Live Webinar · SSA Consulting Group
Lessons from a Lean Master:
Why Transformations Succeed or Stall.
40 years. 11 books. 130,000 copies sold. And one uncomfortable conclusion from the man who wrote the definitive toolbox: the tools were never the hard part. A conversation with John Bicheno, Emeritus Professor of Lean Enterprise, University of Buckingham.
The 60 minutes, in one line
Date
Thu, 22 Oct 2026 · 3 PM IST
Format
Live + Q&A
Duration
60 minutes
Speakers
John Bicheno Dr Naveen Narayanan
01 — The Myth
Lean fails because the tools are hard
That's the assumption. So organisations buy the toolkits, train the belts, and run the launch — then watch it all quietly fade. This session tests that assumption against 40 years of evidence that says otherwise.
Lean treated as a toolkit problem, not a thinking problem.
Transformations launched, then quietly abandoned.
…and what that cycle quietly costs you every year.
02 — The Lens
"Most people think lean fails because the tools are hard. We'll show you the side of transformation the toolbox left out — live, not in theory."
The Session
60 minutes, mapped out
No filler. Every segment earns its place.
- 015 min
Welcome & Framing
The question we're here to answer: why do so many lean programmes start well and then quietly stall?
- 028 min
Why Lean Stalls
The pattern John has watched repeat since 1982: the launch, the early wins, the plateau, the quiet abandonment. And what it costs to run that cycle twice.
- 0310 min
From Toyota South Africa to the World's First Lean Masters
John's own route: how forty years of teaching, mentoring and writing changed what he thinks lean actually is.
- 0412 min
What the Toolbox Left Out
The Lean Toolbox has sold over 100,000 copies on the hard tools. John then wrote a companion volume on the human side, because the tools were never what made transformations fail. This segment is that argument.
- 058 min
Lean Beyond the Factory Floor
Service, healthcare, back-office and administration: where the thinking transfers, and where it doesn't.
- 0612 min
Live Conversation: Dr. Naveen & John
What holds and what breaks when this meets a real organisation, drawn from SSA's work across India and the Gulf.
- 075 min
Audience Q&A
Open floor. Your questions, answered live.
Who's Talking
Two people who've argued this out before
Dr. Naveen Narayanan
MD & CEO, SSA Consulting Group
Has spent 25 years inside factories and boardrooms watching improvement programmes succeed and stall. Brings the operator's scepticism to this conversation — and the questions most audiences are too polite to ask.
John Bicheno
Emeritus Professor of Lean Enterprise, University of Buckingham
40 years, 11 books, 130,000 copies sold. Wrote the definitive Lean Toolbox, then a companion volume on the human side — because the tools were never what made transformations fail. One of the world's most respected voices on lean thinking.
The Real Barriers
Why lean quietly stalls
Ask why a lean transformation faded and you'll hear about culture, resources, or the shopfloor. In practice the reasons are more mundane and more fixable: how problems get framed, who owns the thinking, and what happens between the launch event and the daily routine. We'll name them — including the ones that have nothing to do with the tools at all.
SSA Consulting Group
Secure Your Spot
Join operations, continuous improvement and transformation leaders for a 60-minute conversation on why lean programmes stall — and what the toolbox left out.
- Thursday, 22 October 2026
- 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM IST
- Live Online Webinar + Audience Q&A
- Hosted by SSA Consulting Group