The questions we ask define our realityDr. Michael Ballé, is the co-author of THE LEAN STRATEGY and THE GOLD MINE trilogy. His work has been translated in 10 languages. He coaches CEOs on the gemba, is Managing Director of ESG Consultants and co-founder of the Projet Lean Entreprise (www.lean.enst.fr). This is France’s leading lean initiative, conducted in collaboration with Telecom Paris, where Michael is associate researcher. He also co-founded the French Lean Institute (http://www.institut-lean-france.fr) For over a decade, he has focused on the human implications of lean implementation in fields as diverse as manufacturing, healthcare and administrative processes and helped many companies to run successfully their lean programs. As a cognitive sociologist, he has taught organization theory in several business schools. He is co-author of The Gold Mine: a novel of lean turnaround, and The Lean Manager: a novel of lean transformation, and has published extensively on organizational change.The Gold Mine has twice received the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research.