The Simple Leader

Simplicity, flow, respect, reflection, observation, humility, beginner’s mind, inquiry, a search for perfection. Those are just some of the concepts shared between Lean, also known as the Toyota Production System, and Zen.

In The Simple Leader, author Kevin Meyer describes how he discovered and leveraged Lean on his thirty-year leadership journey from engineer to President of a medical device company. Then, when faced with a very stressful family health situation, he learned about Zen - and soon realized that there were common themes that could be used to improve both personal and professional leadership.

Filled with personal stories, practices, and insight built on experience, The Simple Leader will help new or struggling leaders in any industry become more organized, effective, and balanced.

The book is organized into eight parts, each with a different purpose:


Part One: Fundamentals – A quick history lesson and exploration of the basics of Lean and Zen.

Part Two: Reconnect – Before doing anything, a leader has to be in touch with her or his inner self.

Part Three: Create – Methods to improve personal productivity to prepare for the work that is coming.

Part Four: Lead – How to engage and lead your team as you begin the improvement journey.

Part Five: Clarify – Clarifying what you and your organization are about, defining the current state and the desired future state, and creating a plan.

Part Six: Simplify – Using your new plan, you can take the first step and simplify your operation within the context of that plan.

Part Seven: Improve – Methods to identify and execute improvement projects within the context of your plan.

Part Eight: Grow – Within ongoing improvement projects in place, it is time to stretch yourself and your organization even further.