Ben Leo is a lean expert. And he should be proud of that. Not only did he write the book “Towards a Lean Culture” but he also regularly gives workshops on the subject. Last week in Valencia he gave one to a group of Dutch and international entrepreneurs.

Change is the new constant in the strategy of companies and organisations. External factors, such as the rise of the interactive Internet and social media, have caused disruption and transformations. Today, companies have to deal with a changing context, which comes from within. How do you ensure employees’ engagement? How do you attract talent and offer them purpose? And above all: how do you do all that when the pressure for more efficiency and better returns only increases?

As a partner of Olive Operations and RentMyBrain, as an executive coach and as CFO of Medialaan and De Persgroep, Ben Leo was able to experience such quests from the front row. As a project sponsor and consultant, he was asked to use lean management to ensure better performance and more connection among employees. The specific methodology and the well-thought-out implementation ultimately paved the way for a lean culture. The result is reflected in higher returns, more involvement and sense of purpose among employees and more value for the customer.

These experiences, both in larger companies and in SMEs, from various sectors, are described in his book “Towards a lean culture”. With striking examples, business cases and based on his own experience, Ben explained the benefits of process optimisation, operational excellence and lean management.

Many of the entrepreneurs present immediately detected possible areas where the technique could prove its worth, in the government, with their customers or in their own company. We received many positive reactions after the workshop.

Thank you Ben for this inspiring session!