching an "improvement kata" and a "coaching kata," which enable scientific thinking to become a daily habit.

Mike Rother has had close ties with the Industrial Technology Institute, the University of Michigan and the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. His work has been awarded the prestigious Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research several times, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence.

Through his books and research, Rother has bridged the gap between theory and practice and left an indelible mark on the way companies worldwide manage their processes and people.

Books: