Excellent post. It supports the notion of the big picture of lean transformation – winning the war, not necessarily obsessing about the single battle(s)…and not reducing implementation into a mechanistic exercise. While the cultural differences can be dramatic between countries, they are also dramatic between industries within the U.S. For example, the differences between manufacturing and health care are huge. We need to understand those differences and be sensitive as to when (and many times “if”), where and how to drive change.