The Lean-Agilist

Mitch Malloy
Mitch Malloy

What is a Lean-Agilist? It’s someone who finds practical ways of applying the values and principles of Lean and Agile to provide solutions across vastly diverse situations. Over the past 20+ years of my professional experience, I’ve come to agree with other Lean-Agilists that while every organization’s issues are uniquely specific to them, the principles  for delivering solutions can be applied with success universally.

“A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

As a Lean-Agile coach and consultant, I have the opportunity to see many things that others don’t, and from that experience I can discern patterns in process, behavior and outcomes that allow me to break through perceived barriers to benefit others. With all this in mind, I continually strive to grow in knowledge and understanding , applying my experience to help my clients improve, imparting what I’ve learned to them rather than embedding myself into their organization.

Value is about people: people creating value and people benefiting from the generated value.

The Lean-Agilist understands that value is about people, and helps get people excited about work again. As a result, they are energized by their daily activities and become more productive. The Lean-Agilist understands that there is no context for value without the people at the beginning and the end of the value stream. Value is about people: people creating value and people benefiting from the generated value.

Prioritize ruthlessly and execute purposely.

We can’t do it all and pursuit of perfection is a vain effort; perfection doesn’t take into account constraints. So the Lean-Agilist seeks excellence amidst reality’s limitations to remove non-value-added activities and focus on the highest priority efforts that deliver the greatest possible value in a quick, sustainable and predictable fashion. The Lean-Agilist brings renewed life to struggling teams and organizations helping them to prioritize, deliver and improve.

Living things are designed to grow and replicate themselves.

Henry Ford once commented upon his wish to only pay for the hands on the assembly line rather than the whole person. He would no doubt be enthused by today’s automation, but automated efficiency hits a ceiling if it becomes and end in itself rather than a tool for greater innovation. It’s the nature of living things to move, grow and replicate themselves. The Lean-Agilist encourages replication of thought-patterns that eventually become cultural characteristics that translate into mindful and relentless improvements.

So if you’re also a Lean-Agilist or just want to know more, take a look at the links listed on this page and pick one that grabs your interest. I am convinced that “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”, so as I pass on my understanding, I ask that you let me know your own thoughts for our mutual growth.

You can reply on this site or connect with me through LinkedIN.