Pioneering Lean Change in Hard Times

In this exclusive interview, Martyn Craske, Department for Work and Pensions Lean Programme Manager, joins PEX Network to discuss Lean in the Face of Adversity and pioneering Lean.

Firstly, Martyn, a widely-recognised pioneer in Lean within the public sector, explains how he moved into Lean and why it was important for his organization and role at the time. He reflects on the enormous change within the public sector at the moment and how this has affected his Lean approach. He also offers his perspectives on how to implement Lean well within the fluid environment of the wider business world – with sustainable and standardized processes. The main thrust of the interview focuses on critical moments of the DWP Lean programme – the riskiest, ‘heart in mouth’ moments, where it came to questioning the approach, and the highest impact successes. He explains how these were overcome and what he would do differently if they came up again.

The interview also touches upon some general Lean themes focusing on Leadership. Martyn debates the theory that for Lean to work well, you need strong leadership and executive support and discusses how he helped to drive Lean thinking throughout the DWP despite very traditional process ideas, offering tips on how to really win the hearts and minds of the organization. Finally, he looks at how leadership and lean approaches will have to adapt over the next few years as our ideas around operating model and the economy change; and how within the public sector a more collaborative approach can be created to drive a new model in excellence.