Steve Bell is a pioneer of Lean IT and Lean Digitization, applying principles and practices through a method-agnostic approach, drawing on a variety of disciplines— including Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, DevOps, Lean Startup, Kata, Design Thinking, ITSM, Visual Management (Obeya), and Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri) —as appropriate to the culture and situation, to coach and support leaders to develop high-performance practices and organizational learning capabilities. He is the author of Lean IT, Run Grow Transform, Lean Enterprise Systems, and numerous other published works. In 2011 Steve was awarded the Shingo Prize for Research and Professional Publication. His career spans the evolution of enterprise-wide information technology, with hands-on experience in continuous improvement and innovation across most industries.

Steve and his partner Karen Whitely Bell are co-founders of Digital Lean Strategies, LLC (formerly Lean IT Strategies). Together they have co-authored numerous articles, and recently contributed a chapter on high performance management to Accelerate: The Science Behind DevOps, by Jez Humble, Gene Kim, and Nicole Forsgren PhD. They are currently working on their next book, on the Digital Lean Enterprise.

They are also co-founders of Lean4NGO (LinkedIn Group “Lean Thinking for NGOs and Nonprofits) whose mission is to make Lean Thinking accessible to humanitarian aid organizations, improving NGO operational efficiency (use of scarce resources) and effectiveness (improved outcomes) to benefit the three billion people living at the "bottom of the pyramid" on less than $2 a day.

With a consulting and coaching career spanning more than 20 years, Mike has gathered a unique blend of lean, IT, healthcare, and operations experience that he uses to coach organizations pursuing enterprise excellence. His personable approach and people-first philosophy has inspired leaders and empowered workforces to successfully apply conscious awareness, lean management, and enterprise excellence practices in many complex work environments.

He is the co-author of Lean IT: Enabling and Sustaining Your Lean Transformation winner of a Shingo Research Award, and The Lean IT Field Guide. He holds degrees from Stanford University, the University of Oregon, and is certified in management accounting, production and inventory control, project management, Agile, and Lean IT. Mike teaches with LEI, the Shingo Institute, and The Ohio State University Fisher School of Business. He helps companies on lean journeys through Mike Orzen & Associates. Connect with him at mike@mikeorzen.com.