AI is reshaping work, but few know how to lead through it. Beyond fascination and fear, what kind of leadership can turn this revolution into real progress for people and customers? Lean offers a path placing clarity of intent, learning, and care at the center, to build organizations worthy of human and artificial intelligence.

Join José Ferro, author of Daily Management to Execute Strategy, and Mark Reich, author of Managing on Purpose, for a conversation on the vital connection between Daily Managementand Hoshin Kanri. Every organization must manage and improve its operations day-to-day while also innovating year-to-year to stay competitive. Bridging these two worlds—execution and strategy—is not just important; it’s essential for sustainable success. Discover how aligning Daily Management with Hoshin Kanri can help organizations turn purpose into performance.

Discover how the DsoSuite team reduced their lead-time from 161 to 21 days through a lean transformation focused on pull flow, standardization, and root cause analysis. Visual management, focused squads, agile work (TPS combined with Extreme Programming), daily demos, and continuous improvement enabled faster delivery, improved quality, and stronger alignment with customer expectations.

In one of the world’s most challenging contexts, Medair’s Somalia program pioneered the use of Lean to deliver greater impact with limited resources. Abdinoor and Andrew will talk about this initiative and share examples of improving performance internally and with partners. They will reflect on what it takes to lead Lean in complex, resource-constrained environments. Any organization, whether in crisis or stability, can learn from their journey.

Once upon a time, there was a successful manager who rose all the way to MOL Group’s C-suite. He led with a traditional, hard-driving style, focused relentlessly on profit. But, as it often happens during a time of crisis, a fairy godmother appeared to show him a different path: eliminate waste, follow the flow, and the value will grow.
The rest is history… and you’ll hear it all in 30 minutes.

The Lean Enterprise Academy team has researched the use of John Shook’s Lean Transformation Framework since 2011. The session explores their research and key lessons that will be published in their book “Lean Practice” in 2026.

Mark Reich's Managing on Purpose is one of the most important lean books published in recent years. A hands-on guide to applying hoshin kanri—Toyota’s strategic planning method that connects long-term vision to daily execution—the book draws on Mark's decades of experience, combining real-world examples and a fictional case study to show how leaders can align teams, develop people, and drive continuous improvement. Don't miss this interview with Mark, facilitated by Matt Savas, to understand why Managing on Purpose should be on your bookshelf right now.

How can AI-driven innovation truly flourish on top of a robust Lean culture? In this session, Cesar will share how CI&T has built its AI-first transformation on lean foundations—combining human creativity, disciplined experimentation, and data-driven learning to scale innovation responsibly across the enterprise.

Bring your lean questions to this interactive session with Karen Gaudet, Senior Coach at the Lean Management Institute in the United States. With several years of hands-on experience supporting transformations across industries, Karen will share practical insights and straight answers to real-world challenges—live and unfiltered.

Meet Omelegg, a very successful family-run omelette restaurant business in Amsterdam, founded in 2013 by Faraz Ghorbani and Nima Ghorbani. Their lean background has helped them accomplish a lot over the years. They streamlined their ordering process, resulting in 40% less walking for their staff. They reduced the ticket time (from order to payment) from 45 minutes in 2014 to 30 minutes this year. On average, every seat is sold 12 times during their opening hours, even though their doors close at 4:30 PM. In this session, you'll learn more about successfully running a restaurant using Lean Thinking.

In this thought-provoking session, John and Margie will dive deep into the nature of leadership — questioning what it truly means and how it’s often misunderstood. They'll explore key contrasts such as leadership versus its opposite, and leadership versus management, to uncover where real value lies in practice. They'll also revisit the timeless debate of whether leaders are born or made, examining insights from theorists, practitioners, and presentations from the Lean Global Connection 2025. The session invites participants to challenge assumptions and reflect on what effective leadership really looks like in today’s organizations.

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Our hosts reflect on this year's Lean Global Connection.