by Lee Fried, on 05 Jun 2006 08:58 am
The Journey
Things are Changing
Popularity: 4%
Last Friday I had the privilege of being invited to a leadership retreat where I got to witness first had how much of an impact LEAN is having on our organization. All six of the initiatives that were presented are grounded in LEAN principles and many are using tools like Value Stream Mapping to uncover waste and increase value. As each executive sponsor took their turn to present it was readily apparent from their language and their strategies that they now used LEAN principles to view and execute their work. The group discussion and questions the followed each presentation were also a demonstration in how far the organization had come in a short period of time. Statements like “optimize the whole”, take a “long-term approach” and from the “patients perspective” were sprinkled throughout the discussion.
A year ago I doubt there would have been nearly as much excitement in the room. The discussion would have most likely been based in the budget and short-term focused. I love to see transformation in action!