“It’s harder to do lean in the United States than it is in other parts of the world.”

Over the years, many organizations have tossed out that message to explain why their lean implementation is struggling or has failed in the U.S. while stories of success emerge from other global locations.

But is it true? Is it easier to do lean outside of the United States? Or outside of North America? Or is it a myth?

These are the questions podcast hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh tackle in this episode of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement.

Both agree that geographic location affects lean. Dyer cites the role of cultural differences.

 “Lean is all about not only the tools and the methodologies, but it also includes the cultural side, and some of the things that work in one culture very easily may be more difficult in another culture, so I'm on the side of I do think that there are certain parts of the world where lean would be easier to implement because of those cultural differences,” Dyer says.

Saleh highlights several potential cultural differences, including communication styles, speed of decision-making, comfort with conflict and how people interpret accountability from one region to another.

“I do think there's elements that are easier in certain continents over another. As an example, I feel in the African markets and the Asian markets, humility is huge, and so when you look at humility as a key ingredient of lean adoption, I would say those two continents have a better absorption rate to that,” he says.

On the other hand, he says those two continents may also have challenges when it comes to another lean ingredient: two-way communication.

Both podcast hosts have experience working around the globe, and they share several real-world examples of how communication or miscommunication impacted lean implementations in which they participated.

Dyer points out that regional differences aren’t the only consideration.

“I can make the argument that just within the United States there are many, many different degrees of easy or hardness to [lean adoption],” he says, citing the influences of a family-owned business versus a publicly traded conglomerate that must report its numbers in a manner that drives short-term decision-making.  

Saleh talks about the universal elements of lean. “People want respect. People want clarity. People want purpose. People want to feel that … psychological safety, and they have a voice, and they can speak up at any time,” he says. “People want good leadership, and in the end of the day, they want a system that could help you win, right? That's what it comes down to.”

Nonetheless, universal elements do not translate to universal actions, he adds.

“What I have learned is lean is universal, but … the tools have to be local in practice,” he says. “Lean doesn't really travel well when it's copied. It's something I've learned over the years. … it travels well when it's translated correctly.”

The biggest takeaway from this episode? Says Dyer, “No matter what the myth is, you cannot just take a cookie-cutter approach, and say, all right, we're going to implement this the same way across every region of the world.”

So, is lean harder to do in the United States? The podcast tells the full tale.