The Lean Entrepreneur. Vlaskovits Patrick

for example, forklifting parts from one side of a warehouse to another.

      Critically, optimization that adversely affects the value being provided is not lean. We’re not being efficient for efficiency’s sake. Some have criticized American automobile manufacturers for believing that lean was primarily about replacing employees with robots. That may have increased labor productivity, but it also, some would argue, destroyed a portion of the value being created for car buyers. That was perhaps a conscious trade-off, but would not be considered lean.

      Some private equity firms have been criticized for taking over struggling companies, dramatically cutting costs by eliminating plant locations and cutting thousands of jobs, only to turn around and sell the companies when the books looked better. That may be wealth creation, but it’s not value creation, and hence it isn’t lean.