Centre for Business Performance and Lean Leadership

The Centre for Business Performance and Lean Leadership aims to equip organizations to better deliver value through not only applying good practice but also developing it internally. This is achieved through developing a deeper understanding of the theory that underpins the established approaches and so develop a capability to creatively focus a process of ongoing improvement. This aim is particularly relevant to more complex and uncertain environments, including education, health and social care, project management and customized supply chain management. In support of this aim the Centre has particular expertise in lean thinking and the theory of constraints.

Both Lean and TOC deliver value in distinct but complimentary ways by enabling flow through managing (TOC) and reducing the impact (Lean) of wasteful variation in the delivery system. 

• Lean emphasises improvement across the value stream by reducing waste and the associated variation and uncertainty.
• TOC focuses on the management of constraints (leverage points) in complex systems and the targeted reduction of variation and uncertainty.

The centre has a track record in TOC and lean education, application and research that is being developed to exploit the synergistic benefits, with the objective of equipping organizations to develop a strategically focused approach to ongoing improvement.

We provide a multidisciplinary approach to improving business performance which involves managing cultural change, redesigning measurement systems and adopting flow based planning and control systems.

Aims of the centre:

• Develop and extend the application of established performance improvement approaches with particular focus on Lean and TOC philosophies.
• Help organisations develop and implement performance and improvement strategies.
• Develop and test theory that explains and unifies the different philosophies and approaches.
• Develop teaching materials that unify best practice strategy and tactics underpinned by theory.

Contact us

Dr Roy Stratton
Director of the Centre for Business Performance and Lean Leadership
Nottingham Business School
Nottingham Trent University
Newton Building
Burton Street
Nottingham
NG1 4BU

Telephone: +44 (0)115 848 8689
Email