Uncover fruitless toil, then creatively design it out. That's how a tiny Japanese weaving company grew to become the most successful auto-maker the world has ever seen. The big surprise for me of recent years is that the Toyota Production System, known in the west as Lean, is pretty much identical to Bill Mollison's Permaculture Design principles. Maximum productivity and maximum flexibility are usually opposing goals in the world of business. Nature knows how to do it, and t

On the surface, Bill Granger's Mega-success looks like Magic. Last year I was lucky enough to live a few weeks on the ocean near Kamakura, where yet another Bill's cafe had opened. I couldn't eat there myself, due to the immensely long line of people that flowed down the stairs, down the street. For the Japanese, it's become something like a visit to the holy land, where people wait in line half the day to receive the blessing that is breakfast at Bills. What do they ord