Lean Today Rich Tomorrow

This book tells the story of an actual Lean transformation that took place in a 100-year-old North American manufacturer's factory. Lean Today, Rich Tomorrow: Succeeding in Today's Globalization Chaos describes how an obsolete factory destined for closure was transformed into the most productive North American manufacturer in its field. It describes how the company eliminated the bad habits associated with its antiquated push system and transformed its factory into a JIT/Lean philosophy-driven plant with one-piece flow, U-shaped production lines, and productivity sharing.

This book by Peter Béndek presents a strong case against the current practice of business operations improvement, based on numerous studies from the business world as well as insights from the most prestigious authors of the last fifty years. The author contests the applicability and indeed the relevance of the Toyota Production System and its spin-offs to the Western context, claiming that a revised approach is much better suited to taking our specific cultural conditions into account, while also combining increased transparency, speed, and sustainability of change with a robust value-creating capability. Dr. Béndek argues that this approach can have a far-reaching impact on corporate cultures by offering an all-encompassing learning system, one that provides a more coherent and actionable continuous improvement strategy than conventional approaches. The book offers an important guide to rethinking operations management, both in academia and business practice.

The first complete English translation of the Hebrew classic Sefer Ha-Aggadah brings to the English-speaking world the greatest and best-loved anthology of classical Rabbinic literature ever compiled. First published in Odessa in 1908-11, it was recognized immediately as a masterwork in its own right, and reprinted numerous times in Israel. The Hebrew poet Hayim Nahman Bialik and the renowned editor Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky, the architects of this masterful compendium, selected hundreds of texts from the Talmud and midrashic literature and arranged them thematically, in order to provide their contemporaries with easy access to the national literary heritage of the Jewish people -- the texts of Rabbinic Judaism that remain at the heart of Jewish literacy today. Bialik and Ravnitzky chose Aggadah -- the non-legal portions of the Talmud and Midrash -- for their anthology. Loosely translated as "legends", Aggadah includes the genres of biblical exegesis, stories about biblical characters, the lives of the Talmudic era sages and their contemporary history, parables, proverbs, and folklore. A captivating melange of wisdom and piety, fantasy and satire, Aggadah is the expressive medium of the Jewish creative genius. The arrangement of this compendium reflects the theological concerns of the Rabbinic sages: the role of Israel and the nations; God, good and evil; human relations; the world of nature; and the art of healing. Here, the reader who wants to explore traditional Jewish views on a particular subject is treated to a selection of relevant texts at his fingertips but will soon become immersed in a way of thinking, exploring, and questioning that is the hallmark of Jewish inquiry. "Whatever the imagination can invent is found in the Aggadah," wrote the historian Leopold Zunz, "its purpose always being to teach man the ways of God." The Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah, now available in william Braude's superbly annotated translation, enables modern Jews to experience firsthand the richness and excitement of their cultural inheritance.

An investing story that provides insights into dealing with your money and finding financial security Making the right investment decisions and executing an effective financial plan can be difficult, especially in today’s markets. But with the right guidance you can achieve this goal. Now, in The Story of Rich, leading wealth manager John David “J.D.” Joyce shows you how. Based on his real-world experiences with investors throughout his successful career, this book offers meaningful advice about financial planning and investing. Designed for those with significant assets who are nearing or recently retired, as well as individuals who have recently come into new money through business or inheritance, The Story of Rich skillfully explains financial planning and investing through a fable of a man who sells a business he’s worked so hard to build, and now finds himself with more money then he’s ever had to deal with. Along the way, this book teaches you about important investment concepts and presents you with tools to consider your options and choose an appropriate investment strategy. Chronicles the fictional story of a recently retired businessman who is worried about making the most of his money now that he's no longer generating regular income Presents lessons about investing, sometimes through comparisons to topics like marathon running or wine making, in the quest to make sense of fundamental investment concepts Author John David “J.D.” Joyce has been named a Top Financial Advisor by Barron’s in 2009, 2010 and 2011 Engaging and informative, The Story of Rich is the perfect guide for those concerned about protecting their hard-earned money and investing it wisely.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.