Blog

I assumed that running lean in the business world boiled down to streamlining manufacturing operations (see my earlier post, “What is lean manufacturing?“). I was wrong. My view of lean concepts, not to mention my pre-existing evaluation criteria for media projects, was shaken up not long after the supply chain management class at MIT ended.Read more

The following post is excerpted from the manuscript of my book about Lean Media. I will respond to comments, corrections, and other feedback at the bottom of the page. I was introduced to lean business theories while attending MIT. One of my Supply Chain Management instructors, Charles Fine, mentioned lean manufacturing in a discussion of differentRead more

I have been relatively quiet on the Lean Media website. Behind the scenes, however, I have been making progress with the Lean Media book. There are a few major updates to share, but I also want to reassure readers that the project is continuing and I expect to have more materials to post (including new draft chapters) inRead more

Last month I gave my first public presentation of Lean Media at a forum at Harvard hosted by the Harvard Extension Alumni Association, of which I am a member. The presentation at Harvard Hall on May 22 was part of an innovation symposium. It was short, but very effective — 10 minutes to present and 10 minutesRead more

Last month I posted the draft Lean Media slide presentation. Since then I have recorded the narration that goes along with it. You can view the Lean Media In 30 Minutes presentation and narration in the YouTube videos embedded below. Be sure to leave comments and let me know what needs to be improved! Lean Media InRead more

Over the weekend, I listened to Tim Ferriss interview Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert cartoon strip. Before hearing the interview, I knew about Dilbert. It’s a classic. Everyone who has worked in an office can appreciate Adams’ relentless satire of office life. But I knew very little about the history of the strip, or Adams’Read more

A local university has invited me to give a presentation about Lean Media to graduate students later this year. Here’s the draft version. It outlines what Lean Media is and how creators/producers/founders can use it. I’ve incorporated lots of examples, including one related to the Lean Media Project Planner described last week. Leave your feedback in the comments below:[slideshareRead more

Last month I introduced the Lean Media Project Planner for new media ventures. It’s a one-page tool for creators/producers/entrepreneurs to plan the development of new ventures using the core tenets of the lean media framework. Today, I am sharing some examples that illustrate how it works. I am starting with Led Zeppelin I (a lean media example thatRead more

I recently received feedback about various lean media concepts from faculty at the Media Ventures program at the Boston University College of Communication. Jodi Luber, who teaches media entrepreneurship at BU, had a great idea: A one-page template for producers/creators/entrepreneurs based on lean media concepts. Her class already uses the lean canvas one-pager to develop business modelsRead more

I recently received an interesting piece of Lean Media feedback from a friend. He is an engineer and former MIT Media Lab staffer who earlier in his career was a part of creative teams that made music, websites, and even an opera. He has also done a fair amount of reading and examination that relate to production issues, showingRead more