Highlights from the 2025 New England Lean Summit

This past week I attend the 2025 New England Lean Summit, held October 1–2 in Cromwell, CT. This intimate conference brought together Lean practitioners, executives, and change leaders from across the region to share practical strategies, inspiring stories, and hard-won lessons from the front lines of continuous improvement. Organized by New England LeanConsulting and Paul Critchley, the Summit offered two packed days of workshops, keynotes, and case studies designed to help organizations align culture, leadership, and improvement efforts.

Day 1: Setting the Stage

The first day kicked off with a deep-dive workshop by John Dyer focused on combining process improvement, leadership engagement, and cultural development.

Other standout sessions included:

• Better, Not Bitter: Practical Tips for True Engagement — lessons from Joan Perreault and Kelley Watts on coaching frontline improvement teams with 12 tips for true engament.
• Navigating Resistance: The Human Side of Change – led by April Thomas, equipping leaders to address the human side of change with empathy.

At midday, Colleen DelVecchio delivered an inspiring keynote, “Great Leaders Eat Lunch,” which highlighted the importance of leaders modeling the behaviors and values you seek and how creating a culture of wellbeing prevents burnout.

Day 2: From Culture to Action

Day two opened with Scott Gauvin’s keynote, “The Half of Lean You’ve Been Sleeping On – and Why It’s Time to Wake Up!” reminding attendees that sustainable performance depends more on people than on tools alone. This provocative talk suggested that culture (vs. tools) is often the roadblock to sustainable performance. Scott also shared the Respect for People Roadmap, which provides practical steps to embed respect into daily leadership behaviors.

I was honored to present “Lean Transformation Steps for Operational Excellence,” where I outlined a clear pathway for organizations seeking systemic change. My session emphasized the importance of starting with purpose, building leadership alignment, and engaging people at every level to drive transformation. I also shared practical tools for creating visibility of progress, sustaining momentum, and embedding Lean behaviors into organizational DNA. Attendees walked away with actionable steps to bridge strategy and daily execution while strengthening respect for people throughout the journey.

Other highlights included:

• GKN’s “Brilliant Basics” Deployment – Find it, Fix it, Improve it! — a case study presented by Tiedah Evans from GKN Aerospace on driving continuous improvement across the organization via basic problem-solving.
• Leading with Purpose: Merging Lean Principles, Self Awareness & Employee Engagement — Sandi Mauro integrating strategy and improvement work through logic models to maintain coherence and measurable impact.

The Summit closed with a lively Lean Leaders panel discussion challenging attendees to rethink how they approach Lean implementation and resistance.

Major Themes & Takeaways

Several clear themes emerged across the two days:

1. Culture and Respect for People are Central. Lean success depends on building trust, psychological safety, and authentic engagement—not just applying tools.
2. Change is Human, Not Just Technical. Leaders must recognize emotional responses to change and lead with compassion.
3. Strategy and Daily Improvement Must Connect. Frameworks like charters and logic models help ensure alignment from the top floor to the shop floor.
4. Practical Skills Drive Impact. Kaizens, key performance measures, and real-world examples provided actionable insights attendees can take home.
5. Leadership is the Linchpin. Leaders at every level set the tone, provide recognition, and ensure purpose translates into performance.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 New England Lean Summit reinforced that Lean is not a set of tools—it’s a way of thinking and leading. From cultural change to operational excellence, the sessions highlighted both the challenges and opportunities in making Lean a sustainable advantage.

As a presenter, I was inspired by the energy and commitment of attendees and look forward to continuing the conversation on how leaders can drive transformation with purpose, respect, and alignment. If you weren’t able to join us this year, I highly encourage you to attend the Summit next year—you’ll leave with new insights, practical tools, and a stronger Lean community.