Karen Martin is president of The Karen Martin Group, Inc., a firm that specializes in business performance improvement and Lean management practices. She's also the author of the Shingo Research Award–winning The Outstanding Organization, an instructor in the University of California, San Diego's Lean Enterprise program, and an industry advisor to the University of San Diego's Industrial and Systems Engineering program.

Mike Osterling provides support and leadership to organizations on their Lean transformation journey. Prior to consulting, Mike played a key internal role in Schneider Electric's Lean transformation during the 1990s. He is the cofounder of San Diego State University's Lean Enterprise program and continues to teach at SDSU and other universities.

The first of its kind - a Value Stream Mapping book written for those in service and office environments who need to streamline operations. Value Stream Mapping is a practical, how-to guide that helps decision-makers improve value stream efficiency in virtually any setting, including construction, energy, financial service, government, healthcare, R&D, retail, and technology. It gives you the tools to address a wider range of important VSM issues than any other such book, including the psychology of change, leadership, creating teams, building consensus, and charter development. Karen Martin is principal consultant for Karen Martin & Associates, LLC, instructor for the University of California, San Diego's Lean Enterprise program, and industry advisor to the University of San Diego's Industrial and Systems Engineering program. Mike Osterling provides support and leadership to manufacturing and non-manufacturing organizations on their Lean Transformation Journey. In a continuous improvement leadership role for six years, Mike played a key role in Square D Company's lean transformation in the 1990s.