Lean & IT « IT Business Alignment (IT2B)
Oops… I accidentally hit “publish” instead of “save as draft.” For a Lean guy, I don't have error proofed, apparently. So that was released as my shortest blog post ever.
The author of the linked post, Glenn Whitfield, makes some excellent general points about Lean for any setting:
Toyota does not have a ‘Lean initiative.' Toyota does not ‘do' Lean, they ‘are' Lean. It's just the way they do business. Implementing the tools of Lean will get you results, and will help move you toward becoming a Lean organization, but Lean is bigger than the tools.
So, as IT organizations move to embrace Lean thinking, the question becomes, “Are you going to ‘do', Lean, or are you going to ‘BE' Lean?”
Great questions for factories, or hospitals….
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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. His most recent book is the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus. His latest book has been released as an "in-progress" book, titled Measures of Success.
For many years Toyota was "not lean" and had to "do lean" to get where they are today. It's important not to forget that most organizations will need to spend years "doing lean" until they gradually become lean.