Debate: How mean is Lean really?

In this issue of Public Money & Management there is an article on ‘Lean and mean in the civil service’ which presents an important view of Lean, especially in a public service environment, from the perspective of the staff (Carter et al., Citation2011). However, it is probably important to remember that a methodology such as Lean, which is receiving a lot of attention in the current economic climate, should be researched, evaluated and understood from a number of perspectives.