Modus Open Lean Coffee
Modus Institute's Monthly Open Lean Coffee.
Monthly Lean Coffee: Making Work More Humane
Second Monday of Every Month | 1 Hour | FREE / Only 20 seats
Join the conversation about making work better
Tired of toxic workplaces, endless meetings, and systems that drain your energy? You're not alone. Join our monthly discussion where professionals from around the world share insights, challenges, and solutions for creating more humane, effective work environments.
What happens? We use the Lean Coffee format—a democratized meeting structure where YOU decide what matters most. Bring your pressing questions about work life, team dynamics, leadership challenges, or anything that's making your professional life harder than it should be.
Who joins? Project managers escaping meeting hell. Developers fighting toxic code review culture. Team leads trying to support burned-out teams. Anyone who believes work shouldn't crush your soul.
Topics we explore:
Breaking free from overload and "busy work"
Building teams that actually support each other
Making work visible without surveillance
Leadership that enables rather than controls
Creating psychological safety that actually works
Personal productivity that doesn't require superhuman effort
Format: Pure Lean Coffee—collaborative, respectful, and refreshingly honest. No PowerPoints, no sales pitches, just real conversations with people who get it.
Time: 1 hour, second Monday of every month
Where: Modus Institute Discord
Cost: Completely free
About Modus Institute
Modus Institute is where visual management meets humane work practices. Founded by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria, we're dedicated to helping individuals and teams create work environments that respect both productivity and humanity.
Jim Benson is the Shingo Award-winning co-creator of Personal Kanban and author of multiple books on lean management and workplace transformation. His work has helped Fortune 500 companies and startups replace chaos with sustainable workflows. Jim brings decades of experience in urban planning, software development, and organizational design to the challenge of making work more humane.
Tonianne DeMaria integrates neuroscience with lean principles to create systems where both people and productivity thrive. As a Lean-Agile expert and neuroscience practitioner, she understands how the brain responds to different work environments and helps teams design practices that work with, rather than against, human nature.
What We Offer
Visual Management Training: Learn to make work visible in ways that empower rather than surveil. Our courses cover Personal Kanban, Obeya (collaborative workspaces), and Lean Agile Visual Management (LAVM).
Toxic Workplace Recovery: Our "Cleaning Toxic Waste" program helps individuals and teams identify and eliminate workplace toxicity at its source, creating healthier environments for everyone.
Leadership Development: We teach "verb-leadership"—leadership as action and service rather than position and control. Learn to architect environments where teams can thrive.
Personal Productivity: Beyond basic time management, we address the root causes of overload and teach sustainable approaches to focus and finishing work.
Team Collaboration: From Lean Coffee facilitation to collaborative planning workshops, we provide practical tools for better teamwork without the corporate BS.
Our approach combines proven lean and agile principles with deep respect for individual humanity. We believe that the best work happens when people have the information they need, the agency to act, and the support to do their best work.
Why This Matters
Work doesn't have to be toxic. Teams don't have to burn out. Leaders don't have to choose between results and humanity. Join our monthly conversation and discover practical ways to make work better—one conversation at a time.
Connect with professionals worldwide who share your commitment to humane work practices. No badges, no certifications, no upsells—just honest dialogue about making work life better.
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/PRGHgRVE
Questions? Email us at [email protected]