I’m delighted to announce that my new book, Lean Enterprise, is out. It’s been a fantastic journey and could not have been completed without the support of my family, friends, and fantastic co-authors Jez Humble and Joanne Molesky.

I also want to thank everyone in the community who encouraged us, gave feedback, shared stories and provided guidance along the way. The final product is a collaboration of all our efforts, which hopefully will help move our industry forward to further innovation and excellence.

Gene Kim is calling Lean Enterprise “the classic, authoritative reference for how organizations plan, organize, implement, and measure their work.” Stephen Foreshew-Cain, COO of the UK Government Digital Service, says “it should be required reading for every executive who understands that we’re all in the technology business now.” Mary Poppendieck says its “the best current thinking about how to create great software-intensive products and services.”

You can click here to download a free sample of Lean Enterprise including  the preface and four chapters. You can purchase hard copy, audio and digital at O’Reilly Media’s website.

If you are inspired by what you read, please write a review on Amazon or O’Reilly. Thank you so much.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, I look forward to hearing your stories of experimenting with these ideas.

Lean Enterprise: How High-Performance Organizations Innovate at Scale

How well does your organization respond to changing market conditions, customer needs, and emerging technologies when building software-based products? This practical guide presents Lean and Agile principles and patterns to help you move fast at scale—and demonstrates why and how to apply these methodologies throughout your organization, rather than with just one department or team.

Through case studies, you’ll learn how successful enterprises have rethought everything from governance and financial management to systems architecture and organizational culture in the pursuit of radically improved performance. Adopting Lean will take time and commitment, but it’s vital for harnessing the cultural and technical forces that are accelerating the rate of innovation.

  • Discover how Lean focuses on people and teamwork at every level, in contrast to traditional management practices;
  • Approach problem-solving experimentally, by exploring solutions, testing assumptions, and getting feedback from real users
  • Lead and manage large-scale programs in a way that empowers employees, increases the speed and quality of delivery, and lowers costs
  • Learn how to implement ideas from the DevOps and Lean Startup movements even in complex, regulated environments

Praise for Lean Enterprise

“This book is Reengineering the Corporation for the digital age. It is destined to be the classic, authoritative reference for how organizations plan, organize, implement, and measure their work. Lean Enterprise describes how organizations can win in the marketplace while harnessing and developing the capabilities of employees. Any business leader who cares about creating competitive advantage through technology and building a culture of innovation needs to read this book.”

Gene Kim, co-author of The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win, founder and former CTO of Tripwire, Inc.

“This book is a godsend for anyone who’s tried to change their organization and heard: ‘It’s OK for the little guy, but we’re too big/regulated/complex to work like that here.’ Humble, Molesky, and O’Reilly have written an easy-to-read guide that demystifies the success of Lean organizations in a way that everyone can understand and apply. Lean Enterprise provides a pragmatic toolkit of strategies and practices for establishing high performing organizations. It should be required reading for every executive who understands that we’re all in the technology business now.”

Stephen Foreshew-Cain, COO, UK Government Digital Service

“To thrive in the digital world, transformation must be more than technology driven—everyone within the organization must collectively work together to adapt. This book provides an essential guide for all leaders to change the way they deliver value to customers.”

Matt Pancino, CEO, Suncorp Business Services

“This is the book I’ve been waiting for—one that takes on the hardest questions in bringing Lean approaches to the enterprise. The authors provide solutions that are valuable even in low trust environments.”

Mark A. Schwartz (@schwartz_cio)

“This book integrates into a compelling narrative the best current thinking about how to create great software-intensive products and services. The approach in this book is both challenging and disciplined, and some organizations will be unable to imagine following this path. But those who make the journey will find it impossible to imagine ever going back—and if they happen to be a competitor, they are well positioned to steal both your market and your people. Ignore this book at your own risk.”

Mary Poppendieck, co-author of The Lean Mindset and the Lean Software Development series

“My job is to support people in practicing a scientific pattern, to help reshape thinking and working habits in business, politics, education, and daily life. The 21st century is increasingly demanding a way of working that’s cognitively complex, interpersonal, iterative, and even entrepreneurial. With Lean Enterprise, Jez Humble, Joanne Molesky, and Barry O’Reilly explain how software can and is leading the way to transforming our ways of working, which can change our ways of thinking and help us adapt to the emerging world around us.”

Mike Rother, author of Toyota Kata

“Nearly all industries and institutions are being disrupted through the rapid advance of technology, guided by the inspired vision of individuals and teams. This book clearly explains how the disciplines of Lean, Agile, Kata, Lean Startup, and Design Thinking are converging through the unifying principles of an adaptive learning organization.”

Steve Bell, Lean Enterprise Institute faculty, author of Lean IT and Run Grow Transform

“Building software the right way is a challenging task in and of itself, but Lean Enterprise goes beyond the technology considerations to guide organizations on how to quickly build the right software to deliver expected business results in a low risk fashion. This is a must read for any organization that provides software based services to its customers.”

Gary Gruver, VP of Release, QE, and Operations for Macys.com

“To compete in the future businesses need to be skilled at understanding their customers and taking the validated learnings to market as quickly as possible. This requires a new kind of adaptive and learning organization—the lean enterprise. The journey starts here in this book!”

John Crosby, Chief Product and Technology Officer, lastminute.com

“Rapid advancements in technology are creating unparalleled rates of disruption. The rules of the disruption game have changed, and many organizations wonder how to compete as new giants emerge with a different approach to serving their customers. This book provides an essential guide to those that have come to the realization that they have to change to regain an innovative competitive advantage but are unsure where to start.”

Jora Gill, Chief Digital Officer, The Economist

“Lean Enterprise was the book I gave my leadership team to get everyone on the same page about how we can challenge the status quo, remove roadblocks, and out-innovate our competition. By leveraging the continual insights we get from co-creating with customers, our people, and data, we now have so many additional new ways to grow our business.”

Don Meij, CEO, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd.

“While agile and lean methods have had a big impact on software delivery, their true potential only comes as they have a broader impact on enterprises of all sizes. In this book, Jez, Joanne, and Barry have set out what those changes look like—a realistic vision of how future companies will make today’s look like cassette tape players.”

Martin Fowler, Chief Scientist, ThoughtWorks

“This is an important book. It takes an informed and informative look at the fundamentals that need to shift to start building organizations capable of continuous learning and improvement. It moves well beyond the technical to the organizational. Lean Enterprise is a must-read for existing and emerging leaders seeking to ensure their company’s ongoing success.”

Jeff Gothelf, author of Lean UX, and Principal of Neo Innovation

“I was telling everyone to get this book for a year before it was finished. It documents the path being taken by the leading lean enterprises and the fat ones will be wiped out by the lean ones in the years to come.”

Adrian Cockcroft (@adrianco)

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