Books about Efficiency from Amazon.com

Expanded, updated, and more relevant than ever, this bestselling business classic by two internationally renowned management analysts describes a business system for the twenty-first century that supersedes the mass production system of Ford, the financial control system of Sloan, and the strategic system of Welch and GE. It is based on the Toyota (lean) model, which combines operational excellence with value-based strategies to produce steady growth through a wide range of economic conditions.

In contrast with the crash-and-burn performance of companies trumpeted by business gurus in the 1990s, the firms profiled in Lean Thinking -- from tiny Lantech to midsized Wiremold to niche producer Porsche to gigantic Pratt & Whitney -- have kept on keeping on, largely unnoticed, along a steady upward path through the market turbulence and crushed dreams of the early twenty-first century. Meanwhile, the leader in lean thinking -- Toyota -- has set its sights on leadership of the global motor vehicle industry in this decade.

Instead of constantly reinventing business models, lean thinkers go back to basics by asking what the customer really perceives as value. (It's often not at all what existing organizations and assets would suggest.) The next step is to line up value-creating activities for a specific product along a value stream while eliminating activities (usually the majority) that don't add value. Then the lean thinker creates a flow condition in which the design and the product advance smoothly and rapidly at the pull of the customer (rather than the push of the producer). Finally, as flow and pull are implemented, the lean thinker speeds up the cycle of improvement in pursuit of perfection. The first part of this book describes each of these concepts and makes them come alive with striking examples.

Lean Thinking clearly demonstrates that these simple ideas can breathe new life into any company in any industry in any country. But most managers need guidance on how to make the lean leap in their firm. Part II provides a step-by-step action plan, based on in-depth studies of more than fifty lean companies in a wide range of industries across the world.

Even those readers who believe they have embraced lean thinking will discover in Part III that another dramatic leap is possible by creating an extended lean enterprise for each of their product families that tightly links value-creating activities from raw materials to customer.

In Part IV, an epilogue to the original edition, the story of lean thinking is brought up-to-date with an enhanced action plan based on the experiences of a range of lean firms since the original publication of Lean Thinking.

Lean Thinking does not provide a new management "program" for the one-minute manager. Instead, it offers a new method of thinking, of being, and, above all, of doing for the serious long-term manager -- a method that is changing the world..
Price: $10.77 [Notify me when price goes down.]

How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known, unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.

The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.

Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts. Although the 80/20 principle has long influenced today's business world, author Richard Koch reveals how the principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve our careers and our companies.

The unspoken corollary to the 80/20 principle is that little of what we spend our time on actually counts. But by concentrating on those things that do, we can unlock the enormous potential of the magic 20 percent, and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our careers, our businesses, and our lives..
Price: $7.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Free time is great. Unless you spend all of it searching for your homework, your mobile phone, or a clean pair of shorts. Then free time is not so great. In fact, it's non-existent If chaos and disorganisation are swallowing all of your free time, "Where's My Stuff?" can help you to get it back. Inside, you will learn how to systematically organise your school stuff, your time, and your room. The book includes: innovative notebook systems; backpack maintenance tips; practical pointers for managing your schedule; a template for your own personalised daily planner; and, interior design-inspired techniques to make your room your favourite place to be. With fun and useful illustrations, easy-to-follow charts, and 4 ample doses of humour, "Where's My Stuff?" is an incredible asset for any-one who wants to get it together and keep it together, for good..
Price: $10.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]

You're smart. This book can make you smarter

"Mind Performance Hacks" provides real-life tips and tools for overclocking your brain and becoming a better thinker In the increasingly frenetic pace of today's information economy, managing your life requires hacking your brain. With this book, you'll cut through the clutter and tune up your brain intentionally, safely, and productively.

Grounded in current research and theory, but offering practical solutions you can apply immediately, Mind Performance Hacks is filled with life hacks that teach you to:

Use mnemonic tricks to remember numbers, names, dates, and other flotsam you need to recall

Put down your calculator and perform complex math in your head, with your fingers, or on the back of a napkin

Spark your creativity with innovative brainstorming methods

Use effective systems to capture new ideas before they get away

Communicate in creative new ways-even using artificial languages

Make better decisions by foreseeing problems and finding surprising solutions

Improve your mental fitness with cool tricks and games

While the hugely successful "Mind Hacks" showed you how your brain works, "Mind Performance Hacks" shows you how to make it work better..
Price: $13.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Cash is needed and Alex Rogo's companies are to be put on the block. Alex needs to complete the turnaround of his companies if they can be sold for the maximum return: if he fails they will be closed down. This text highlights the techniques needed to survive at home and at work..
Price: $5.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Lean production has been proven unbeatable in organizing production operations, yet the majority of attempts to implement lean end in disappointing results. The critical factor so often overlooked is that lean implementation requires day-to-day, hour-by-hour management practices and skills that leaders in conventional batch-and-queue environments are neither familiar nor comfortable with.

Creating a Lean Culture helps lean leaders succeed in their personal batch-to-lean transformation. It provides a practical guide to implementing the missing links needed to sustain a lean implementation. Mann provides critical guidance on developing and using the key elements of a lean management system, including: leader standard work, visual controls, daily accountability processes, maintaining a process focus, managing key HR issues, and much more. In addition, a questionnaire is included to help assess current management practices and monitor progress.

Highlights: Distinguishes the much-discussed, abstract concept of "lean culture" from the concrete, implementable practices of lean management. Describes and illustrates 4 key principles of lean management: leader standard work; visual controls; daily accountability process, and discipline. Shows how visual controls bring process focus to life, tie in lean's requirement for highly disciplined execution, and make leaders' new jobs far easier to explain, model and evaluate. Moves beyond models and theories of lean management to show how to implement the daily practices that are the key to implementing and sustaining a lean transformation. Lots of case examples, figures and photographs..
Price: $27.61 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Have you thought about using Lean in your business or organization, but are not really sure how to implement it? Or perhaps you’re already using Lean, but you need to get up to speed. Lean for Dummies will show you how to do more with less and create an enterprise that embraces change.

In plain-English writing, this friendly guide explores the general overview of Lean, how flow and the value stream works, and the best ways to apply Lean to your enterprise. You will understand the philosophy of Lean and adopt it not as a routine, but a way of life. This highly informative book teaches you:

• The foundation and language of Lean
• How to map the value stream and using it to your business’s advantage
• The philosophy of Kaizen
• Different tools to improve management, customer service, and flow and pull
• How to “Go Lean” within your business and across the industry
• Avoid common mistakes in implementation
• Seek out resources for assistance

This simple, continuous improvement approach that minimizes waste and adds customer value is changing organizations of all sizes all over the world. Lean for Dummies will show you to take charge and engage your enterprise in a Lean transformation!.
Price: $11.82 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Perl is a powerful interpreted programming language that has matured steadily since it first appeared in 1988. The first edition of this book, Programming Perl, hit the shelves in 1990, and was quickly adopted as the undisputed Bible of the language. Since then, Perl has grown with the times, and so has this book. Programming Perl provides a unique introduction to the Perl language and its culture, as you might expect only from its authors. This third edition of the book has been expanded to cover version 5.6 of Perl. New topics include threading, the compiler, Unicode, and other features that have been added or improved since the previous edition..
Price: $19.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Theory of Constraints walks you through the crucial stages of a continuous program: the five steps of focusing; the process of change; how to prove effect-cause-effect; and how to invent simple solutions to complex problems. Equally important, the author reveals the devastating impact that an organization's psychology can have on the process of improvements. Theory of Constraints is a crucial document for understanding what it takes to achieve manufacturing breakthroughs..
Price: $12.42 [Notify me when price goes down.]