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If it works in IT, it can work anywhere! Every organization pursuing change and transformation is looking for clarity around what to do, when to do it, and key checkpoints along the way. Why do the vast majority of lean transformations fall short of the benefits expected? What are the key elements that distinguish a successful transformation? How do the Shingo Model, 4P, and The Transformational Model compare with one another and which one should you use?

Join Mike Orzen, Shingo Prize winning author & LEI and Shingo Institute Faculty, as he compares two organizations: one who was extremely successful in transforming their organization and another who fell far short of the expected gains. Discover the key differences in the approaches they took and what steps you can take to better position your organization for success.

Course Description 

IT organizations are constantly seeking new ways to improve customer satisfaction, service quality and value for the business. Lean IT is applied to transform your IT organization to a customer-focused, efficient and transparent IT organization that can deliver sustainable results to the business. The Lean IT Foundation training covers all elements to introduce you to Lean IT. After completion of the training, you will be able to participate effectively in a Lean IT transformation program.

Register Online 

Course Approach 

The Lean IT Foundation Training is two days. During the training, you will learn the fundamentals of Lean and how to apply Lean in an IT domain. In the training you will practice with exercises to build hands-on skills. The training will also introduce you to the social aspects of Lean IT such as change approaches and how to inluence people’s behavior and attitude. All the exercises are related to information and communications technology, but no technical IT knowledge is required.

This course is delivered using an exciting case study designed to further enhance the candidate’s understanding of Lean IT. Students who have attended this course are prepared to successfully take the associated Lean IT Foundation certification exam which is a requirement for attending any of the further Lean IT courses available in this track.

Learning Objectives 

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

 Understand the concepts behind Lean and how Lean can be applied in IT

 Analyze customer value and translate the voice of the customer

 Understand core Lean concepts and principles

 Diagnose and improve processes with value stream mapping

 Problem solve with the Kaizen approach

 Work with the DMAIC improvement cycle

 Designate improvement activities that impact process results

 Understand essential Lean behaviors & attitudes

 Prepare and qualify to take the Lean IT Foundation Certification exam

Course Materials 

Students will receive a Lean IT Foundation classroom workbook containing all of the presentation materials, the case study and sample exam questions. In addition, the Lean IT Foundation Official Publication and Syllabus will be provided.

Course Fees 

$1,595 includes registration, a signed copy of Mike’s latest book The Lean IT Field Guide, coffee and lunch

Register Online

Concepts Covered 

1. INTRODUCTION TO LEAN 

 Introductions

 The History of Lean

 Key Elements of Lean

 The Concepts of Waste, Variability and Overburden

 The five dimensions of Lean IT

2. THE CUSTOMER 

 Customer Value

 Voice of the Customer

 Value-add and Non-value-add Work

 Critical-to-Quality Tree

 Value streams in IT

 Cost of Poor Quality

3. THE PROCESS 

 The Concept of a Process

 SIPOC Diagramming

 Creating a Value Stream Map

 Analyzing a Value Stream Map

4. PERFORMANCE 

 What is Performance?

 Key Performance Indicators

 Operational Process Efficiency

 Skills and Knowledge Matrix

5. ORGANIZATION 

 Organizational Structure and Customer Focus

 Performance Dialogue

 Visual Management

 Day Start and Week Board

6. PROBLEM SOLVING 

 Structured Problem Solving

 Kaizen Approach

7. BEHAVIOR & ATTITUDE 

 Lean Leadership & Behavior

 Organizational Change

 Change Story

Endorsements 

Mike’s grasp of applying Lean to IT issues is very rare. We successfully completed numerous improvement Kaizens throughout our IT functional areas with impressive results. His ability to effectively work with people at all levels of the organization made the experience possible. His expertise in Lean and Six Sigma applied to non-manufacturing environments enabled us to launch our Lean IT transformation and realize significant results. Mike’s grasp of applying Lean to IT issues is very rare. We successfully completed numerous improvement Kaizens throughout our IT functional areas with impressive results. A great coach, teacher, and motivator – I strongly recommend him.

Jackie Barretta, CIO, Con-way 

Mike is a capable and proven transformation agent who partners with his clients to facilitate their Lean transformation. His approach and ability to coach others is top notch, and I have witnessed his ability to foster the creation of a Lean IT environment and culture within a complex organization.

Carl Hoefer, IT Project Manager – Product Development, Nike 

Mike is brilliant and understands best-practice management as well as anyone I know. He has particularly deep expertise in the application of these concepts to the IT organization — to a depth that I would say he is world class caliber. Thoughtful, caring, hardworking, Mike is one of those rare people in life I just love to hang out with and think.

John Bernard, Founder and Chairman, Mass Ingenuity

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In less than two weeks, nearly 400 process excellence leaders from around the country are coming together in Columbus, Ohio for COE’s fourth-annual Leading Through Excellence summit.  I’ll be providing a specially priced one-day workshop of Leading with Respect. The event inches closer to kickoff with an optional day of workshops and tours April 12 and two full days of programming April 13-14. No matter your industry or your role, this is a great opportunity to bring your team – even your suppliers or customers – along with your greatest challenges and tap into the leadership and problem-solving insights of dozens of researchers and industry executives.

As my coauthor, Tom Paider, a leader at regular attendee Nationwide, says: “We get to collaborate with people who think like us, we get to absorb the energy of people interested in operational excellence, and we get to learn from some of the best in the world.”

An experienced Shingo Prize examiner will visit your company and perform a gap analysis to help you understand how your performance compares to the internationally recognized Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence model. We will tour your facility, review results of your improvement efforts, and meet with key individuals to understand your products, processes, level of lean understanding and application of lean principles, systems and techniques. Our examiner will offer immediate feedback based upon direct observation and his/her wealth of lean experience. Within two weeks of the visit, your company will receive a written report outlining strengths/opportunities, as well as suggestions to improve your readiness to challenge for the Shingo Prize or to prepare for an official Shingo Prize examiner team visit. If your company is just starting out on the lean journey; the gap analysis provides an objective view of your current state and helps to establish a roadmap for making future improvements.

I’d like to invite you to join me in Washington, DC for the 28th International Shingo Conference. It will be my pleasure to teach a pre-conference workshop, Leading with Respect: Enabling Engagement, Teamwork & Accountability. As one of my contacts, you will receive a 5% discount on the price of my workshop. When you register for the conference, get the discount on my workshop by entering the code in the discount field: RespectVIP Register Here

Why do the vast majority of Lean IT transformations fall short of the benefits expected? What are the key elements that distinguish a successful Lean IT transformation? Are all Lean IT transformations alike? Are there some key elements which can increase the likelihood of a successful Lean IT transformation? Are ITL, DevOps,  Lean IT all going for the  the same thing? Do we need all 3?

Join Mike Orzen, the best-selling author and “Father of Lean IT” as he compares two organizations: one who was remarkably successful in transforming to Lean IT and another who fell short of the expected gains. Learn about the key differences in the approach that each took and the steps you can take to better position your organization for success. Register Now

Private 2- Day Workshop:   

Creating value for customers is achieved through the effective alignment of every member of an organization. People require a shared mindset, skill set, and toolset with which to successfully create and flow value to the customer. To succeed, organizations must develop management systems that align work and behaviors with principles and purpose in ways that are understood, meaningful, actionable, and consistent.

Leveraging the concepts of the Shingo model of Operational Excellence, this workshop addresses the essential component of enterprise alignment within an organization and the relationship between Purpose, Process, and People. The hands-on workshop deeply explores and applies three key principles: think systemically, create constancy of purpose, and create value for the customer and uses breakouts for attendees to apply these concepts to their work environment. Contact Us for More Information 

Please join me for two amazing workshops: Discover Excellence and Cultural Enablers, the first two workshops in the 4-part Shingo series!

The Shingo curriculum represents the world standard in Enterprise Excellence training.

Once again, we have the opportunity to present these two workshops at Plexus Boise. This company is embracing the Shingo principles of excellence and cultural change and is willing to open their workplace for us to see, listen, and learn from their experience! Come and stand in their shoes, understand, and deeply learn the principles of Enterprise Excellence and how they are effectively applied to daily work!

You can learn more about all four Shingo workshops here.

Facilitator: Mike Orzen

From an attendee: “I wanted to send a quick note of appreciation for the Shingo Discover course. It was very beneficial. Mike Orzen is very talented and a great communicator. It was encouraging to see how the host company, Plexus, is on this journey continuing to discover that “Ideal Results Require Ideal Behavior”. We are at the beginning of our journey but we look forward to learning from Plexus and others as the discoveries continue.”

Sign up for Discover – March 22, 23, 2016  here!

Sign up for Enable – March 24, 25, 2016  here!

Pre-summit workshop:

Driving outcomes centered on Results & Relationships:

Effective leadership requires a dual focus: achieve great results through great behavior. Fostering the right behavior in others requires solid relationships built on trust, respect, transparency, and consistency. The results you need to achieve can only be reached through the efforts of your people. As your people learn new skills, and together with leaders, build a workplace that enables and supports the courage and vulnerability required to learn, practice, and master the core practices of Lead with Respect, results and healthy relationships with workers, customers, and suppliers are natural outcomes.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the 7 practices of Lead with Respect
• Apply Lead With Respect principles to their daily work
• Practice Lead with Respect concepts with their colleagues
• Examine how to manage their personal journey of development and growth utilizing Lead with Respect practices

Benefits:

Through instruction, small group discussions, and hands-on exercises, session participants will:

1. Understand how to apply the 7 practices of Lead with Respect
2. Learn by doing through a series of exercises and breakouts
3. Leave the workshop with a personal plan of growth and practice
4. Return to work with a new paradigm of Leadership

Who should attend? 

• Senior Leaders
• Managers
• Improvement Deployment Leaders & Lean Champions
• Lean and CI Practioners of all levels