Once again I find myself feeling the need to share my awkward and yet strangely exciting ventures into the world of Lean in Healthcare. I have heard my Sensei say numerous times that despite having done this work for years and years they learn something new from every event or team. I find this thrilling as one of the most important things in my career is the humility of continuous life-long learning. So I have begun to read some literature and newsletters to see new perspectives on the lean life.
One valuable newletter I have found is the Lean Post from the Lean Enterprise Institue at this link
http://www.lean.org/LeanPost/Posting.cfm?LeanPostId=53
The specific article in the link discusses the shift in mindset necessary to make the lean transformation. Key points such as lean is a completely new way of thinking about continuous improvement and not an add-on to your current thinking as well as the advice that old ways of thinking take time to replace and we should seek to perservere speak to the novice practitioner like myself.
Hope is a virtue that I attempt to practice daily and I am learning that it is a necessary skill for Lean facilitation. Hope that there will be break-through thinking from every team. Hope that the old way will fade away and the new way of thinking will be embraced. Hope that I don't have coffee breath while standing three feet from the Team Leader in front of the current state map! Hope that someday I will be like my Sensei when I say I learn something new with every event.