For organizations struggling to navigate COVID-19, Hoshin Kanri can help according to Lean Expansion Business Consultant in Toronto

Toronto, ON -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/29/2020 --In 2020, Leslie Barker launched the newly rebranded Lean Expansion Business Consulting in Toronto. Leslie works with corporate giants across North America, leveraging lean methodologies to provide advisory services related to CX Consulting, Leadership, Design Thinking, and Hoshin Kanri (aka Policy Deployment).

A business consulting veteran, Leslie's portfolio reads like a who's-who, with names like Bosch, Inova, and Kimberly-Clark. However, she was still young when she faced one of the great challenges of her career, rescuing a multi-million-dollar organization during the SARS outbreak. Her solution was to leverage the principles of policy deployment and create strategy that allowed the client to rapidly process and react to changing conditions. For more, go to https://leanexpansion.ca/back-from-the-brink-how-hoshin-kanri-helped-a-struggling-client-during-the-sars-outbreak-part-1/

Policy deployment is a powerful system implemented for organizations that need to rapidly advance important outcomes and goals.

"It's a solution for organizations that can't seem to reach major goals," explains Leslie. "What often happens is businesses expend personnel and resources on goals that are smaller and easier to accomplish, but these don't advance overarching objectives. By creating a fast and flexible workflow that prioritizes high value work, it becomes possible to make progress toward major goals, whether that's stability, growth, or system improvement."

When SARS arrived in Toronto in 2003, Leslie's client was already navigating potential layoffs and shutdown. It was a worst-case scenario. In fact, the client was just starting to stabilize when news of a disease that started halfway round the world triggered mass economic turmoil and began disrupting supply chains.

"It was a rough time," remembers Leslie. "Normal business processes were ripped apart, and my client was still far from stable. Luckily, we had already implemented principles consistent with Policy Deployment, and those became our anchor."

Strategic initiatives included:

- Creating a plan consistent with strategic goals
- Tactical deployment at every level in the company
- Regular follow-ups to discuss outcomes
- Results-based evaluations and adjustments

It's impossible to predict every outcome a pandemic can trigger. The ability to make quick decisions is a strategic advantage in a competitive market, but when an organization is in survival mode, it becomes imperative. The stakes were high. Thousands of jobs were at risk. However, team members were able to pull together and focus on assigned tasks. Decision-making cycles dropped from weeks to days to hours.

A few important discoveries guided the process:

- Self-correcting mechanisms could compensate for imperfections
- Data had to be the crux of all decision making
- Uncertainly is inevitable but sometimes it's possible to fail forward

With consistent effort from many talented teams, the organization recovered. For businesses facing disruption, whether the source is economic uncertainty, technical challenges, or a global pandemic, speed is key to relevance, and strategic intent is vital to speed.

Today, Leslie works across North America, collaborating with organizations targeting rapid growth. Connect with Lean Expansion Business Consulting in Toronto for advisory services related to CX Consulting, Design Thinking, Executive Coaching, and Policy Deployment / Hoshin Kanri.

Learn more about Lean Expansion Business Consulting in Toronto at 416.528.7990 or leslie@leanexpansion.ca

About Lean Expansion Business Consulting
Lean Expansion Business Consulting, based in Toronto, Ontario, provides advisory services related to CX, leadership, and Hoshin Kanri (policy deployment). Leslie works across North America, leveraging lean methodologies and tailoring management systems for clients who want to solve problems or achieve vigorous and sustainable growth.

For additional information, please visit https://leanexpansion.ca/
or call 416.528.7990.

Lean Expansion Business Consulting
Call 416.528.7990
Company website: https://leanexpansion.ca/