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Organisational culture

What’s My Job Again?

What’s My Job Again?

Posted on 22 October 2025 by

Last month I talked about the “Call for Help” box within my Elements of Improvement model and this month I want to talk about a box which is giving me […]

The Reports Have Gone to Her Head

The Reports Have Gone to Her Head

Posted on 5 October 2025 by

The contribution to lean that I am most proud of is my (frankly brilliant) Elements of Improvement model which illustrates all of the key, core, improvement ideals that organisations need […]

Hankering for a Handbook

Hankering for a Handbook

Posted on 3 August 2025 by

Probably my love of company handbooks has something to do with the first ‘handbook’ I ever owned which helped me to navigate my responsibilities as a Brownie Guide (for a […]

Window of Light

Window of Light

Posted on 2 July 2025 by

When I started working for the Lean Enterprise Research Centre in 2005, I was part of Ann Esain’s Health and Services team. Ann was leading an action research project across […]

Defensive Organising

Defensive Organising

Posted on 2 June 2025 by

When you care about Business School External Engagement you have to care about LinkedIn.  After the painful takeover of Twitter, the ruthless replacement of a cute, blue bird by the […]

The Joy of John Parry-Jones

The Joy of John Parry-Jones

Posted on 31 March 2025 by

In my 20 years of working for Cardiff University, I have thought deeply about a myriad of different tactics, strategies, concepts, levers and mechanisms to bring about organisational success.   There’s […]

The Shield of Shame

The Shield of Shame

Posted on 2 February 2025 by

The school one of my husband's children attends is very experienced at helping kids to feel more secure within educational settings. The environment they create is extremely student-centred and huge […]

Customer Care and Organisation Innovation

Customer Care and Organisation Innovation

Posted on 13 January 2025 by

It’s great when writing your last blog gives you an idea about what to write for your next!  In ‘Hooray for Humanity’ I promised to pick up on how, I […]

Double Meanings

Double Meanings

Posted on 2 October 2024 by

There are lots of times when I’m teaching lean and I share a Japanese word, such as ‘Andon’ or ‘Kaizen’ or ‘Hoshin Kanri’, where I say what the word means […]

Networking Noodles

Networking Noodles

Posted on 1 May 2024 by

It is fair to say that over the last 18 years I have thought A LOT about lean, and indeed, about a whole plethora of other related improvement methodologies. I’ve […]