Companies have built rigid structures in a world which has become more fluid. They need to change. Stephen Conmy talks to Bernard Flynn, CEO of Katawave, a ‘GPS’ for business leaders to help them navigate disruptive times and survive.
First, let’s go back to where you started in business. Lean optimisation – what did you aim for when you worked for companies? What do you look to remove? What do you keep? How does it work?
Ultimately, we looked to reduce manufacturing costs. Lean optimisation is the identification and elimination of waste.
We either reduced waste to allow for more capacity in a factory, (so there was an opportunity to create more product) or reduced CapEx by avoiding buying new equipment or not having to buy new stuff so often.
We pioneered lean and lean thinking in service-based operations. This approach (which was new at the time) included financial services. The step we took was from optimising companies to optimising industries and sectors. We eliminated 100s of millions of euros out of fat systems.
“By using the art of strategic imagination we bring leaders on a journey and inform them of real patterns, then they can ask the right questions.”
Now let’s jump to where you are now, what you are seeing, what you are solving with your new business?
The world of lean led me to a fundamental question. The challenge we identified is that you can optimise a bad business or a dying business, but it will still be optimised on the way down or worse, on the way out.
I asked: “Is it better to be a smart business over being an optimised one?” I explored the world of innovation. There was lots of tools and techniques and a whole lot of opinion. I could not find a repeatable process and methodology that could allow innovation.
“Businesses are
