How I help you on your Journey to OUTSTANDING

My mission is to help you make your company OUTSTANDING…in a way that pleases God.
I do this by coaching you and your team in two main areas:

  1. The Lean Business Culture.
  2. A Lean-friendly Operating System.

The Lean Business Culture is the best way I know to get on the “journey to OUTSTANDING.” The creators of Lean at Toyota didn’t realize this, but Lean works because it uses the abilities God gave us when He made us in His image. It fulfills God’s command for people to be “fruitful…and have dominion over the earth.” Lean applies not just in manufacturing, but ANYWHERE people work together to create value for customers.1 The essence of Lean is PEOPLE. That’s why I use the brand “People-First Lean.” If Christians in business understand what Lean REALLY is, I think they will LOVE it!

So, what’s an Operating System? An OS is a set of meetings and methods by which an organization…

  • …clarifies its purpose, core values, and goals
  • …stays on track and achieves its purpose, core values, and goals
  • …hires, develops, and organizes its people for teamwork and high productivity
  • …discusses and makes decisions,
  • …addresses problems and continuously improves.

An Operating System affects everyone in the organization, but especially applies to how the leadership team works.2

EOS3 (described in the book Traction) is currently very popular and is mostly compatible with Lean. But a Lean-friendly Operating System4 includes several distinctive elements that aren’t part of EOS: Here are two examples: One is developing and engaging EVERY team member to shrink waste, solve problems, and make your company process better. Another is coaching EVERYONE on scientific thinking as the foundation for problem-solving and continuous improvement.5

Getting a Lean-friendly Operating System in place is one of my early priorities if you don’t already have one. In my experience, you don’t get far on the Lean journey without one.

Becoming outstanding isn’t easy. After all, our world will remain fallen until the Lord makes a new heavens and earth at His return. But even in a fallen world, by God’s grace your business CAN do 3 things that DEFINE “Outstanding”:

  1. produce Happy Customers who love you and come back for more,
  2. provide Great Jobs for everyone on your team, and
  3. be a Healthy Company that’s financially strong and sustainable.

It’s my mission to help you do that.

Footnotes:

  1. I’ve seen Lean applied in health care, residential construction, restaurants, accounting, insurance claim processing, coffee shops, software development, farming, and more. ↩︎
  2. Smaller operations with a single leader don’t need much of an Operating System…until they grow. ↩︎
  3. Described in Gino Wickman’s bestselling book, Traction. Other Operating Systems include Alan Mullaly’s “Working Together Management System,” Sean Covey’s “Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX),” and even the recommendations on pp. 221-222 of Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. ↩︎
  4. Lean (as developed by Toyota) has it’s own definite operating system but it is rarely discussed under the “OS” label. As a result, many people think an OS is something separate from Lean. ↩︎
  5. A Lean-friendly operating system also includes these elements: methods to highlight the “Voice of the Customer” (VOC) throughout the organization, a distinctive approach to New Product and Process Design, and a bed-rock commitment to the value of “Respect for People”–which we Christians recognize as the 2nd great commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. ↩︎
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