For sure there are plenty of Lean zealots out there who are totally committed to that statement. People who live and breathe Lean as a way of life, always looking to make a difference and always looking for opportunities to make things better. I share much with these individuals and […]

In a previous article we talked about change and the effect it has on people. Some people love change whilst others declare that they don’t. On reflection, the point of view is not about whether you like change or not but more about how much control and influence you have […]

Recently I was facilitating an Improvement Activity, at the end of the first day I saw some resistance from the team as they felt they were too busy to continue to spend time on this improvement work. The team admitted that they wanted to improve things, and it was evident […]

PE firms are always looking for new and exciting prospects to convert wealth into more wealth.  Understanding how to do this requires both structure and a well-honed talent for asking the right questions, for thinking in opportunistic ways. The teams that do this are often extremely talented people to work […]

A common expression that I hear is about how people don’t like change. I often pause and shudder slightly at this expression because I find it only to be partly true. What I find is that people actually really need change to be happy and can enjoy it. Please read […]

If you understand and have followed the history of lean then you will already be aware of the different stages. Key contributors from Adam Smith* in the late 18th Century, Henry Ford, Deming, Ohno, Womack/Jones and more current thinking from John Seddon and Eric Ries have all added to the […]

It is an overused term today, often not really describing any significant change at all. I have seen it used to describe routine upgrades to the next generation of software for example. This is not Transformation. To us “Transformation is the deep review of everything within the scoped area to […]

To think about this properly we need to go back to the improvement strategy. Without one it can become unclear as to why the improvement should be made which has a damaging effect on engagement. So we should ask: “What does the business look like if we deliver the improvement, […]

For some organisations this is great, the lean expert keeps them honest and challenges them and holds them to account until they achieve amazing things. For others this is really off-putting being made to feel guilty (or stupid) about having some waste still in the system or not being able […]

The answer should always begin with what they value and what their clients value. For some it is simple, reducing costs are what it is all about. Budget cuts and market pressures drive them to focus on these areas and of course the lean methodology is extremely powerful in helping […]