When I first heard about Lean some years ago, I really didn’t get it. It was some strange thing that was used to drive a lot of decisions at work and they seemed very random and sometimes destructive from the perspective of an assembly worker. The decisions seemed disconnected from the reality I was experiencing.

Much later I was encouraged by a new acquaintance, to whom I am ever grateful, to read the Toyota Way as a way to learn more and actually understand what it was all about. I was immediately hooked. In this endeavour I also learned that I was not all wrong about my initial assessment, even though I was wrong about the source. The people applying Lean at my place of work had a limited understanding of the philosophy and this would not do for me, I realized I needed to know more!

Since then I have read a lot of books, and still do, I have listened to pod-casts and lectures and I have even taken a few University classes on the matter. I have gotten involved with continuous improvement at work. Today I work as a team leader at one of the larger industrial sites in Sweden. I will not disclose where as this is not important to the topic of Lean.

What I have realized is that I am forever the learner, forever the novice, I have a passion for learning and developing my skills and Lean is an endless but oh so inspiring journey. Even though we seek mastery it is also important to remember we are all students.

This page is about my journey through Lean and leadership and my reflections throughout that journey. I don’t claim to have all the answers but I will gladly share my own exploration of the questions at hand.

You are welcome to join me!