Meet-up: 5 Questions from Within the Lean Community With Pascal Dennis

This past month A Lean Journey Blog turned 15 and as I look back on how I got started and who influenced my journey I wanted to revisit a previous series I started in 2012 called the Meet-up.

One of the things I am so found of in the Lean community is the general wiliness to share with each other.  I have learned some much from my very experienced colleagues since I have been an active contributor.  Every month I roundup the best Lean related posts and articles I found particularly valuable from these fellow bloggers and contributors. Each one has their own story and opinions to share.

The goal of Meet-up is provide you an opportunity to meet some influential voices in the Lean community.  I will ask these authors a series of questions to learn about them, their lessons, and get their perspective on trends in industry.

In today's edition, we are going to meet-up with Pascal Dennis. I met Pascal online early on in my blogging journey from his online blog but the real impact of his message comes from his many books. Most of which I've reviewed on this blog. 

Here are his answers so you can learn more:

1. Who are you, what organization are you with, and what are your current lean-oriented activities?

I'm a professional engineer, President of Lean PathwaysLean Pathways, and co-founder of Digital PathwaysDigital Pathways. My current focus is helping organizations protect their core business while igniting new Growth.

2. How, when, and why did you get introduced to lean and what fueled and fuels the passion?

I was introduced to Lean at Toyota manufacturing. I believe that the 'Lean/OpEx' management system is an essential element of sustained, humane, excellence and prosperity.

3. In your opinion what is the most powerful aspect of lean?

Total involvement. 

4. In your opinion what is the most misunderstood or unrecognized aspect of lean?

Experimentation.

5. In your opinion what is the biggest opportunity for lean in today's world? How can that be accomplished?

Learn the methods & mindset of innovation hot spots like Silicon Valley and Singapore.

 

Through their answers to these questions hopefully you will get a sense of the thinking behind those who are shaping the Lean landscape.  I continue to keep learning and thankfully with the willingness of these practitioners to share I am positive you will, too.