Lean Quote: True Lean is a Mindset

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"We needed to drive not only better profitability, better cash for our investors, but better safety, quality delivery, and productivity performance for our own team, let alone for our customers. And the best way I know to do that is through a lean mindset."   —  Larry Culp, GE CEO

True lean is a mindset. It is when the lean practices and tools become so deeply embedded in how an organization works that they create a problem-solving culture where problems are embraced, owned, analyzed, and fixed. When you boil lean down to its basics, it really is about focusing on the customer with a maniacal pursuit of elimination of waste and unrelenting prioritization.

A lean mindset that focuses on safety, quality, delivery, and cost (SQDC) gives us the tools and instincts to make the right decisions and necessary trade-offs. It ensures that the actions we’re taking today are rooted in long term sustainment and improvement.

Larry Culp, GE Chairman & CEO, and GE Aerospace CEO sits down with Carol Dweck, Psychologist and author, to discuss growth mindsets, lean thinking, and organizational mindsets.