Just as American firms spent the 1980s embracing Japanese techniques such as lean production, European and Asian ones are restructuring fast.

ECONOMIST: The revolutionary spirit

Innovative solutions like demand-driven forecasting, in which real-time customer demand information is translated into super-lean production and delivery, have allowed companies to dramatically reduce inventory levels and the costs associated with them.

FORBES: Ash In The Supply Chain

As Toyota discovered with lean manufacturing, production-line workers, given the chance, can come up with plenty of good ideas to improve productivity.

ECONOMIST: Automation

Many hip hop crews are lucky to have one above average MC to lean on, relying instead on production strength to prop them up.

FORBES: Build Your Startup Team Like The Wu-Tang Clan