What is Lean Flow?
Companies of all sizes are using Lean as the catalyst to improve flow, and thereby increase speed. In Lean, flow refers to the manner in which work progresses through a system: “Good” flow describes a system where work moves through steadily and predictably, whereas “bad” flow describes a system in which work stops and starts frequently.
To move fast and deliver faster – two major factors in remaining competitive – creating flow is more important than cutting waste. Global enterprises and startups alike can improve Lean flow by developing more efficient processes, focusing on value delivery, and improving business agility.
Top 3 Priorities of Lean Executives
We asked Lean executives to name their top three priorities for the next 12 months. These were the top three responses.
#1 More Efficient Processes
Defining, visualizing, and optimizing business processes provides much-needed structure to the intangible nature of knowledge work, allowing teams and organizations to improve flow efficiency.
#2 Faster Value Delivery
Executives prioritize Lean because they prioritize faster delivery of value to customers. Whereas traditionally, Lean improved the speed of value delivery by cutting costs, the new Lean accelerates the speed of value delivery by focusing intently on value-adding activity.
#3 Improve Business Agility
In a world that is simultaneously becoming more complex and more tightly connected, agility — the ability to respond to changes without losing vision or momentum — has become business critical. Lean primes organizations for modern challenges by providing tools that enable adaptability, flexibility, and systems thinking.
About the Lean Business Report
In September 2015, we launched the inaugural Lean Business Survey to gauge the adoption of Lean across all disciplines of knowledge work. The Lean Business Report combines our exclusive survey research with educational content from thought leaders in the Lean for business space. Between September and November 2015, we received more than 3,000 responses from executives, consultants, and team members representing a variety of industries and hailing from 75 countries.
Recommended Reading
To learn more about how to improve Lean flow, we recommend these excellent resources:
