This Is Lean: Resolving the Efficiency Paradox
Niklas Modig & Pär Åhlström
Business / Operations / Process Thinking
'This Is Lean' flips the usual conversation around efficiency and productivity. Rather than focusing on maximizing resource usage (what most people call "efficiency"), the authors introduce a more impactful idea: flow efficiency—delivering value faster from the customer's perspective.
The book is short, visual, and very actionable. It breaks down how companies often mistake busyness for effectiveness, and how optimizing individual units can actually harm the whole system.
It changed how I think about process design, project flow, and even personal productivity.
Flow efficiency > resource efficiency – The real goal is fast, smooth value delivery—not keeping everyone “busy.”
Customer-centricity wins – Focus on what the end user experiences, not just internal KPIs.
Eliminate handovers and bottlenecks – The fewer the steps, the smoother the value stream.
The “efficiency paradox” – Maximizing one area’s output can decrease overall performance.