Lean in Government Is Possible

Last week, I had the honor of serving as a keynote speaker at one of the largest Lean conferences in Europe. As soon as I stepped off the stage, I was reminded just how universal the challenges of leadership, operations, and continuous improvement truly are. What surprised many attendees was not the size of the conference or the number of countries represented, but the simple fact that I once introduced Lean inside the United States government.

Most people assume Lean belongs only in factories. Yet the more conversations I had, the clearer it became that many in Europe are just beginning to apply Lean in manufacturing, let alone government or healthcare. When I shared stories from my time working across several government departments, using Lean tools to solve real problems and improve flow for our citizens, people were genuinely fascinated. They had never imagined Lean could thrive in those environments.

Teaching Scientific Thinking Where People Least Expect It

What really captured the audience’s attention was how we used the Toyota Kata approach with government employees. Leaders wanted to understand how Toyota Kata could be used as a development tool rather than only a problem-solving framework. I explained how this method helped our team learn to think scientifically and navigate complex challenges with structure instead of emotion or guesswork.

Once I showed real visuals and examples from projects we had worked on, everything clicked for them. Suddenly, Kata was not an abstract concept; it was a practical tool for developing leaders in any environment, including government.

Solving the Problem Behind the Problems

Several attendees were curious about how I managed multiple projects and a large team at the same time. The honest answer is that I struggled early on. I simply did not have enough training content or resources to develop people quickly. That gap became a barrier to almost everything we were trying to improve.

This was the problem that pushed us to search for a training solution, which eventually led us to Gemba Academy. After becoming customers, we gained access to videos, materials, and templates that dramatically expanded our training capacity. Suddenly, we were able to develop large groups of people on specific Lean topics while reducing the time and cost of training. The impact on our operations was immediate and visible.

People often misunderstand Lean as “spend less.” In reality, Lean encourages investing in the right things. In our case, the investment in training paid for itself many times over. It accelerated development, transformed our service delivery, and gave us a foundation for sustainable improvement.

Lean in Action: From Training Rooms to Kaizen Events

A highlight for our team was when Gemba Academy came on-site to record videos of the work we were doing. Those videos showed firsthand how city officials were applying Lean in daily operations, using simple tools to make meaningful improvements. Steve Kane, Gemba Academy’s Director of Customer Success at the time, even attended several of my training sessions and Kaizen events. This gave him the chance to see how the material was being used in the real world and how quickly people could grow when given the right tools.

We never ran Kaizen events for practice. Every event tackled a real problem, with real impact, and real ownership from the people who did the work. That’s how change sticks.

A Conversation in Sarajevo

After the conference wrapped up, I was invited to speak with the mayor of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was sick that day, but I had a valuable conversation with his assistant about their challenges and operations. What I learned was simple and universal. Regardless of country or culture, the processes might look different, but the problems are often the same.

People struggle with communication. Leaders struggle with developing teams. Organizations struggle with delivering value efficiently and consistently. And everywhere, people are looking for a better way.

When I explained that Lean has worked not only in manufacturing but also in government, healthcare, nonprofits, and many other environments, it resonated deeply. They were relieved to hear that there are tools, methods, and proven approaches that can help them improve the work they do every day.

The World Is Ready for Lean

My trip to Europe reminded me of something important. Lean is not a manufacturing system. Lean is a people development system. It teaches us to understand problems clearly, work together to solve them, and keep improving every day.

No matter where you go in the world, people want the same things: better service, better processes, better workplaces, and better leadership. The opportunities for improvement are everywhere, because processes are everywhere.

And as long as people are willing to learn and experiment, Lean has a role to play.

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