In 2016 I started a Lean Coffee ™ in Gent together with my friends Gert Schepens and Jaqueline Gullion. With the help of the startup studio Schip.Gent we got a great venue to host a monthly meetup.
It’s an unconference that we run like a lean meeting. Every management subject is welcome at the table but we invite attendees to bring their experiences and questions about Lean and Agile.
Why start a Lean Coffee management meetup?
Doing these meetups keeps me on my toes. I get to meet great professional people. Every meetup is a reflection for me about how methodologies are applied in the field. There’s so much to learn just by listening to the stories and the discussions at the table. I get a kick out of it when someone has an aha moment, I’ve had many myself.
If you want to see what it’s all about or just want to experience the lean meeting technique, visit our Meetup group and RSVP. The drinks are on us.
On a side-note, getting Kanban training from Patrick Steyaert got the ball rolling, he introduced me to Lean Coffee. I went to his meetup in Antwerp and met Wim Bollen before we started ours in Gent. Wim ties all the Lean Coffee initiatives in Belgium together.
If you want to get insights or certifications in Kanban, I couldn’t recommend Patrick’s training enough, his company Okaloa also offers a great lean management simulation game which is a true eye-opener.
I’m also keeping a list of books that where mentioned at the meetup.