Chris Lundy, Vice President of Global Supply Chain, shares his thoughts on having a growth mindset.
“How do I improve today?”
That’s the question I ask myself and my team every day. When I joined our company earlier this year, I came in with a simple belief: We’re already a great company, but we can do even more. My role touches everything from direct materials, the raw ingredients for our products, to indirect goods and services that keep us running. My goal is to drive productivity year after year while finding smarter, more efficient ways to deliver value across the business.
For me, a growth mindset means being willing to develop through hard work, dedication, and trying new things, even when it’s uncomfortable. Change isn’t always easy, but it’s essential for improvement. The Novanta Growth System (NGS) as our secret weapon. It helps us spot waste, experiment, and continuously improve. In LEAN terms, we call it “trystorming,” running small experiments, learning quickly, and iterating until we find what works. Failure isn’t the enemy; it’s part of the process.
I’ve worked in aerospace, tech start-ups, and now medical devices, each industry with its own challenges and pace. I’ve learned that success comes from discipline, persistence, and the willingness to keep pushing the flywheel forward, as Jim Collins puts it. Small, consistent actions build momentum. We don’t always have the answer, but we know what good looks like, and we trust the power of NGS and Kaizen to get us there.
What excites me most is developing people and fostering leadership. Whether we’re in a Kaizen session or on the manufacturing floor, I believe everyone has a voice. We’re stronger when we work together as One Novanta. Looking ahead, I’m focused on improving communication and collaboration across our global teams. We’re exploring visual management tools to increase speed, accountability, and leadership visibility. When more people are engaged and thinking strategically, we create better processes and better leaders.
My message is simple: Embrace change, learn from failure, and keep improving every day. That’s what growth mindset looks like in action.