The Lean Global Network (LGN) is an international consortium of nonprofit Lean institutes formally chartered in September 2007. It was co-founded by james-p-womack, daniel-t-jones, and jose-ferro. The network has grown to 30+ member institutes worldwide, each serving as a national or regional hub for Lean education, research, and practitioner development.
Role in the Lean Transmission Chain
The LGN represents the global dissemination infrastructure that Womack and Jones built after their core codification work was complete. Where machine-that-changed-the-world and lean-thinking spread Lean thinking through publishing, LGN institutionalizes ongoing transmission through a federated network of local organizations. Each member institute is an independent nonprofit aligned around the five-lean-principles and the broader Lean framework.
Founding and Charter
The network was formally chartered at the lgn-charter event in September 2007. The founding principals — Womack (lean-enterprise-institute), Jones (lean-enterprise-academy), and Ferro — brought their respective national institutes into a coordinating umbrella. The consortium model allows for cultural adaptation at the local level while maintaining intellectual coherence at the network level.