Lean Knowledge Areas:

• [Value Creation] – Focusing on customer value and eliminating waste.

• [Continuous Improvement] – Making ongoing iterative improvements (Kaizen).

• [Respect for People] – Building a culture of trust, empowerment, and collaboration.

• [Validated Learning] – Testing changes as experiments and learning from results.

• [Flow and Pull] – Ensuring a smooth flow of work and a “pull” system to avoid overload.

From “This is how we’ve always done it” or “We’re already doing all right” to constantly asking, “Is there a better way?”

So, let’s start with vocabulary—something we looooove to do in change management. What do I actually mean when I say mindset?

A mindset is like the way we operate—it runs on “our background”, shaping how we approach problems, make decisions, and interact with others. In IT, for example, our mindset influences how we solve technical issues, respond to change, and collaborate with the GBUs.

When we talk about a lean mindset, we mean let’s  focus on efficiency, continuous improvement, and eliminating waste—whether that’s wasted time, redundant processes, or unnecessary complexity. In short, it’s about constantly asking, “Is there a better way?”

The tricky part about change is that we don’t see what we don’t see. One of the most common things I hear is, “We’ve already done that.”, but guess what? If you say that, it probably means you’ve stopped asking the question, “Is there a better way?” If your answers remain the same, it’s time to bring in new perspectives and see what others have to say. In fact new perspectives are a great way to drop the silos. 

And because I know I’ll be asked for a real example, let’s do that. Take a common IT issue—slow response times for support tickets. The team assumes the solution is simple: hire more staff. But instead of jumping to that conclusion, what if we ask, where is the time actually being wasted?

Maybe there are duplicate tickets for common issues. Maybe the team spends time answering simple, repetitive questions that could be handled by a self-service knowledge base. Or maybe the real bottleneck isn’t staff at all, but an approval process that slows everything down.

If you’re curious about how to challenge existing processes, bring in new perspectives, or explore leaner ways of working, the AQUA core team is here to support you. Whether it’s brainstorming solutions, rethinking workflows, or simply having a conversation about what could be better, let’s work together to find a better way forward.

Reach out anytime, we’d love to hear from you!

Watch our space here

https://wiki.syensqo.com/display/AKC/IT+Lean+Mindset

Barbara Lemos