The difference between theory and practice is practice!

This course is about applying a Lean mindset to real-life problems.

Analysis is a good thing. Being slow and careful is wise. Rewarding people for performance makes perfect sense. Creating a plan and following it is the best way to get things done. And we should strive to be the best at whatever we do. When we adopt a rational mindset, we know these statements are true.

But they aren’t the whole truth. Intuition is also a good thing. Being fast produces essential feedback. Purpose works better than incentives for engaging people. Probing a complex environment and adapting to its response is the safest approach to change. And being the best can get in the way of getting even better. When we adopt a responsive mindset, we feel these things are terribly important.

So which mindset is right? For a long time, successful western companies have been biased in favor of a rational mindset, while the responsive mindset fell out of favor. But in the last few years, companies with a responsive mindset seem to be doing surprisingly well. In fact, if we’re not careful, those upstart companies might become a threat to our business.

Recently companies have attempted to move toward a responsive mindset in order to become more competitive. But abandoning a rational mindset is not necessarily a good idea. It is better to address the paradox presented by the two opposing mindsets and combine them into a single perspective, a lean mindset. Make no mistake, this is not easy. We struggle with tension and ambiguity as we move from paradox to resolution.

This workshop emphasizes research, case studies and exercises. You will learn what a lean mindset is, how other companies have exposed and resolved paradoxes, and how this has helped them compete more effectively in today’s fast moving marketplace.

Who this course is for

Managers, team leads, and other change agents that build software-intensive products and want to move their company to the next level.

If you have previously attended one of our workshops with Mary, you will still find value in this course. The content overlap is minimal.

Learning outcomes for this course

Some topics we will cover:

  • The Myth of the Selfish gene (the Rational paradox)
  • Why Good Companies Die (the Optimization paradox)
  • Solving the Right Problem (the Design paradox)
  • The Fastest Learner Wins (the Speed paradox)
  • Thriving on Challenge (the Perfection paradox)

Some things you will learn:

  • Cooperation, Reputation, and Reciprocity: How can they possibly work?
  • Surviving in a World of Unexpected Change: How does innovation really work?
  • The Design of Design: Why you can’t separate design from implementation.
  • Speed, Discipline, and Quality: Why you must have all three at the same time.
  • Best is the Enemy of Better: How being good keeps us from getting better.
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This course has already been held.

Please consider one of our upcoming courses

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