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Sarah Lethbridge

Sarah Lethbridge

Pro Dean of External Engagement

Latest posts

System Addict

System Addict

Posted on 21 December 2019 by

Thanks to my stellar upbringing, I have turned out to be a rather ‘forthright’ woman, chock full of opinions.  As I get older, experience is only galvanizing my resolve. I’m getting […]

Small is Beautiful

Small is Beautiful

Posted on 2 December 2019 by

Unfortunately, as we come to the end of the year, it just feels like there are so many huge things that we still all have to deal with.  I have to […]

Price Does Not Equal Value

Price Does Not Equal Value

Posted on 12 October 2019 by

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for us in work, one that has made me acutely aware of the fact that it is so hard to accurately describe value […]

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Lean?

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Lean?

Posted on 16 September 2019 by

I don’t like flying much at all. Not for climate reasons unfortunately, but for defying gravity reasons. I became ok at it when I worked on a project in Switzerland […]

Have Laptop, Will Hustle

Have Laptop, Will Hustle

Posted on 13 August 2019 by

I’m going to say something quite privileged right now, but I’m amazed that everyone in work doesn’t have a laptop. Well, let me rephrase that, I’m amazed anyone who has […]

Pizza Productivity

Pizza Productivity

Posted on 21 July 2019 by

In my lectures I often joke that once you start seeing the world from a lean perspective, things that you used to enjoy can start to become quite frustrating because […]

Looking Sideways and Down

Looking Sideways and Down

Posted on 25 June 2019 by

When looking at how operations management is evolving, it seems that some of the more innovative companies follow an organisational design akin to the Netflix model of “highly aligned, loosely […]

If Innovation is the ‘Next Big Thing’, where does that leave Lean?

If Innovation is the ‘Next Big Thing’, where does that leave Lean?

Posted on 5 February 2019 by

Sarah Lethbridge and Maneesh Kumar As a lean devotee, it is very easy for me to answer the question “How lean can we go” with “all the way …. naturally!” […]

Cafés, Restaurants and Lean

Posted on 5 February 2019 by

Lean moves through sectors in waves.   It can safely be declared that the most mature application of lean thinking is within the automotive industry, the industry where it all began! Other […]

Services and Standards: Stand Off or Stand Up?

Posted on 5 February 2019 by

“To understand Toyota’s success, you have to unravel the paradox – you have to see that the rigid specification is the very thing that makes the flexibility and creativity possible” […]