It's a weight loss program called "Lean 13." It's the everyday use of the word "lean," as in thinner, that has nothing to do with the Lean methodology and the Toyota Production System. They're promising that you'll lose 13 pounds in the first month.As with the Lean methodology, in hospitals, factories, or wherever, your results might vary based on a number of factors. For example, Nutrisystem can't stop a customer from supplementing their food with Buffalo wings and chocolate milkshakes.

We have situations out there where people say, "We tried Lean and it didn't work." Maybe it was because they were cherry picking a few Lean tools or they just thought Lean was about cost cutting, instead of focusing on safety, quality, patient flow, and employee engagement.