Executive Director Update

Hi there. 2019 seems to be flying by. Before it does, I want to pause and reflect on a few key milestones that have taken place so far this year. You should know that I am very proud of the CLN members and board. Without you all, this network would not be possible. Thank you. 

Executive Summary

Below I discuss in detail about the following cool achievements so far in 2019:

I am so honored to be apart of this network. From our results-driven Board, to our dedicated members, together we are doing amazing things. There are so many individuals and organizations to thank for the above accomplishments. Please accept my gratitude for your hard work and dedication.

The CLN is Now an Official Non-Profit 501(c)(3)!

That’s right. After careful consideration, the Board of Directors decided that it was time to make it official. In March 2019, we registered the Colorado Lean Network with the Colorado Secretary of State. We are still member-run, meaning that everything that we do—events, workshops, outreach, etc.—is planned and organized by our members. Nevertheless, filing as a non-profit simply strengthens our portfolio and enables us to pursue more resources when the time is right. More on that in the future along with the publication of our official founding documents. 

We Have a Bank Account

We survived for seven years by floating cash through various sponsoring business accounts–thank you. In the past, if you hosted an Annual Lean Summit, you also managed the cash flow through your own finance team. This placed undue burden on our members and for that reason we worked as quick as we could to fix this problem. As part of the non-profit filing, we also registered with the Internal Revenue Service. These two steps allowed for us to secure banking. 

You may notice a brand new donate button at the lower portion of our website. Since we are member-run, we rely on your support to keep this network moving and sometimes that takes a small bit of cash. This new feature is completely self-service and you can donate discretely if you wish. Thank you in advance for your continued support—a few bucks goes a long way.

New 2020 Board of Director Slate

We are in the process of interviewing individuals for the 2020 Board of Directors. We started by collecting applications through June 2019 and we very excited for the turnout. Once we have finished the interviewing process, we plan to put together a tentative slate for you all to consider. This will be a single vote for the entire slate with potential to comment. We thought that this would be the most valuable way to do it considering our current resources. If the majority of voters do not like the slate, we will work very hard to make it right. More to come on that soon, including next steps for the new Board. 

2019 Colorado Lean Workshop Summit is Under Way!

We thought that it would be best to build the Summit this year in a way that maximized value to you while decreasing resources. With that, we are still in the planning phase and we are using your survey comments from previous years to march on—thank you for that. We anticipate it to be a dual workshop venue—one set of workshops in the morning and another set in the afternoon—with some sort of networking, sponsor, poster session over lunch. Tickets are not available yet and, when they do become available, you will be notified as usual via email, blog and social media. However, we are accepting workshop facilitator applications. Please apply by August 8, 2019. 

That is enough for now as I had better get back to it and catch up with the team. Thank you, again, for all that you are doing. From attending events to organizing Summits, it truly is amazing to watch the progress unfold everyday. 

Regards,

Mike Shull
Executive Director
Colorado Lean Network

Published by Michael J. Shull

Mike began his improvement journey in the late 1990’s using Kanban cards and production boards to reduce waste in the restaurant industry. In 2005 he joined Caterpillar, Inc. where he learned how to integrate process improvement with Six Sigma to increase heavy equipment sales in two Colorado territories. With a passion for education, Mike later began teaching folks how to use these simple principles themselves--first in the private sector (2009), and then later in the public sector (2012). Mike is the Senior Manager of Continuous Improvement at Denver International Airport and he previously served as the executive director for the Colorado Lean Network from 2017 - 2020. Mike loves learning about what drives people to improve processes while teaching them how to think differently. When he is not facilitating process improvements, Mike enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, biking and traveling with his wonderful wife, Melissa.

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