The problem is that leadership doesn’t interpret it that way and just sees “minimizing inventory increases profit!”

Yep. Managers prioritize short-term gains (often personal gains, too) over the overall health of a business.

There’s also industries where the “lean” strategy is inappropriate because the given industry is one that booms in times of crisis when logistics to get “just in time” supplies go kaput due to the same catastrophe that’s causing the industry to boom. Hospitals and clinics can end up in trouble like this.

But there’s other industries too–I haven’t looked for it, but I’m sure there’s a plethora of analysis already on what Covid did to companies and their supply chains.