From Lean to Lead – A Consultant-Turned-Owner Story – Damien Lacey

In a recent episode of Synozur’s Polaris podcast, I sat down with Damien Lacey, the founder of OE Partners and owner of Tru Steel, to explore how operational excellence can transform a business from within. Damien is a seasoned Lean Six Sigma consultant who made the leap to become a business owner, literally putting his principles into practice by acquiring and turning around a manufacturing company.

Why Operational Excellence, Why Now? Companies today face intense pressure from global disruptions, from supply chain issues to inflation. Many are dusting off Lean and Six Sigma methodologies as a way to find efficiencies and adapt. According to McKinsey, these continuous improvement approaches are experiencing a resurgence as businesses hunt for ways to combat rising costs and labor shortages.

At the same time, a generational changing of the guard is underway. Entrepreneur Magazine recently dubbed it the “Silver Tsunami” – with an estimated 12 million U.S. businesses owned by Baby Boomers potentially up for sale as their owners retire, a massive wave of transitions is creating new opportunities for those ready to jump in and improve these organizations. Operational excellence has never been more critical or timely for maintaining a competitive edge.

Some highlights:

• Upon acquiring Tru Steel, Damien faced the challenge of transferring deep, undocumented knowledge from retiring owners into repeatable systems. He introduced tools, checklists, and iterative improvements to standardize processes, balancing ongoing work with process refinement.

• Operational excellence is achievable even for businesses that feel unique or ever-changing.

• Due diligence and data-driven analysis were critical during business acquisition, helping identify hidden issues in target companies.

• Damien highlighted the importance of aligning strategy with execution; without operational excellence, even the best plans may fail.

• Third-party perspectives or focused leadership attention can jumpstart process improvements in organizations.

• Companies that combine Lean methodology with AI will outperform their competitors, while those who resist change risk falling behind.

Those who harness AI and Lean together could be “10 times more effective”, while those who ignore these trends risk falling far behind. In short, the future rewards the learners – the companies that continuously improve and adapt – which circles back to his core philosophy.

You can hear the full conversation with Damien Lacey on Polaris wherever you get your podcasts (or via the Synozur website). It’s an insightful dive into bridging the gap between knowing and doing – something every leader can appreciate in today’s business environment.

Polaris is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks.

Show Notes

References     

Guest

Tru Steel – Tru Steel is a steel fabrication company in Australia acquired by Damien Lacey and his team to implement operational excellence firsthand. The company designs, manufactures, and installs steel buildings, and serves as a real-world example of Lean transformation in action.

OE Partners – Damien’s consulting firm, specializing in operational excellence.

Damien Lacey – Founder of OE Partners and Principal at Tru Steel

Business

Lean and Six Sigma – Lean and Six Sigma are proven methodologies for improving productivity and reducing waste. They’ve been applied across industries for nearly a century, helping businesses streamline operations and solve problems through data-driven decision-making.

McKinsey & Company – Referenced for research on global disruptions and the resurgence of Lean Six Sigma as a top continuous improvement approach (including a mining case of 25% output boost)

Entrepreneur Magazine – Cited for the “Silver Tsunami” statistic: over 12 million boomer-owned small-to-mid businesses in the U.S. are poised for sale as baby boomers retire, creating a buyer’s market for transformational change

Bosch (Robert Bosch GmbH) – Global engineering and manufacturing company where Damien first implemented Lean practices (Bosch Production System), referenced in his career story

Toyota – Automotive company famed for the Toyota Production System; referenced as the source of many Lean principles (Damien worked at Toyota to learn from “the source” of Lean)

Pop Culture

The Who – Rock band referenced via the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (lyric: “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”) as a pop culture touchpoint about leadership change

Star Trek – Iconic science fiction franchise (Original Series, Next Generation, Voyager) cited as a personal influence illustrating teamwork and problem-solving, contrasted with today’s bite-sized media

Events

Seattle Tech Week |  July 28 - August 1, Seattle WA

FY26 Forward - Microsoft Partner Success Strategies | August 26 (Teams Webinar)

Tribal Net Conference | September 14-18, 2025, Reno Nevada

London Tech Leaders' Summit | October 7-8, 2025,- London UK

Experts Live | October 10, 2025 at Microsoft NYC in Times Square

Vancouver AI Summit | October 20, 2025 Vancouver BC

TechCon 365 Dallas - | November 3-7, 2025 (Dallas, TX)

Microsoft Ignite 2025 – Nov 17-21, 2025 (San Francisco, CA)

ESPC25 (European SharePoint Conference 2025) | Dec 1-4, 2025 (Dublin, Ireland)

Takeaways

Lean applies everywhere: Lean and Six Sigma principles have been proven across industries – the question isn’t if they fit your business, but how to leverage them in your operations.

Operational excellence is timely: In an era of supply chain disruptions, inflation, and labor shortages, continuous improvement methods are seeing a resurgence as companies seek efficiency and resilience.

Transformation through ownership: Damien Lacey’s journey from consultant to business owner highlights the difference between advising on improvements and implementing them on the front lines, providing a firsthand perspective on change leadership.

Balance strategy and execution: Even the best strategies fail without execution – success comes from iterating improvements while keeping the business running, “not letting perfect be the enemy of the good.” 

Empowering small businesses: Many small-to-mid size business owners feel their operations are too chaotic or custom to improve, but Damien shows that by standardizing processes and addressing root causes, there is a path out of the chaos to greater control and efficiency.

Leadership and culture matter: Continuous improvement requires a culture of ongoing learning and problem-solving. Leadership must support building processes (even when prior success came from instinct) to make improvements sustainable beyond any one person’s know-how.

Future-focused advantage: Embracing operational excellence and new technologies (like AI) in tandem will widen the gap between average companies and excellent ones – those slow to improve risk falling behind, while adopters can dramatically outperform peers.

Notable Quotes (Damien Lacey)

• “It’s not a question of whether Lean applies to my business. It does, and it has – the question is how do I apply it in my business.” 

• “Business owners will embrace an idea quickly if it gives them a result, and dismiss it equally quickly if it doesn’t.” 

• “You’ve got to choose to iterate – not letting perfect be the enemy of the good.” 

• “The gap between the average company and an excellent company will widen… businesses that don’t adopt better methods will fall by the wayside.” 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Damien Lacey

04:06 Damien's Journey in Engineering and Consulting

06:53 Current Trends in Supply Chain and AI

09:25 Operational Excellence: Lean and Six Sigma

10:30 Acquiring True Steel: The Transition to Ownership

13:21 Insights from the Business Acquisition Process

17:13 Cultural Shifts in Business Ownership

19:51 Balancing Strategy and Operations

22:08 Misunderstandings in Operational Excellence

25:15 Starting the Journey to Improvement

27:58 The Future of Operational Excellence and AI

29:21 Personal Insights and Influences

31:38 Conclusion and Staying Connected

32:00 Upcoming Tech Events Overview

33:35 Wrap-Up and Guest Insights

Production

Polaris is produced with the help of Riverside.fm. Our theme song, “Alternative Dream” is provided courtesy of Adobe.  Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley.