Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Lean startup" in English language version.
Lean purists are quick to point out, however, that lean is not about the short-term pursuit of cost savings that characterizes many organizations. Cost reductions achieved by eliminating important tests during product development or using lower grade materials, for example, may not be supportive of a lean philosophy.
Lean thinkers see cost as the end result of all our systems and processes. As an end result, cost is not something that can be directly impacted. Or at least we do not have an impact on it in the traditional "cost-cutting" ways, which typically have meant layoffs and possibly the scaling back of services provided to our community. Lean hospitals focus on reducing waste, not cutting costs. Lean organizations also focus on the customers (the patients) and the value that is being delivered to them. In this way, Lean is not focused on doing less but rather on delivering the right amount of value. If we are reducing waste, we can often provide more value while expending less effort and less cost.
Organizations often view Lean as purely a cost-cutting tool. This is a parochial view from individuals or organizations that do not entirely comprehend what Lean thinking is and what it can do to a business. Lean is not a cost-cutting tool but a method that drives cost-efficiency.
Lean ways of working should not simply be equated with cost cutting.
Lean ways of working should not simply be equated with cost cutting.
Lean start-up practices aren't just for young tech ventures. Large companies, such as GE and Intuit, have begun to implement them.... Over the years managerial experts such as Clayton Christensen, Rita McGrath, Vijay Govindarajan, Henry Chesbrough, Ian MacMillan, Alexander Osterwalder, and Eric von Hippel have advanced the thinking on how large companies can improve their innovation processes. During the past three years, however, we have seen large companies, including General Electric, Qualcomm, and Intuit, begin to implement the lean start-up methodology.
My point is that lean methods and concepts have come to be seen primarily as cost-cutting tools. But this is wrong. An emphasis on cost reduction risks the success of the lean initiative.
The problem is that lean is not a cost reduction strategy. Properly applied, lean principles will not reduce spending much at all. Lean is aimed at enhancing the top line – sales – not the total spending line.
There's plenty of research proving that cost reduction isn't sustained in the long run. Just like weight always comes back after drastic dieting, costs always creep back two to three years after drastic cuts, because the underlying processes and capabilities haven't been improved.
If we go back to the central premise of this post – lean is not about cost cutting – then I need to address what lean "is" about. Lean is a philosophy through which we look at value from the client's perspective and focus what we do on delivering that value while respecting people.
Lean purists are quick to point out, however, that lean is not about the short-term pursuit of cost savings that characterizes many organizations. Cost reductions achieved by eliminating important tests during product development or using lower grade materials, for example, may not be supportive of a lean philosophy.
Lean thinkers see cost as the end result of all our systems and processes. As an end result, cost is not something that can be directly impacted. Or at least we do not have an impact on it in the traditional "cost-cutting" ways, which typically have meant layoffs and possibly the scaling back of services provided to our community. Lean hospitals focus on reducing waste, not cutting costs. Lean organizations also focus on the customers (the patients) and the value that is being delivered to them. In this way, Lean is not focused on doing less but rather on delivering the right amount of value. If we are reducing waste, we can often provide more value while expending less effort and less cost.
Organizations often view Lean as purely a cost-cutting tool. This is a parochial view from individuals or organizations that do not entirely comprehend what Lean thinking is and what it can do to a business. Lean is not a cost-cutting tool but a method that drives cost-efficiency.
Lean ways of working should not simply be equated with cost cutting.
