Work With Mark

Engagements for organizations that are serious about making it work.

Nearly 30 years navigating the gap between Lean methodology and operational reality. Selective engagements — workshops, advisory work, and project reviews — for teams who already know what good looks like and need help making it stick.

What's Available

Three ways to work together.

Engagements are kept selective so the work gets the attention it deserves. Each is designed to address a specific point in the transformation journey — not a generic audit, not a cookie-cutter workshop.

Practitioner Workshops

A structured half-day or full-day session for Lean and CI teams focused on the human side of transformation — navigating resistance, re-engaging disengaged sponsors, and building the conditions that make improvement stick.

Best for: Internal CI teams, improvement cohorts, organizations mid-transformation who have the tools but are hitting human obstacles.

Advisory Engagement

Ongoing advisory support for a transformation initiative — helping a CI lead, operations manager, or senior leader think through the hard questions, navigate the politics, and make better decisions in the field.

Best for: Leaders and practitioners who are working through a specific challenge and need a thinking partner with field experience — not a consultant who tells them what to do.

Project Review

A focused diagnostic of a stalled or underperforming transformation — identifying the real blockers, not just the surface ones, and providing a clear-eyed assessment of what needs to change and in what order.

Best for: Organizations where a project has lost momentum and nobody is sure why — or where previous initiatives have failed and there's genuine uncertainty about whether this one will be different.

The Right Fit

This works best when...

Good fit

You already understand Lean — you're not looking for someone to teach you the basics
You're dealing with the human side: resistance, disengagement, politics, or culture
You want honest assessment, not reassurance
You're willing to hear that the problem might be more complex than you thought
You're in a complex operational environment — manufacturing, logistics, mining, engineering, healthcare, or similar

Not the right fit

You're looking for certification or methodology training
You need someone to run the transformation for you end-to-end
You want guaranteed outcomes and a polished case study at the end
You're not ready to look honestly at what's getting in the way

From the Field

"As a young operations manager, working with Mark was a pivotal part of my leadership journey. He led us through Lean and CI principles with an equal grasp of theory and practical reality. The CI tools, visual management systems, and lean thinking he instilled have become non-negotiables in how I lead. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity."

Kieran Burne, Operations Manager
Team Global Express
formerly Toll Group

Start the Conversation

Tell me about your situation.

No pitch, no sales process. Tell me what you're dealing with and I'll give you an honest response about whether — and how — I can help.

I read every message and respond to all of them.

Mark Fairclough
Founder, The Lean Gap · Franklin, Tennessee

Before I was a Lean practitioner, I ran a business — General Manager of an $18 million operation in Perth, Australia. I know what it feels like to be the person under pressure, not just the consultant standing in front of them.

I spent 12 years in sales learning how people resist, decide, and change. The next 16 years deploying Lean inside Rio Tinto, Alcoa, and BlueScope Steel — learning what actually moves the needle when the methodology meets reality.

Engagements are selective. That's not a sales tactic — it's how I make sure the work is done properly. I take on a small number at a time and I'm honest when something isn't the right fit.

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