Skip to main content

Latest posts

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” […]

Economies of Scale vs. Economies of Flow

Posted on 24 October 2018 by

Often when I’m teaching, I find myself skulking amongst the middle ground of contrasting ideas. Sometimes I’m even perilously perched atop of a massive fence dividing two opinions. Sometimes I’m […]

Be Honest About the Gas Tanks – Openness and Customer Visibility

Posted on 18 September 2018 by

There’s something magical about businesses which understand that if you prioritise customer experience, the customers will come. Obviously this is a very simplistic way to look at the intricacies of […]

Human or Chatbot? Declare Yourself!

Posted on 23 March 2018 by

I’m watching the television right now and after the advert break the programme titles return and a large letter P looms in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Now […]