ABSTRACT
Transforming an organization through Lean was Tim Noble’s passion. He had been a successful change agent and had made a reasonable name for himself. He was working for an organization that did not seem to have used his talent to the fullest. He quit his last job out of desperation although he was paid well-his skills were not used. He had joined this organization with a lot of hope, but things did not turn out the way he wanted. He was told that he would be leading a major Lean transformation in a mortgage business and working toward embedding both efficiency and effectiveness, which could help to differentiate the organization in the marketplace. All these were promises made by the chief people officer (person responsible for human resources in a company) and the chief executive officer (CEO). Tim was doing well in a well-known manufacturing company, but the compensation levels and the pitch made by the CEO made him leave his job and join the mortgage company. He had spent nearly 10 years in the manufacturing company, and his Lean efforts there paid dividends. The vice president of manufacturing was committed to Lean, and Tim had all the support needed to embed Lean thinking across the organization.
