Other examples of Winston Churchill"s "Lean Thinking" are the following quotes:

"Every man should ask himself each day whether he is not too readily accepting negative solutions." June 22, 1918

He recognized the importance of root cause analysis and then the correct selection of the solution ( "A" in DMAIC).

Winston Churchill also understood the importance of identifying and defining the Value and Purpose in anything we do  ( the "D" in DMAIC )

"It is wonderful what great strides can be made when there is a resolute purpose behind them." 
May 7, 1947

As we celebrate the life of Winston Churchill ( 1874 - 1965 ) on the 50th Anniversary of his death it is worth reminding ourselves of his wisdom and clarity of thought.   If Winston Churchill was alive today he would certainly have understood and appreciated the principles of Lean Six Sigma.  His speech and writings testify to the fact that he understood that continuous change ( in the right direction ) is necessary for improvement and to move towards the ultimate goal ( 5th step) of Lean which is of course to seek Perfection.  

In a 1925 speech to the House of Commons he said:

“There is nothing wrong in change, if it is in the right direction.

To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to change often.”

Winston S. Churchill, 23 June 1925, House of Commons

I often hear it said that one of the goals of a business is to increase customer satisfaction (in "lean" terms we would say "Satisfy the Voice of the Customer").   I disagree with this statement.   Customer satisfaction is actually only one of the means by which we increase sales and therefore revenue...towards the ultimate goal of increased profits.  The primary goal of business is to increase profits ( and shareholder value ) .   If businesses could obtain their primary goal without customer satisfaction then many of them probably would !   Many examples of monopolies or patent holders ( think phamaceutials ) where being the sole supplier of a product is of far greater importance to business success (profits) than customer satisfaction.  Seeing customer satisfaction as the "end game"  is flawed thinking.    Of course customer sat is important, but as a means to an end and not the end itself.