It doesn’t seem very long since my previous trip but I find myself on the road again. Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world so once you leave for your trip, might as well make the most of it. I am visiting several continents with three main agendas: clients, goGermline, and Lean.

Lean

Most of my trips now include a Lean aspect. I was very humbled to be asked to give a keynote speech at the Shingo Conference in Brussels 17-18 October. The topic has to do with my previous blog: “Lean – an objective or intersubjective reality?” which is an introduction to applying a scientific approach to Lean implementation. We have developed an ‘Organisational Capability’ clock or ‘tic toc’ approach that is currently being trialled by all teams at Ozgene. The ‘tic toc’ approach provides alignment for the whole Organisation, its teams and a clear path forward. Ozgene’s ‘tic toc’ results are promising and we are currently writing a white paper on our method. Hopefully I have more news about this soon.

I will also be catching up with several Lean experts in San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Paris. The Paris meeting is with Michael Balle and I’m looking forward to some intriguing Lean discussions. The last leg of my trip will take me back to the Lean roots at Toyota in Nagoya. These visits always reveal how much further we can still go as an Organisation. While in Japan, I will also visit Denso in Kariya to see another real-life example of what Lean can achieve.

goGermline

goGermline is another pull factor for to my trip. I am attending the TT2017 conference in Salt Lake City with our Boston-based Principal Scientist, Dr. Roger Askew. Roger will accept the inaugural ISTT 3Rs prize for goGermline on Ozgene’s behalf. It is great to see recognition for a technology that can make such a difference in animal welfare. goGermline has already made a difference at Ozgene with significantly lower animal numbers and greater project efficiency. The goGermline technology is also taking off with new users, the most recent licensee being the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, another one of my destinations in Europe.

Clients

Last but by no means least, I will be visiting our clients and leads at the US West Coast and several countries in Europe. John Dixon, our Berlin-based Principal Scientist, will join me on these visits. The quality of the services we provide to our clients is the driving force behind all our improvements, including Lean and goGermline. Our clients make all our other endeavours possible and enable us to do what we do: “to advance humanity – inspire curiosity”.

I hope we can chat at one of the conferences or contact me directly via LinkedIn.

– Frank, CEO –