What Does it Mean to Be Lean?

I would encourage all of you to embrace the Lean building concept. In theory, the concept is quite simple: to be as efficient and effective as possible in everything you do. That means conserving resources and energy; minimizing input and maximizing output; and, most important, eliminating waste. A good analogy for Lean is to imagine being stranded on a mountaintop, snowed in and cold, with one bottle of water and a nutritional energy bar. You know help is on the way, but it's going to take at least 48 hours, so you need a plan to conserve energy and make your resources last. Lean is much the same way: it's about cutting out the fat in your organization while maximizing your return on investment. It pertains to both overhead and direct cost. And each nugget you find has compounded effects.

This is an abbreviated version of Jim Deitch's original blog post. Read the full post here.