Grow a LEAN business
To effectively grow a lean business, you can adopt a lean and agile Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle to support informed decision-making. Incorporating More Knowledgeable Others (MKOs) into your SCRUM culture creates a strong foundation for scaling successfully.
“Personal and organisational change is one of the most effective ways to achieve a competitive advantage”
Personal and organizational change is considered one of the most effective ways to gain a competitive edge, according to research published in 2019. The study highlights that organisational change relies on business leaders to set an example and guide staff in adopting actions that benefit the organisation. Most importantly, successful change depends on clear, strong leadership that values people and their talents.
Grow a LEAN business
It takes some deep reflection to truly understand the value of yourself or your business. To build flexibility and resilience, there are six steps to follow in completing a LEAN life cycle. The first and most crucial step is identifying your value stream, as this sets the foundation for all the important work that comes next.
Identify Your Value Stream
On the flip side, adopting a growth plan is a great chance to assess and understand the value stream of your ideas. Essentially, the value stream represents the production cycle process, or more specifically, the documentation of the steps that lead to the product or service your customers are willing to pay for. This makes it possible to track changes using the PDCA cycle.
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PLAN to Grow a LEAN business
This stage focuses on planning for change to drive improvement. It often helps to have an external perspective to pinpoint areas where change would be beneficial, as it can be hard to see clearly when you’re deeply involved. Forbes magazine suggests reevaluating business objectives to align with current conditions. So, if your annual total revenue (TR) target is established, it might need adjustment to account for sales fluctuations.
- DO strategic moves to Grow a LEAN business You don’t always need to dive straight into major changes, especially in situations with a challenging and uncertain learning curve. A smarter approach could be making small, measurable adjustments that can be monitored and refined over time. Trial changes are a great way to gauge reception and impact effectively.
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CHECK outcomes to Grow a LEAN business
Having metrics to evaluate the success, failure, or unintended outcomes of new changes is crucial. This is the point where you thoroughly examine the processes you’ve chosen. Essentially, you’re analysing your plan to determine if it’s worth rolling out on a larger scale beyond the trial phase. Measure What Matters.
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ACT decisively to Grow a LEAN business
Action should follow the completion of planning, measuring, and adjusting. A successful trial plan can then be expanded to include more departments or even the entire organization. The “act” stage marks the point where an organization implements changes to maximise benefits, requiring clear communication and transparency throughout the introduction and execution process.
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The Importance of Making a LEAN Business Plan
The one thing businesses can always count on is change. As Fullan pointed out in 1993, companies need strategies to handle ‘Change Forces’ or risk having external factors shape their plans. LEAN principles, such as integrating and automating the accounting process, help businesses stay agile.
Conclusion
In short, a crisis provides an opportunity to reshape both your personal and company value streams, aligning them for future growth.
If you’re looking for advice on growing a lean business, reach out to HOAD SYSTEMS.

