There may be no more iconic American brand than Harley-Davidson. But like many storied companies, Harley has had to evolve to stay on top and at times its very existence has been threatened. Practically extinct in the mid-1980's, the company began a miraculous turnaround centered on a product development and manufacturing revolution. With dramatic improvements in efficiency and bottom-line results, Harley returned to dominance. At the core of this incredible story was author Dantar Oosterwal, who brings the transformation of Harley-Davidson to life in "The Lean Machine". Filled with crucial lessons for any product development environment, it's also a great American success story.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Working Hard Springtime in Paris The Concurrent Product Development Process A Reality Check Unexpected Competition Problems Late in the Development Process Chapter 2: The Harley-Davidson Environment Harley-Davidson was Different Consensus Decision-Making We Fulfill Dreams Lessons from the Dark Days The Circle Organization Consensus-Driven Organization Managing Conflict within the Circle Organization The Harley-Davidson Business Process Organizational Learning Chapter 3: Harley-Davidson's Product Development Leadership Learning Team The Product Development Leadership Learning Team Journey Learning Organizations Chapter 4: Bad Systems Beat Good People Chapter 5: Firefighting and the Tipping Point The MIT Connection Firefighting The Tipping Point Lessons from Beyond the Brink Chapter 6: Cadence and Flow, Bins and Swirl The Outstanding Corporate Innovator Award Product Development Flow Product Development Cadence The Application of Cadence and Flow Bins The Innovation Swirl Chapter 7: Supply and Demand The System Model of the Motorcycle Business A Soft Landing by Reducing Shipments Generating Product Demand Developing New Products Chapter 8: A Left Turn: Bringing Lean Manufacturing to Product Development Bringing Lean Manufacturing to Product Development The Roots of Knowledge-Based Product Development Work Smarter not Harder Chapter 9: The Product Development Limit Curve Design Rework Loops Chapter 10: Integration Points and False Positive Feasibility False Positive Feasibility Design Loops and Integration Points Chapter 11: The Learning Cycle The Learning Cycle Set-Based Product Development Chapter 12: Set-Based Design A New Framework for Product Development The Limit Curve Puzzle Chapter 13: Leadership Learning and Pull Events The Leadership Learning Change Model Early Pull Events Creating Leverage Through Pull Events Chapter 14: Quickening Product Development Railroad Planning versus Combat Planning Establishing and Using Help Chains Using Visual Management Collaboration Using the Oobeya Process The Wall Quickening the Pace of Innovation Chapter 15: Knowledge-Based Product Development Indications of Success Creating Change

Author Biography

Dantar P. Oosterwal has led global innovation improvements as Vice President of Innovation at Sara Lee, as well as Director of Product Development at Harley-Davidson.