Lean management applications in Brazil serve as an example for other countries

Lean is based on principles originally developed at Toyota, in Japan, and is now recognized as a model of business excellence, applied with great success in the most varied sectors (Photo: Thinkstock)

In Brazil we have a habit of talking a lot about the bad things we have (and we have several…). But of course we also have many good things, which we should value.

Last week, I had the pleasure of confirming a perception I already had about one of these aspects, which deserves to be highlighted: we have very advanced applications of the lean management philosophy, which serve as a reference for many other countries.

I was able to see this during the annual meeting of the LGN – Lean Global Network, an organization that brings together institutes from 30 countries dedicated to disseminating lean management. Lean is based on principles originally developed at Toyota, in Japan, and is now recognized as a model of business excellence, applied with great success in the most varied sectors.

For the first time, this annual LGN meeting took place in our country, where Lean Institute Brasil (LIB) has been operating for 21 years, having been the second institute to join this network, right after the one in the US. Colleagues from every continent were able to see in loco (or at the gemba, as we call it in lean: the place where things happen) cases of high maturity at several companies.

They found that we have applications in a range of sectors, such as finance, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, entertainment, digital transformation and so on, and that lean here goes far beyond operational tools and today permeates the entire company, from strategy and leadership to the management system. They saw lean reaching the front line, changing the way work is done, minimizing waste and generating continuous improvement with everyone's participation, which has brought significant results to customers and to the companies that apply it in depth.

This fills us with pride, because it shows that, in several companies in Brazil, we have extremely advanced, modern and agile management, applying lean concepts in an exemplary way. The feedback we got from everyone was that we have several cases that are among the best in the world, the result of the flexibility and perseverance of the managers and employees of these companies, who overcome basic difficulties, solving problems daily, with creativity and teamwork.

On the other hand, we must remember that not all companies in Brazil are at this level. On the contrary, although interest in lean and its application has increased significantly in recent years in our country, we still have many organizations that have not discovered this management philosophy or that apply it in a very early and superficial way.

It is the Brazil of inequalities, in management as well.

Companies with management methods that can be considered world-class, such as lean, coexist alongside others with completely outdated management.

This unevenness brings at least one opportunity: those that are already good examples can share experiences, accelerating the progress of the companies that are further behind.

The spirit of generating shared learning, very strongly present in the lean philosophy, applies at all levels: among LGN institutes, as in this annual meeting, and among countries, companies, professionals and citizens.

Spread your good management practices, whether lean or otherwise, through events, articles, hosting visits and so on. You and your company will certainly also learn a lot in this process of interaction. By helping to reduce inequalities in management maturity, you will certainly also be contributing to reducing economic and social inequalities in our country.