Media
Articles and Reviews
The Hennepin Lawyer, Innovation: A Place in Big Law, October 24, 2011
Describes the concept of lean dynamics identified in Going Lean as a way companies have introduced innovation into program management.
Midwest Book Review, The Bookwatch, July 2011
Describes The Going Lean Fieldbook as “a survey for business and manufacturing sectors based on real-life firms from different industries that have successfully used lean methods.”
Outsource, Embracing a Lean Culture in Recruitment, June 28, 2011
Cites the book Going Lean in which “author Stephen Ruffa cites standouts such as Walmart and Southwest Airlines as pioneers in adopting Lean to combat a turbulent business environment.”
Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), Top Picks for Supply Chain Management, May 19, 2011
Highlights The Going Lean Fieldbook as a resource to “help leaders and managers learn how to nurture a lean environment that is understood and supported by employees.”
Book News, Review of The Going Lean Fieldbook, February, 2011
“In this follow up to his book Going Lean, Ruffa, an aerospace engineer and business consultant, goes beyond the quick fixes of a cookbook approach to offer a fresh look at business conditions, the corporate mindset, and the management framework in complex business environments, revealing the reasons for waste in the first place…” (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
USA Today, How to Optimize Performance in the Airline Industry, Catherine Capozzi, 2011
Cites the book Going Lean, explaining how thinking lean can help “safeguard your company by avoiding tumultuous market forces that can destroy your business.”
Smarter Technology, Four Tips: Going Lean Doesn’t Have to be ‘Mean, Dennis McCafferty, January 13, 2011
“Too often, the concept of ‘cutting the fat’ in an organization casts a negative impression within the ranks. But many lean practices via IT innovation and other methods may actually be embraced—not resented—by employees. A new book from a management expert demonstrates how.”
Training & Development, Book Review, February 11, 2011
Summarizes how The Going Lean Fieldbook “aims to help readers on their journey to ‘lean dynamics,’ a process that eliminates waste, embraces change, and promotes innovation and strategic possibilities.”
Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2010, Surviving the Perfect Storm: Ensuring Readiness with Integrated Training Technologies, 2010
Cites the book Going Lean in answering the question: “Are the lessons learned in the private sector such as “lean manufacturing, lean six sigma, or lean dynamics” directly applicable to increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of military training?” (p. 4)
Effect Magazine, What We Can Learn From Lean, Sara Aase, Fall, 2009
Stephen A. Ruffa, author of Going Lean and The Going Lean Fieldbook, explains in an interview how lean principles can help organizations sustain positive results even during a recession.
What’s Next? Presented by the Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland, 3 Lessons in Sustaining Customer Value in a Downturn, July 13, 2009
Author Stephen A. Ruffa wrote that today’s challenging environment has driven a growing number of organizations to consider ‘leaning’ their lean mft activities. But what is most important is their starting point.
Manufacturing.net, Going Lean with Lean Dynamics, Amy Radishofski, Features Editor, July 2, 2009
“Stephen Ruffa, author of ‘Going Lean,’ spent time with Manufacturing.net discussing his concept of Lean Dynamics, designed to help manufacturers navigate through challenging business circumstances.”
ASQ, Quality Progress Book Review, March, 2009
“Going Lean should be read by manufacturing executives and their staffs, and is recommended for corporate executives and leaders in quality or materials functions. It also has value for investors…”
Ivey Business Journal, ‘Going Lean’ as a Solution for Navigating Through Uncertainty and Crisis, Stephen A. Ruffa, March/April, 2009
Stephen A. Ruffa wrote that companies can produce stronger results that better adapt to the challenging circumstances that have engulfed the business world today by following the lead of today’s benchmarks of excellence and applying lean dynamics—drawing on lean principles to address the forces of uncertainty and change. He explains that doing this takes structuring their efforts with a different focus—creating more responsive capabilities and dynamic business strategies. Yet, this begins with gaining a clear understanding of a lean definition–beginning with what lean mfg practices were founded to achieve, and recognizing the hazards of deviating from their underlying intent.
Six Sigma, Going Lean Teaches You How To Live with Change, December 21, 2008
The editor describes the book, Going Lean, stating “in this time of economic crisis when recession has plagued the worlds economic arena, Going Lean teaches us to live and adapt to change.” This offers a strong indication of how lean dynamics relates to lean six sigma practices.
National Defense, ‘Lean’ Manufacturing Offers Remedy to Spare Parts Crisis, Stephen A. Ruffa
Author Stephen A. Ruffa explains how the principles of lean management could prove useful to the Defense Department’s ongoing efforts to obtain spare parts more quickly and at lower prices. The article explains that lean processes could result in improvements to the readiness of the military force.
Reports
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Manufacturing Institute, Roadmap to Education Reform for Manufacturing, December 1, 2010
Author Stephen A. Ruffa joined an esteemed group of manufacturers, educators, and thought leaders who gathered to develop “a bold set of recommendations for Governors, Congress, and the Administration to drive innovation in secondary and postsecondary education” and promote a robust educational pipeline to support manufacturing. See his contribution to this important report published by The Manufacturing Institute.
Multimedia
Whiting Turner Lecture, Clark School of Engineering, Thriving in Uncertainty: How Leading Corporations Apply ‘Lean Dynamics’ to Drive New Innovation and Value, November 6, 2008
What happens to most companies when the economy dives, fuel prices spike, or crisis strikes? Author Stephen Ruffa describes how some companies have managed to defy conventional wisdom. By applying “lean dynamics” principles, these firms consistently thrive in today’s challenging business environment, sustaining profitability, growth, and innovation.
BetterProcess.com, Interview–Stephen A. Ruffa on ‘Going Lean’, September, 2008
Stephen A. Ruffa discusses why companies must accept that they must make a transformational shift if they are to achieve the fundamentally different results they need.
Reference Books
Breaking the Cost Barrier: A Proven Approach to Managing and Implementing Lean Manufacturing (Wiley, 2000), by Stephen A. Ruffa and Michael J. Perozziello
The results of a comprehensive government/industry benchmarking study of the aerospace industry showing a structured approach to implementing lean manufacturing initiatives to create powerful results. Its lessons in applying lean to a complex, dynamic industry form a foundation for the concept of lean dynamics.