Recently, I was asked – why is my blog called, ‘Think Lean, Get Digital’?
The simple answer is – as an organization, a company, whatever you might be – think of the process first – get that lean (for example – remove all the fat, the waste, the crap) and then focus on utilizing more digital technologies to further lean the process or improve the user experience.
We often navigate away from the process, and jump to either sale, solution or the end of the process – because that’s the fun part. Let’s be honest… no one wants to know about raw materials, who really cares about transportation etc… (well, if you’re into logistics then yes! as it’ll be the most important part).
Many organizations do not think about their processes. Processes to one side – how many know their value stream map (this is a map that shows an overall picture and where the value (and non-value) activities are).
Before even thinking about Digital Transformation – it’s important that the process is understood. The key objective is to reduce the overall lead time – from the moment an enquiry is made or a customer wants to purchase a product/service to the moment it’s delivered and paid for.
Everything starts with Value.
Again, this could relate to your startup, your hobby, your passion.
Over the lockdown last year – like many other millions of people in the UK, I started baking. Whilst I thought, everyone is baking – what can I do different (or slightly different) I started to bake vegan and eggless cakes. Moreso, what became a ‘top seller’ were my vegan or eggless cookies.
There’s a variety of reasons people don’t eat eggs – many for religious purposes. In addition, many more are becoming vegan.
So I baked various vegan cookies – and then in my Creative Lab (the kitchen) I experimented with Kit Kat Cookies, Coconut Cookies, etc… and they were good! (that’s not me saying that – that’s customers!)
Again – comes back to value.
Baking in the kitchen is small. Yet – I was able to adhere to the Lean Principles. I had a process in place. My recipe was my process!
So even if you are a small business, a large organization, a charity or service provider – first understand your process and make it Lean (remove the waste!)
Oh.. and I couldn’t leave you without sharing a photo of my cookies, right?
