OPINION – Look at today's disruptive companies and you'll see how all of them have understood that real innovation calls for close proximity to the customer, rather than for stubbornly taking cover in the comfort of the upstream.

INTERVIEW – The former executive of the Toyota Material Handling plant in Italy reflects on how Sadao Nomura’s “Dantotsu” method helped them to drastically improve quality.

INTERVIEW – In this Q&A with Catherine Chabiron, Toyota veteran Isao Yoshino discusses NUMMI, management at the company, and how to change the mindsets of leaders.

BOOK EXCERPT – The city of Breda in the Netherlands has been on a lean journey for the past six years. Today we share an excerpt from the book The Lean Government, which sets the scene for the transformation.