There’s a new book out on operational excellence in higher education institutions.

“Okay… but why are you telling me this?” I hear you ask.

Well, for a few reasons. First, you may not yet have heard about its publication. And second, its international authorship offers insights that will genuinely help anyone on a journey toward operational excellence—whether you work in higher education or in any other service-sector organisation.

And I’m pleased to say that I’m a co-author of one of the chapters.

My contribution

I helped write Chapter 5: Adopting Then Adapting Lean: A Case Study of Three Universities.

The chapter explores how Lean was introduced into higher education through the experience of the University of St Andrews, and then follows two first-person accounts from colleagues at the University of North Alabama (UNA) and the University of West Alabama (UWA).

As many of you know, I led Lean at St Andrews for many years. My consultancy work supported UNA in adopting—and then adapting—the St Andrews approach. Later, a member of UNA staff moved to UWA and took those practices with them, where they were again adapted to suit local needs. It’s a fascinating story of how Lean thinking travels, evolves, and embeds itself in very different institutional contexts.

Where to find the book

The book is available now from Emerald Publishing.

Happy reading!

And if you’d like to learn more about our approach to Lean—or explore how St Andrews Lean Consulting can support your organisation’s improvement journey—we’d love to hear from you.