Michael Ballé is the co-author of, The Gold Mine, a bestselling business novel of lean turnaround, and recently, The Lean Manager, a novel of lean transformation, both published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. For the past 15 years, he has studied lean transformations, helping companies develop a lean culture. He is an engaging and colorful public speaker and I think you will find in the podcast, he lives up to his reputation. Micheal joined me on the Business901 Podcast and we had a spirited discussion about Lean Cultures and how the tools of Lean apply.

As a managing partner of ESG Consultants, Michael coaches executives in obtaining exceptional performance through using the lean tools, principles, and management attitudes. His main coaching technique is the “Real Place Visit,” where he helps senior executives to learn to see their own operational shop floors, teach their people the spirit of Kaizen and draw the right conclusions for their business as a whole. He has assisted companies in their lean transformations in various fields such as manufacturing, engineering, construction, services, and healthcare.