Lean Thinking: Doing more with less

Bootstrapping means: no investors, no safety net. Anyone who sets out on this path has to work with what is there – and make sure that every move counts. This is precisely where lean thinking comes into play.

In principle, lean thinking is old hat. The idea originated in the 1940s – born out of necessity, matured during a materials shortage and perfected at Toyota. The basic idea is simple but powerful: eliminate everything that consumes resources but does not create value.

In Japanese, this is called “muda”. And muda is everywhere.

Muda is when everyone is busy but nothing gets done.

You know the feeling: a developer waits two days for feedback. A project manager fills out the same spreadsheet for the third time. A feature is developed because it's “nice to have” – but nobody needs it. Or even worse: it's never used.

All of this is Muda. It consumes time, energy and focus – and yields nothing in return.

Lean Thinking teaches us to systematically identify and get rid of this dead weight. This is not about making people work harder. On the contrary: it is about making their work easier – through clear processes, reliable handovers, realistic planning and the courage to let things be sometimes.

Lean starts in your mind – and on your calendar

The most important resource in a bootstrapping company is not the budget. It is time. Time for customers, time for product development, time for strategic decisions. But if day-to-day business consumes everything, there is nothing left.

That's why lean thinking starts with brutal honesty: what do we do every day – and which of these things really brings us closer to our goal?

Often, the answer is sobering. But that's exactly the first step towards improvement. You can only avoid waste if you recognize it. And suddenly there is room for maneuver: for a new feature, a customer relationship, or maybe even for an early finish.

Leadtime not only helps you understand lean thinking, but also how to implement it. Whether it's structured tasks, automated processes or time tracking directly on the ticket, you'll see what really matters and reduce the rest. This is how lean becomes a way of working, not just a theory.