LEAN AGILITY Blog

Practical methods and leadership strategies for government and public sector leaders working to reduce waste, clear backlogs, and build stronger teams.

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Lean and AI

Black-and-white retro-style photograph of a woman lost in a hedge maze, holding a stack of folders with her hand pressed to her forehead in frustration. A robot labeled

2 min read

The AI Investment Trap

Craig Szelestowski: Aug 26, 2026, 2:00:00 PM

Once you build a chatbot for a bad process, something interesting happens. The chatbot develops a constituency. It has a project team, a budget line,...

Lean and AI

Black-and-white retro-style photograph of a packed conference room. Rows of seated attendees hold up vintage box cameras, photographing a projection screen at the front showing a shaded pyramid chart divided into ranked tiers. Beside the screen, a chrome robot with a round head, glowing eyes, and an antenna gestures toward the chart from a podium, next to a slide projector on a cart. A chalkboard with graphs is visible on the side wall.

2 min read

The Slide They All Photographed

Craig Szelestowski: Aug 4, 2026, 9:00:00 AM

How do you know which slide is the one people care the most about? Easy - it's the one they take pictures of.

Lean and AI

Retro-style illustration of a woman in a lab coat holding a checklist labeled

2 min read

I Built an AI Agent in 10 Minutes. Here's Why That Matters for Process Improvement

Craig Szelestowski: Jul 27, 2026, 9:00:00 AM

Last week I opened up Microsoft 365 Copilot, clicked "Create Agent," and pasted a 10-item checklist for staffing request completeness. Then I tested...

Lean and AI

Retro black-and-white photo of a robot handle a towering stack of office paperwork at a government desk, while two workings look in. A sign in the background reads

2 min read

Where AI Actually Saves Time in a Lean Six Sigma Project (And Where It Doesn't)

Craig Szelestowski: Jun 24, 2026, 8:15:00 AM

I've been tracking where AI saves time in Lean process improvement projects. Not the marketing claims - the actual hours, on real engagements, with...

Lean and AI

Black-and-white retro-style photograph of a robot at a desk, diligently filling out an endless paper form that unrolls off the desk and coils onto the floor. Beside it sits a small, untouched

2 min read

Five Questions to Ask Before you Build a Chatbot

Craig Szelestowski: Jun 15, 2026, 8:00:00 AM

Chatbots are the new shiny object. Many process improvement presentations I’ve sat through lately include a recommendation for a chatbot somewhere....

Lean and AI

Office workers cheerfully feeding gold bars and watches into an industrial shredder at MAX SPEED, under a banner reading

2 min read

Chatbots: Are We Automating What Should be Eliminated?

Craig Szelestowski: May 26, 2026, 7:00:00 AM

A team in HR builds a chatbot to walk hiring managers through a 14-field hiring request form. It takes three months and a meaningful chunk of their...

Lean and AI