The Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc. was founded in 1997 by management expert James P. Womack, Ph.D., as a nonprofit research, education, publishing, and conferencing company with a mission to advance lean thinking around the world. We teach courses, hold management seminars, write and publish books and workbooks, and organize public and private conferences. For more information visit LEI at http://www.lean.org. Lean Enterprise Institute and the leaper image are registered trademarks of Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc.