my thesis was the potential of Lean to improve construction …. where a mistake means loss of someone else’s money and time!

Interesting Suman. Was your thesis based on operations and manufacturing theme? I’m extremely interested to know the sector you it was focused on. With the software development parlance, we sometimes tend to use them interchangeably, most of the lean philosophy is based on reducing waste. In this scenario of a startup we like to get the product or service out to the customer as soon as possible so that we prevent any development which is not necessary. Instead of waiting for a long development process, we release in chunks, see what the customer feels about it and ensure that the further Versions take a better shape. The customer is kept at the centre while ensuring that waste is minimal through the process

Lean is slightly different as their focus is elimination of waste at source. Lean principle will guide you to do it once and do it right.
Lean was my research topic for MSc

Very true Suman, time has a great value and cost when it comes to maintaining a release. Even the best decisions are meaningless if they are not taken on time. An early decision sometimes gives us the opportunity to adapt and change with the requirements of time and move quicker. In the concept of lean management this takes highest precedence.