Can Innovation Be Lean?

摘要

Every executive has heard about the importance of Lean as a means of eliminating waste and "fat." However, when operations are novel and complex-as in product development research, information technology, and many other kinds of projects-cutting out the "fat" turns out to be much more challenging. To understand Lean in an environment characterized by extreme novelty and complexity, we drew on our experiences with a number of processes, and in particular Lockheed Martin's Lean implementation for the F-22 fighter aircraft. Our findings lead to a path that executives and managers can follow to become Lean without compromising innovation.