Lean Thinking

What Is The Role Of A Leader When Starting A Lean Journey

June 21, 2021

Yep, let’s state the obvious - the role of a leader is crucial when starting a Lean journey. The trick is, asking ourselves, do we truly understand the role of leadership when it comes to Lean? In true form, I am going to try and keep this as simple as possible and b...

Lean Tools versus a Lean Mindset - is there a difference?

June 4, 2021

When I was first introduced to Lean many years ago I was handed a small document that summarised Lean. On the cover it was the 5S cycle, in the few pages after that is described briefly the 8 wastes and a bit about stand up meetings. That was it. There was no men...

How do I measure the success of a Lean Journey?

May 20, 2021

On the surface this question has a simple answer - have you improved your throughput / turnover in your business for the same amount of time and effort? That is the measurement that indicates better productivity and better business performance. Many experts will be get...

Creating An Awesome Workplace Culture

March 23, 2021

I have spoken a lot recently about staff engagement and it got me thinking. What is the difference to engagement and creating a positive workplace culture? So I have gone away to look at a few perspectives and this is my summary of thoughts. Before I went further into explor...

What Pisses You Off?

March 9, 2021

“So what pisses you off ?” That was my opening line to a new group I was working with a few years back. They were a team who could not see past the controls and policies of the large organisation they worked for. Their team leader gave me an insight before I ...

The four challenges you need to take business improvement seriously!

February 1, 2021

There are many aspects to managing or owning a business. Finance, people, supply chain, sales, marketing, training, quality management - the list goes on. Over the years I have heard many leaders describing their situation as unique or complex. Well today I...

How to start your ideas in 2021

January 14, 2021

You have just come back from a great break. You really did earn this one - last year really did take its toll on you. But that was so last year, now you are really looking forward to the opportunities you have. The enthusiasm is high, your picture of the en...

My Client Journey

January 6, 2021

It has been a crazy few years for Belinda and Tony. Ten years ago they started out with a vision to create luxury pools and spas. Every job was different but all jobs demand quality and attention to detail demanded by their high end clientele. Their custome...

The $170,000 Opportunity

November 4, 2020

According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and employment there are 499,944 small businesses in New Zealand who employ 0-19 employees. This makes up a significant part of the economy in this country, employing over 1 million people. That is over a quarter of wor...

So your team does't like change..... really?

October 20, 2020

My team doesn't like change so starting Lean here won’t go well. I am always curious about this comment, mainly because I am wondering about who is actually resistant to change - leadership or the team? At the end of the day, Lean is a change programme. The dif...