The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround [Kindle Edition]

Two Thumbs Up for "The Gold Mine"! This is by far the most insightful tale I have read about what it is like to try and drive lean manufacturing principles in the real world. Most books about Lean/TPS are dry technical "how to" guides that give you a tool and then dogmatically tell to go apply it and drive improvement. Or they are general overview books that describe what lean is, why it is so great, why you need to do it, but then of course give you no clue as to how to do it...(I won't directly offend any authors by mentioning titles this is after all just my opinion).

This novel strikes a unique balance that is both insightful and fun to read for those of us interested in lean manufacturing methods (a.k.a. Toyota Production System) or for anyone just interested in a good business story. The book uses a fictional (but very real sounding) plant backdrop and describes the struggle of how a management team embarks upon learning about lean from a reluctant and wise old sensei. It covers how they struggle to implement the methods with some human drama, and eventually how they find a way to make improvements for their respective situation.

In fairness I must admit that I am a somewhat biased reviewer. I was fortunate enough early in my life to lived in Japan for nine and a half years and a great part of this time I worked for Toyota Motor Corporation as a manufacturing engineer in an old engine plant. My boss, my boss's boss, and his boss, etc. were all first hand disciples of Taiichi Ono in the 1960's and 70's (I claim no such lineage I just happened to work there long after Mr. Ohno had left). What I find amazing in this book however is that the teachings are remarkably similar to what my Japanese superiors taught me back in Toyota over 15 years ago. There is no secret recipe for making lean happen but there are some basic concepts and practical patterns that you can follow. Specifically as the book reveals via its structure is the highly useful implementation framework of Stability, Flow, Takt Time, Pull, and Level Production that Toyota often uses in consulting work with suppliers needing to make operational improvements.

The closest parallel for this book in manufacturing literature is probably Eliyahu Goldratt's novel "The Goal". If you liked that book (and I must admit that I really did even though it contains a lot of practical holes) then I suspect you will enjoy this one as well. Like "The Goal" it combines a cast of interesting characters each with different personalities and technical problems from the shop floor. Better that "The Goal" however is the fact that this book actually correctly explains the technical elements of lean manufacturing and how to go about doing it in a realistic setting. (I don't know but I bet this is a real plant somewhere in the world).

In summary I think you will like this book if you are looking for something entertaining to read about lean manufacturing and are tired of the dry technical descriptions and stereotypical car plant examples that are floating around. This book is one part entertainment, one part introduction to lean, and one part structured implementation guide in an actual setting. My guess is that there are multiple audiences for this unique book. It can serve as an entertaining introduction for people new to the topic. Or it can also serve as a useful "how to" implementation example for more intermediate readers. Advanced readers will get an ironic chuckle out of the story and have several "God, I've run into this before!" moments and relate to the wise old sensei. Or if you are just looking for a fun business novel to read on the airplane I think you will thoroughly enjoy it as well.

I read "The Gold Mine" when it came out, and immediately had it added to our company Lean Library, and my own "read again" list.

It is definitely a must read for those that want to get into the depths of Lean, not just the tools. To get beyond and behind the mechanics of the tools, I group this book along with the outstanding Harvard Business Review articles: "The DNA of the Toyota Production System" by Spear & Bowen, and "Learning to Lead at Toyota" by Spear.

Understanding the mechanics of the Lean tools is necessary but not sufficient. Understanding the power behind the tools and the real challenge implementing them is critical. Tool books and true-life but superficial turnaround stories are helpful, but cannot reach the levels that a fictional story like this can (especially when told by authors who clearly "get it").

Here are specific thoughts on the book itself:

On the positives:

1) the descriptions of the dad character's interations with his sensei's were so realistic, I could picture myself with my own sensei's years ago (Hiyashi-san and Oba-san from Toyota and Matsubara-san from Tokai Rika). I found myself learning as much from remembering and rethinking what they said as I did from the book itself.

2) I was thoroughly impressed with the depth of understanding of Lean conveyed by the Balle's. The dad character hits on some real subtleties of Lean that it took me years of doing to even appreciate the power. I encourage readers to go over the 5S, 5 Why and TPM sections several times - the sections are brief, but there is some hard won wisdom in those passages.

3) the description of 5S on pages 120-126 is about the best I've seen anywhere (especially the often misunderstood 3rd and the rarely comprehended 4th and 5th).

4) The real dangers of a Lean transition are talked about in human terms with "real" people - the Materials Manager that couldn't make it, the production manager that did, the business partner that was focused on his relationship with the technical manager not the operation, and the change agent that gets burned out and recruited away. You just don't get that in the standard literature - the fictional story is much more effective.

On the wish list:

1) I wish the authors had set the story in a place without a "crisis". Getting across the "need to change" is somewhat easier (admittedly still difficult) when everyone knows there is an imminent crisis. It is harder to get a company with 20% margins to realize they could improve to 40% or to capture a larger market. I believe the Balle's have the capability to write the harder story of a business that just wants to move to a higher level without a crisis.

2) "The Gold Mine" shows the "Lean Way" to change an operation, and takes a few well aimed shots at regular consultants. I wish they had taken a few more at the mythical search for "the" bottleneck espoused by another famous fictional turnaround story (see pages 46-47). The Balle's insight and storytelling ability might have been able to give us Lean disciples some more help in the Lean vs TOC debates. As it is, they left it hanging.

3) I wish more of the story took place at the plant (in Gemba). The point still gets made in the book, but changes happen in Gemba, not on the consultant's boat. I understand the character's frustrations, but was somewhat dissapointed and saddened by the lack of passion for manufacturing and the desire to "get in there".

4) I wish there was more dialogue with and from the actual operators. The characters talk about them, but the only real interactions with them take place at the stamping presses late in the book.

On the nitpicky side:

1) some typos got through editing that should have been caught - in a couple of places they were confusing, in others, just annoying.

2) I could have done without the son's personal life issues. I don't think they added much to the story and I found myself wanting to skip ahead, but afraid I'd miss something...

Just in time for summer, the Lean Enterprise Institute has published The Gold Mine by Freddy and Michael Balle, an excellent novel on executing a lean manufacturing turnaround. Here's a great way to relax on the beach with an entertaining book while also getting some great ideas on how to improve your operations... without having to slog through yet another mind-numbing business best seller. Coming from the organization spawned by Womack and Jones (the authors of the definitive text on Lean, Lean Thinking), I had great expectations for this book.

Goldratt's The Goal has been required reading for many years. It provides a good introduction to theory of constraints, also in the format of an entertaining novel. However it falls a little short on explaining how to implement the concept in the real world.

The Gold Mine goes several steps further. The novel begins with a real-life business situation that many of us have experienced... strong sales, a backlog, great products... but still a cash flow problem. By using all of the core Lean tools such as 5S, kanban, pull, heijunka, jidoka, value stream mapping, and kaizen, the novel's characters turn the business around. Real life roadblocks are encountered, and the implementation of each concept is detailed.

Perhaps the most valuable insight is with the people side of Lean... something that many lean implementations forget about. The novel spends quite a bit of time on the emotional and leadership growth of the characters, and how they inspired their team to greatness. As Jim Womack says, "Mastery of the technical details of lean thinking is never enough. A transformation will fail without the most important element: the engagement of the people doing the work."

After reading this novel you may want to escape the beach and get back to work!