Looking forward to Lean Kanban Central Europe 2012

October is Lean Kanban conferences season in Europe. I chose to return to speak at Lean Kanban Central Europe (#LKCE12) taking place this year in lovely Vienna. If you are not aware of the conference or still contemplating whether to come, here are the things I’m especially looking forward to:

• Chance to hear the latest and greatest from the Lean/Kanban/Systems community leaders - Keynotes from David J Anderson, Dave Snowden, Don Reinertsen are always home runs, no matter how many times I’ve heard them already. And I’m looking forward to hear Stephen Parry for another perspective on Lean Services.
• The funky and exciting Pecha Kuchas / Lightning Talks. I gave a Pecha Kucha for the first time in LKCE11 last year and found it was a great learning experience that affected my presentation style even in regular session. Can’t wait to see what the lucky Pecha Kuchers have for us this year. Can Arne top his Munich performance???
• The new rehashed version of Jeff Anderson’s work on transformation using Lean Startup concepts as well as Jasper Sonnevelt’s talk about Top Down versus Viral Spread, both very related to things I’m focused on these days.
• Combination of LEGOLand and smart advice about Toyota/Kanban Kata at Håkan Forss’s talk. I hope to hear what new he’s been thinking of since the Kanban Leadership Retreat last spring.
• Jim Benson’s talk is focused on Lean Meetings this time. I use Lean Meeting concepts I learned from Jim all the time. If you’ve never heard about Kanban Agenda Meetings, Lean Coffees and the like, you are in for a treat that will change your approach to the activity you spend a major part of your work life in… (If you’re interested in this also check out Death by Meeting by Lencioni )
• Attaching Kanban to the Command&Control World of Project Managers Nikolaus Rumm
• In Defense of Ambiguity by Joshua Bloom - Seems to tie in with Art of Action by Bungay which I’m reading at the moment. The power of Intent and maneuvering freedom in a complex world…

My personal goals are:

• Getting feedback from people on my “Starting with Manager’s Kanban” a.k.a. Starting from Product Stream Kanban concept, and use that feedback to improve how I’m using this pattern in strategic engagements.
• Selling a couple of copies of Holy Land Kanban. Oh, and use a LKCE12 discount coupon for the ebook version if you can’t wait for a dead-tree copy!

And all of that is secondary to meeting interesting new people, seeing old friends again and having interesting discussions over great drinks and food…

So, see you in Vienna?