Lean leadership: change yourself first

1. Never Go Backwards

Once you make an improvement, that becomes the new standard. Meyers learned this lesson when an employee created a digital solution to replace bulky binders of standard operating procedures, only to find someone had retrieved the old binders “just in case.” The temptation to keep backup plans is universal, but it undermines commitment to improvement. If a new process fails, the answer isn’t to revert-it’s to improve again.

2. Total and Unwavering Commitment

Meyers invoked the story of Hernán Cortés, who burned his ships upon landing in the New World, eliminating any possibility of retreat. While dramatic, the principle applies to lean transformation: if you leave escape hatches open, people will use them. True commitment means removing the option to return to old ways, even when the new path feels uncomfortable or uncertain.

3. Focus on Burden and Flow

Rather than chasing the eight wastes individually, Meyers discovered that burden and flow are the root causes creating those wastes. When employees are burdened-reaching, bending, struggling with poor processes-they become frustrated and burnt out. When work doesn’t flow, inventory accumulates, defects multiply, and customers wait. One disgruntled employee who dismissed lean as “rah rah bullcrap” became a believer after his team simply removed the burdens from his area without requiring him to embrace the philosophy first.

4. Learn from Those Who’ve Gone Before

Meyers credited Ryan Tierney with lighting his “mind on fire” and setting him on the lean path. Throughout his transformation, he followed leaders like Tierney and Oliver Conger, trusting that their guidance would help him navigate the blindfold journey. Even industry leaders like Toyota are learning daily, currently exploring AI integration in completely uncharted territory.

5. Action Beats Understanding

Meyers emphasized moving quickly from learning to doing. The faster you go from understanding a principle to putting it into action, the faster it will stick. Don’t just collect ideas-implement them immediately upon returning to work. As he put it on his YouTube channel “Lean by Doing,” the philosophy is simple: “We do lean, we just do it.”

6. A Bold Vision for the Midwest

Inspired by Ryan Tierney’s declaration to make Ireland the next Japan, Meyers made his own bold commitment: to make the Midwest the next Ireland. He’s already working with five to seven companies within hours of his location, creating pull and driving momentum. His message to the Gemba Summit audience was clear-we all start with a blindfold on, but we have to earn the right to take it off together.