Nice post and I think that the applications of "lean" go even further than simply other industries. I am playing with the application of Lean concepts to the development and roll out of corporate learning inside companies. The traditional approach is extremely similar to old waterfall development and training has historically often fallen short on finding PM fit. i think that while the concept of being customer focused have been around forever, this specific application (Lean) meets the speed and engagement requirements of the world today. in case your interested here is the post on Lean Learning... http://learninghack.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/here-comes-lean-learning-pt-1/

The assumption of 0% returns to eternity assumes steady state. A shake out of the VC world would not be a bad thing as it will drive innovation in the VC industry. Having been in VC late 90's to bust and in P.E. and seed stage since, I think that the VC model has done little to adapt to the new economics of investing. Combined with the fact that many are reaching the end of their 3 year investment period they are actively trying to put money to work in the old way. i think there will be another VC bubble pop but as I wrote in my blog a few weeks ago that might not be a bad thing http://bit.ly/d6FBVk