To lean or not to lean

To lean or not to lean, the eternal question posed by Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, can surely be modified a bit and applied to, you guessed it right, Lean! A topic which we, the authors behind this blog, Keen on Lean, find fascinating. More about who we are later, that is of secondary importance. What is more important is what our dream with Keen on Lean is.

We have a dream – a dream of bringing people back in Lean. Lean is not about tools, cost cutting, production only, and what not. First and foremost, it is about developing people. Yet, so often this simple truth is forgotten and ignored. We want to change that.

We have a second dream – a dream of taking you back to the foundations of Lean and sharing simple foundational principles that are the essence of Lean. There are so many misconceptions about Lean, just as they are annoying ways of spelling the poor word. Let’s set the record straight - it is not spelled as LEAN. The word is not an abbreviation, so stop abusing the poor term and just get the spelling right.

Are you a Lean practitioner, an aspiring Lean student, or just anyone curious about Lean, this much debated philosophy originating from Toyota in Japan, then you have come to the right place. Stay tuned as we, topic by topic, untangle the foundational elements of Lean.

We will start the journey by the three fundamental Lean behaviours – Go-Look-See, Ask Why and Show Respect. And afterwards in the best spirit of Lean we invite you to share your voice in terms of which topics you would like us to focus on next. Answer this short survey to let us know.

And oh yes, before you go, we promised to tell you who the authors of this blog are. Here you go.

Meet Kev Shapcott, originally from the UK, living in the USA. I spent 19 years at Toyota UK, initially started in maintenance and progressed to manager. During this time I supported and lead all new product installations, layouts and efficiency improvements during ramp-up. Moved into production as a manager for 6 years focusing on volume, quality, layout, process confirmation and efficiency improvements. For the last 14 years I have been coaching and consulting large blue-chip companies focusing on behavioural change and lean implementation.

Meet Ani Movsisyan, originally from Armenia, living in Denmark. I studied Lean in the Technical University of Denmark and Technical University of München, Germany. I then started practicing Lean first in Rockwool, a Danish multinational producing mineral wool products for insulation, etc. and since 2016 in Novo Nordisk, a leading global healthcare company where I was heading up the internal Lean Academy and in addition, driving several internal initiatives – podcast, Lean heroes webinars and book club, to foster our understanding of Lean. Last year I changed career tracks and moved into another fascinating area called Novo Nordisk Way, which defines our company’s values and behaviours, and bears close traits with Lean. My passion for Lean and developing people is still here and starting this blog has long been on my wish list. ?

We hope that you will join us on our Lean quest and be a part of this exciting journey.

Best,

Kevin and Ani