Harder, better, faster, stronger, ... leaner: how the 5 fundamental principles of lean management make your business more efficient
March 2023 – At the heart of lean management is an ongoing quest to optimise value by eliminating all possible sources of loss and waste within an organisation - anything the customer is unwilling to pay for. Those who successfully apply the five basic principles of lean management will see an immediate increase in efficiency in their business.
The 5 basic principles of lean management
To build a lean organisation, as an entrepreneur, you need to focus on five building blocks.
1. Customer value
In lean, everything starts with customer value. Of course, you must know precisely what the customer expects from you. Understanding the customer is, therefore, crucial. Customer value is the difference between all the benefits customers get from the product or service, and all the efforts (costs, resources) needed to obtain that product or service. Price is one aspect, but the image of your brand, the time needed to obtain a product, mobility aspects, and so on also determine customer value.
2. Processes and tools
Lean is often viewed from processes. This is because any form of waste (see above) translates into a process in one way or another. That is why it is essential first to map all processes properly (process mapping).
3. Organisation & performance management
This building block covers all possible ways of organising teams and measuring their performance. The following aspects are covered:
vision
Roles and responsibilities
organisational structure
self-management
decision-making mechanisms
KPIs
planning
...
4. Skills & Capabilities
The aim is to introduce lifelong learning to all employees to achieve greater flexibility. To obtain a lean organisation, developing and deepening employees' knowledge and skills is a must. Polyvalence will play an increasingly important role: people must become multi-deployable. Robots and computers increasingly take over repetitive tasks, but creative tasks remain reserved for people.
5. Mindsets & behaviours
People's beliefs and behaviours play an important role in the transition to a lean organisation. The aim here is: to install desired behaviours in employees so they can work on change.
