What is Lean Management? (And why would you even want to use it?)
Lean Management is a system by which to run a business that focuses on improving the internal business processes with a focus on meeting the needs of the customer.
Lean Management has its roots in manufacturing, and you might see the term Lean Manufacturing. You might also just see it referred to as Lean.
Lean Management or Lean is often combined with Six Sigma for even more scientific (statistical) quality and process improvements.
Where Six Sigma really focuses on quality of output (reduction of errors), Lean focuses on reduction of waste in the processes.
Within Lean, there are many concepts and tools that a business can use to improve their output – both the quality and the rate.
Large businesses will hire consultants or create entire departments in their structure (or both) to “Implement Lean or Lean Six Sigma”.
As you can imagine, this is expensive.
The good news is that many of lean tools not only work for small businesses, but they are simple to implement solo.
And, they don’t require a degree in statistics to understand.
In the world of Lean Management, and business systems in general, there exists a pair of words that are similar, but not the same. And they are equally important in business. The words: Standards and Standardize. Let’s take a look at what they mean in...
Have you heard the term “feedback loop”? You’ve probably already been asked to give feedback somewhere. Every survey you’ve ever completed is giving feedback. Whether that feedback is used for anything is a different story. However, when the information you give to...
There are two ways to improve your business operations. 1) You can fix problems and 2) You can raise the current standard. Lean management is all about continuous improvement. But using a Problem solving methodology sometimes can fall flat when you aren’t actually...
There’s a saying in Lean that: No Problem is a Problem. What they are saying is Having No problems … is a problem. Which doesn’t make sense does it? Why would I want problems in my business? Well, you don’t. But, if you have problems, then you can fix them, and...
The word “standard” gets tossed out a bunch when talking with Lean experts. And it can be confusing because while the strict definition of standard does apply, the implementation of Lean allows for some leeway on how standards are dealt with. Let’s take a deeper...
I don’t think anyone will argue with me that goal setting in business is important. Perhaps even critical. Go ahead and comment if you disagree with that statement. There are, however, different types of goals. And, I have an opinion on goal setting for businesses...