Table Of ContentR un
G row
Tra nsform
Integrating Business
and Lean IT
Endorsements
Run Grow Transform takes the next Mark Katz, CIO and Senior Vice
logical step to driving enterprise value President, Esselte Corporation (global
by showing how to integrate Lean IT leader in office supply products,
thinking deeply within the business including Oxford and Pendaflex)
itself—creating a multiplier effect. This
could be the game-changing playbook
for IT 3.0.
A powerful read detailing how Tom Paider, Associate Vice President, IT
companies can leverage their Lean IT Build Capability Leader, Nationwide
transformation to supercharge the
business.
What CIO is not under constant Alexandre Baulé, Vice President,
pressure to cut costs, increase output, Information Systems, Embraer (third
and foster innovation, keeping pace with largest commercial jet producer in the
growth and business transformation? world)
Lean IT is the key set of disciplines to
achieve just that. The consistent
application of the practices described in
this book has enabled Embraer to reap
huge gains. They are practice proven,
and I recommend this book to all IT
professionals as a desktop companion.
Provides a superb framework for Thomas Knutilla, IT Group Director,
applying Lean practices to help business Ryder System Inc.
and IT work together to get more value
from IT capabilities. You can use this
book as a guideline for focusing the
benefits gained from Lean IT practices to
help grow and transform your business.
Endorsements ◾ iii
This book sheds light on the way to the Melissa Barrett, Enterprise Architecture
bridge between sister cities of Lean and and IT Strategy, Premera Blue Cross
Innovation. Steve captures today’s issues
in relatable terms and examples—I felt
the pages could have been lifted straight
from our own management status
reports or project issues meetings.
Good read! The role of IT in enterprise Jim Garrick, FedEx Express, Lean
Lean transformation is vital to success. Operations
Run Grow Transform addresses a much-
needed perspective.
In a time where Business and IT must David Bogaerts and Jael Schuyer, Lean-
join hands to reduce waste, drive Agile coaches, ING
innovation, and create a competitive
advantage, this book presents an
inspiring view. It is a must-read for
everyone on this journey.
The “business as usual” scenario is not Khuloud Odeh, IT Director, Grameen
an option in today’s economy and global Foundation
challenges. A transformation in
methods, tools, and frameworks is
needed to guide your business
decisions. This book is your first step!
Steve Bell has mapped a new trajectory Jeffrey Barnes, Society for Information
for CIOs seeking to successfully Management, Regional Director,
navigate the path of transformation to Advanced Practices Council
chief innovation officer. For the majority
of those stuck expending most of their
enterprise resources on “run the
business” activities, this book provides a
roadmap for operational and innovative
excellence. I challenge any CIO to read
Chapter 1 of Bell’s breakthrough work
and not be compelled to start this
journey—from run, to growth, to
innovation—and in so doing become a
transformative leader in the creation of
real and sustainable business value.
iv ◾ Endorsements
Not just for Lean practitioners, Run Grow Sarah Topham, Lean Deployment
Transform is a must-have reference for Leader, Information Technology and
any IT organization, regardless of size, Product Management, Paychex, Inc.
age, or industry, looking to move to the
next level of performance.
The pattern we often see is a high Bruno Guiçardi, COO, Ci&T
volume of IT investment followed by a
disappointing contribution to the
business. This book is a must-read for
those seeking to break this pattern and
transform IT into a source of innovation
and value-add for the business.
My advice is simple: read, learn, adopt. Scott Ambler, (co)author of twenty
Steve Bell has hit another home run with books, including Disciplined Agile
this book. Lean is going to affect your Delivery
organization whether you like it or not.
Either your organization will adopt the
wisdom contained in this book and
thrive or your competitors will do so and
put you out of business. Once again:
read, learn, adopt.
With all that has already been written Alexander Brown, COO, Scrum Inc.
about Lean, it’s rare to see truly new
insight added to the discussion. Steve Bell
does just that by continuing to push the
frontiers of Lean thinking into the creative
and rapidly evolving world of IT. Run
Grow Transform is thought provoking,
well grounded in research, and a great
read for anyone interested in why Lean
methods work. Jeff Sutherland and I had a
blast exploring the relationship of Lean
and Agile/Scrum principles with Steve,
and I expect readers will too.
Steve has a unique background as an IT Jeffrey Liker, PhD, professor, University
professional who has studied Eastern of Michigan; author of The Toyota Way
philosophies and immersed himself in a
deep understanding of Lean. This book
focuses on the most critical and
challenging issue for any aspect of the
development or use of IT: creating a
collaborative learning culture.
Endorsements ◾ v
This book opens a new chapter in the Brian Maskell, coauthor of Practical Lean
use of IT systems in a Lean world by its Accounting
practical, pragmatic, and yet Lean-
focused advice to IT people and their
managers and—just as important—their
customers.
The acquisition, processing, and delivery Kevin Meyer, President, Specialty
of information are critical to Lean Silicone Fabricators
transformations and business excellence
in general, yet IT departments are often
on the sidelines in such efforts. There is
waste and opportunity for improvement
in the IT function itself, but perhaps
more importantly there is tremendous
opportunity with how information is
processed and leveraged within the
larger organization. In Run Grow
Transform Steve Bell describes how IT
can become a powerful agent
supporting organizational improvement.
All too often the IT organization is Josh Rapoza, Director of Web Strategy
viewed as an impediment to Lean and Operations, Lean Enterprise
transformation, when it truly can be a Institute
catalyst. Steve’s book sorts out all the
noise, the jargon, and the “hero culture,”
guiding the reader to what is so obvious
yet so hard to see: build your culture
around your customer!
Aligning Lean and IT is a great challenge Klaus Lyck Petersen, Group Process
with a big payoff. We have successfully Manager, Solar A/S
applied Lean thinking in our supply
chain redesign and SAP implementation.
This book really shows how Lean and IT
can create a strong enterprise; it is a
great inspiration.
vi ◾ Endorsements
With the advent of technologies like 3D Jez Humble, Thoughtworks Studios;
printing and cloud computing we are on author of Continuous Delivery
the verge of a third industrial
revolution—one that traditional
management paradigms are simply not
designed for. Run Grow Transform sets
out the principles and practices
necessary for success in the new
economy and is required reading for
anybody involved in managing an
organization that depends on
technology for its success.
A must-read for any organization that is Barry J. Brunetto, Vice President,
pursuing a continuous improvement Information Systems, Blount
program based on the Lean principles. International
This book provides the insight to further
integrate Lean IT and business process
improvement. In today’s world, real
business improvement cannot be
achieved without the IT factor; this book
will help any organization achieve the
improvement they are seeking.
Twenty years of manufacturing and Darren Hogg, IT Director, WIKA
business process improvement using Instrument Corporation
Lean methodologies, and I never
considered applying Lean to IT. I am
now inspired to transform my
department using Lean IT, and I’ve
already seen significant results in the
first ninety days. This book lays a
foundation for excellence.
Most companies in their Lean journey Flávio A. Picchi, Executive Director, Lean
realize (with a lot of pain) that they must Institute Brasil
transform their IT processes in order to
support their main product and service
processes. This book stresses the
importance of the complete value
stream, which is necessary for enterprise
transformation
Endorsements ◾ vii
Whether you’re a leader, an IT Karen Martin, author of The
professional, or a change agent, you Outstanding Organization
MUST read this book! Steve Bell’s
refreshing take on how to develop and
leverage your IT capabilities to innovate,
deliver greater value, and reduce cost
will help you gain market share and
become a truly outstanding
organization.
In thirty years of coaching Lean Michael Rowney, PhD, Rowney
transformations, the most significant Consulting
impediments I have encountered are
poor-quality information and
unresponsive IT groups that resist
change. This book provides much-
needed guidance to help us surmount
these most frustrating obstacles.
Run Grow Transform contains the tools Martin Erb, Director of Professional
for IT leaders and performers to thrive in Services, Pink Elephant
the face of the many conflicting
demands from their customers, with
limited resources. Delivering beyond
the helpful folk wisdom and narrow
techniques and technologies found
elsewhere, Steve Bell and his
contributors provide practical full value
stream lifecycle methods for continuous
improvement using Lean in an IT and
customer (business) setting.
Precise, concise, and entertaining, this Fuat Alican, PhD, Vice President, Central
book provides the reader with crucial American Scientific Research and
tips on how IT can help enterprises Education Center
survive and thrive in a fast-paced
technological and economic
environment. This is mandatory reading
not only for businesses and IT
organizations, but also for universities
and policy makers.
viii ◾ Endorsements
Run Grow Transform clarifies the eternal Tom Foco, Value Stream Solutions
quest of IT—simplify “running” the
business to eliminate waste of
operational resources. Redirect IT
spending to create innovative solutions
to grow the business and create
sustainable competitive advantage to
transform the way customers interact
with your business before your
competitors do. This book offers plain,
actionable advice from one who has
been on the frontlines.
A valuable and much-needed Richard Askew, Wipro Consulting
perspective on the integration of Services
business and IT. Provides sound,
practical advice and challenges us to
think about a central issue of business
performance: value stream flow.
It really is all about process: Lean IT Thomas Jollands, Tata Consultancy
helps IT professionals view everything Services
they do in a new way. Run Grow
Transform will help everyone recognize
that end-to-end transformation means
board room to point of customer
delivery, not board room to CIO.
This is a long-overdue book that James Finister, Tata Consultancy Services
addresses the key challenges for today’s
IT organization and puts Lean IT into a
context that is too often lacking.
Thought leader Richard Florida has Cecil Dijoux, Lean Software
identified the ongoing tension between Development Manager, Lectra
creativity and organization as the biggest
issue at stake in this emerging age. This
book proposes a useful framework to
address that very problem while leading
IT strategy in a twenty-first century
organization. If you’re a CIO, you cannot
afford to miss this thoughtful,
knowledgeable, yet very practical read.
