Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking

In this book, the late Shigeo Shingo explains procedures for understanding problems, generating ideas for solutions, and implementing them. It's utterly brilliant. Dr. Shingo lays out clear, methodical steps for classifying situations, resources, and problems; "Capturing" the problem (that is, making sure you know just what the problem is, and what causes it); generating ideas for improvement; and implementing chosen ideas, including persuading others to go along with the change. It's full of "anecdotes", not as 'Well that reminds me of the time . . .', but to make the point he discusses clear and comprehensible.I started reading this book, and bought a copy before I was half-finished. It would have been worth the money if the last half had been blank pages. Really, I rave about this. The only thing I know that compares with it are Scheinkopf's  Thinking for a Change: Putting the TOC Thinking Processes to Use (The CRC Press Series on Constraints Management) , Goldratt's  It's Not Luck , and Detmeirer's  The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving , but of the four, this is my favorite.My highest recommendation. I wish I'd had a copy when I was a fast-food manager.

Everyone working on efficiency improvement should read all of the Shingo books. Concentrate on the process of improvement, not copying the examples

Having practiced Lean for over seven years, my biggest complaint has been the difficulty of finding books written simple and direct. Dr. Shingo's book is easy to read, simple, full of real-world examples not theory, and yet provides deep insight into a difficult area that all western manufacturers struggle with - continuous improvement at all levels.People with different reading styles will appreciate his graphical representations. Although, at times I found them less useful (personal reading style).Read this book once for the simplicity, then read it again to see the insights behind the simplicity. Then share it with everyone in your organization if you truly want to become a world-class manufacturer.

A book that clearly, and finally, shows the close link between Continuous Improvement and Innovation.Specially good for those confused by the "innovation experts" who keep killing Continuous Improvement in order to sell their stuff.At the end we are all involved in a never ending process of Ongoing Innovation and Dr. Shingo knew just that back in the late 50's.Learning how to be more creative is esencial for the Kaizen practitioners, just as learning how to analyze processes and gather good data is important for innovation enthusiasts.

In this book, the reader is taken back behind the proverbial " curtain", to be shown the essence of the thought processes used by one of the profound geniuses of lean thinking in the 20th century.This book will have the heaviest impact upon those who have a great difficulty grasping how to think unconventionally. It will only help those people, when they are truly ready to loosen their grasp upon their traditional paradigms.What particularly impresses me when I read this book is that it is not overly complicated, and in fact, is in many ways very simple. It takes the reader to the threshold, to touch the ability to open up and allow oneself to be receptive to thinking differently.By thinking differently, the mind ends up in a different place. This "place" is subtle, yet the implications are profound.One thing that really did surprise me about Dr. Shingo's presentation was his creative assimilation of western thought. Almost all of his references in the development of his thought processes come from western thinkers - not the ancient Buddhist Japanese texts, that students of Zen and eastern thought might be inclined to think were the sources, but rather, a solid reliance upon the same people that many of us were exposed to in our education. The profound realization herein is that while Dr. Shingo read the same books, he got entirely different messages from the reading. That, in and of itself, gives me much pause for reflection.This is not a book to be read once and then put down - the real value comes from beginning to "live with it", as a companion.As a final thought, don't try too hard to understand what is being said - simply open up, allow the mind to relax, and let the mind be taken to new and different places - this might be scary to some, but can be accomplished if you allow yourself to trust ultimately in truth for the sake of truth.Happy reading!

Anything from Shigeo Shingo is worth reading if you work in manufacturing.

Very good book. I have read it four times. I really like its logic and methodology.

I liked the many examples that are give in this book on improvement examples. Many statements are given that are true.What I liked less that there is no real approach described for improvements. Mr Shigeo comes in as a smart consultant and the improvements pop up in his mind and people follow most of the time. It takes usually more than this to improve.

Assolutamente da leggere se si ha intenzione di moderare eventi di miglioramento continuo, e' scritto in maniera facile.Vale il suo prezzo