I bought this book few years ago and I really enjoyed it. I had read many books that talk about Lean and Six Sigma in the context of Manufacturing but I couldn’t find many books that presented a new perspective around lean and six sigma  in the context of flow of information, beyond just Lean Office.

Even thought there are sections in this book that I found hard to read, I found it very interesting and I was able to gain a deeper knowledge and perspective about Lean Six Sigma linked to many of the problems that I am currently seeing in many organizations.

e.g. the principles share in the book around the waste of Multitasking in the context of Project Management, and the idea of Virtual Kaizen are topics that I have been able to use and explore further after reading this book.

If you want to gain a “fresh” perspective about lean six sigma principles and tools, I think you will benefit from having and reading  this book.

Kindle Version

Far from the Factory: Lean for the Information Age

Paper Back Version

Far from the Factory: Lean for the Information Age

Carlos Ray Ruiz

I am currently serving as the Director of Global Strategy and Organizational Change at humanitarian international health organization. I serve by orchestrating transformational change projects across the organization in order to achieve our aspirational goals. I help the organization refine its strategy and strategic plan. I coordinate all departments and country offices as they implement new systems and processes that transform their way of working, improve effectiveness, and enable significant scale.

Previously I served for 8 years as the Director of Continuous Improvement for World Vision International where I had the responsibility to foster a culture of Continuous Improvement. I collaborated with leaders, teams, and individuals across the organization and around the world to guide them in applying continuous improvement principles and tools.

Based on more than 20 years of experience in the areas of strategy, leadership/organizational development, and, continuous improvement, I know that in order to deeply transform any organization you must consider the context, culture, and the current state of the organization.

I have led numerous continuous improvement workshops ( Kaizens) around the world, Asia, Africa, Europe, and America. I have coached and developed hundreds of leaders. I have also certified hundreds of White Belts, Yellow Belts, Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts around the world.

Nothing energizes me more than to work with diverse cross-functional teams from different nationalities around the world and to witness how regardless of their background they voluntarily embrace and develop a culture where waste, inefficiencies, risks, and errors are seen as treasures that they themselves can fix or eliminate.

I have worked with multiple units to improve their door-to-door processes in areas like procurement, finance, human resources, operations, grants, sponsorship, strategy, etc.

By ensuring the leaders' engagement, cross-functional participation, and rigorous adherence to the "Kaizen Rules" and the DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), the teams are able to significantly improve in the areas of safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

I am very passionate about Strategy, leadership/organizational development, and continuous improvement. I am convinced that these are 3 pillars that can significantly contribute to transforming and improving any individual, team, or organization.

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