Solving problems is simple, but not easy - know the difference - Lean Business Generation

Solving problems is simple, but not easy – know the difference.

“…We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore excellence is not an act but a habit….”

Aristoteles or Will Durant or Will A. Foster – many are attributed

The business philosophy of Lean and its consequent implementations in the last 70-80 years have learned us that you don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. (James Clear in Atomic Habits). And that’s why I’ve come to believe that success in anything, also in business, can be the outcome of a process of common sense, but then rigorously applied.

Red is the new green
Mark van de Laak

People are visual animals, hence the beauty of Visual Management as started out in the Toyota factories many decades ago. If your KPI is green, you’re good. If it is red, you’re not (yet) where you want to be. Red means there’s a problem to be solved. It can be small it can be huge, but something needs to be done. This is where true Lean Leaders step in. Define the problem, find the root cause, implement countermeasures and ensure sustainment. It’s simple… but not always easy.

Explore my thoughts on my Lean Business Blog:

Lean Leadership

Leadership starts with managing yourself

Posted on 08/05/2026 by Mark

Being a leader that is going through a transformation is hard. Certainly if it wasnt’ your ide…

Lean Leadership

Standards before kaizen

Posted on 25/03/2026 by Mark

One of the first things when trying to build a culture of continuous improvement, or Kaizen, should …

Lean Leadership

On learned organisational helplessness

Posted on 12/03/2026 by Mark

Consultants are problem solvers. It’s also who I am, it’s how I position myself and it&#…

Lean Thinking

When Helping Too Much Becomes the Problem

Posted on 12/03/2026 by Mark

One of the occupational hazards of consulting is that you become very good at spotting problems. Aft…

Interim

I can help out on an interim basis for a leadership role:

Marketing
Innovation
Commercial Strategy
Product Management
Innovation
Continuous Improvement

Where do you need help

Training & Workshops

I like to share my knowledge and run successful kaizen events

Hoshin Kanri
Problem Solving
Daily Visual Management
Business Model Generation
Value Proposition Design
Digital Marketing Bootcamp

Let’s run an event

Projects

You have a brilliant idea, great solution… just need to find the actual customer problem it solves. And find some customers.

In a few sessions I can help build a business model and plan to test/deploy
I can run a project to build up a value selling strategy, incl campaigning for your next product launch.
Typically use methods and canvases from Osterwalder

Let’s build a business

Marketing Transformation

Specifically for B2B marketing teams that finally want to start contributing to the bottom line. This is a service that can be delivered as consultancy or interim – up to you. The program follows four simple steps. Simple – not easy.