Biography

Bob Emiliani is a well known educator, author, and trainer in the fields of leadership development, management, and continuous improvement. With a career spanning over three decades, Emiliani has made significant contributions to the understanding and dissemination of progressive management principles and practices, while also challenging conventional management practices.

Early Life and Education

Born in South Florida, Bob Emiliani developed a strong interest in engineering and technology. He pursued this passion by earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Miami. He then earned a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Brown University.

Career and Accomplishments

Emiliani began his professional career as a materials engineer. He subsequently became an operations and supply chain manager at Pratt & Whitney where he gained first-hand experience with Toyota's production system. After spending over 15 years in industry, he transitioned to academia by joining Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999 followed by Central Connecticut State University in 2005. He attained the rank of full professor and retired in 2022 as Professor Emeritus. As an educator, Emiliani played a pivotal role in the development of the first accredited Master's degree program in Lean management.

Emiliani's extensive research and industry work experiences led him to write more than 28 influential books and dozens of peer-reviewed papers. Some of his notable works include Better Thinking, Better Results; Practical Lean Leadership; Kaizen Forever, Speed Leadership, and The Triumph of Classical Management Over Lean Management. His writings have helped bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application, offering insights for practitioners and scholars alike.

Bob Emiliani has also been a sought-after speaker and trainer, offering his expertise to organizations seeking new leadership and management thinking to develop people and improve business results. Throughout his career, he has consistently advocated for the importance of “respect for people” and the need to retire traditional approaches to leadership and management.

Legacy and Impact

Bob Emiliani's impact on the field is undeniable. His dedication to research, education, and practical application has broadened the understanding of leadership and management, and has helped organizations worldwide improve their operations and culture. By emphasizing the importance of “respect for people,” Emiliani has contributed to the evolution of leadership and management. In doing so, he has inspired countless professionals to embrace continuous improvement in their professional lives.

Notable Firsts

Bob Emiliani is best known for being the first to study "Lean leadership" starting in 1994 and characterize the associated behaviors. He coined the term "Lean behaviors" in his 1998 peer-reviewed research paper of the same title. In that paper, he described "behavioral waste" and how it impeds Lean transformation. In doing so, he was among the first outside of Toyota to independently recognize the importance of "respect for people" in Lean transformation. Also in 1998, Bob wrote a peer-reviewed research paper that showed how he used shop floor kaizen tools as analogues for his own leadership development. He did this practical work while employed as a manager in industry.

Bob was the first full-time university professor to create and teach a course on Lean leadership to graduate students beginning in 2001. This was made possible by the training he received from Shingijutsu as well as his personal practice of Lean leadership while working in industry. He was also the first to create and teach a course that used a formal method to analyze failures in top leadership decision-making. Both courses were highly regarded by students.

Bob coined the terms "Real Lean" and "Fake Lean" as a simple way to distinguish between efforts that included or excluded the "Respect for People" principle. Throughout his academic paper, trade books, and blogs, he has produced original work that introduced numerous new terms and concepts. He also coined the term "Lean-Industrial Complex" to describe the business of Lean.

Between 2012 and 2015, Bob created Speed Leadership, the simplest way imaginable to improve leadership and to develop emerging leaders.

Bob also has the distinction of having been the trusted source to document and publish Shingijutsu's unique kaizen methods and the wonderful wisdom of sensei Chihiro Nakao.

Beginning in 2007, Emiliani embarked on a difficult multi-year study to solve the problem of why most leaders, throughout history, resist, reject, or ignore progressive management. The answers came in the form of six books published between 2018 to 2023 that examined the problem from six different directions: status, rights, and privileges; irrationality; secular spirituality; aesthetics; preconceptions; and workmanship. The books have received widespread acclaim in the Lean and Agile/Scrum communities.

Bob was the first in the Lean community to install an AI chatbot on his website on 18 December 2023, followed by a book AI chatbot on 1 May 2024.

Bob recently coined the terms "Neolean" to describe the current populist form of Lean management and "Junk Lean" which describes the gap between Lean management understood as a generic term for Toyota’s production system (circa 1988) and how Lean is practiced in reality as popular problem-solving tools (2024).