The Lean Solutions Podcast

In this episode, George Saiz explores the essence of his book, "We Started with Respect," touching on its unique message, the significance of respect, overlooked key elements for cultural change, and personal writing insights.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why a book on culture - there are so many out there? What important message do you bring?

2. Why the book title of "We Started with Respect," what's important about that to you?

3. Your front book cover says it's A Novel, but the word "Novel" is crossed out and replaced with the word "Blueprint." Tell us about that.

4. In your book, the team adopts seven key elements of the culture that they want to develop. I recognize that they're all important, but which one or ones do you think are overlooked and yet are key to successfully transforming the company culture?

5. What is something you learned over the course of writing this book?

About the Guest: George Saiz enjoys sharing leadership strategies from his experience as a medical device executive with Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer-Biomet, DJO Global and MicroAire. Combined with the best practices he observed as President & CEO of The Association for Manufacturing Excellence, he’s convinced of the importance of including people in all business equations. Now, as a writer, keynote speaker, and coach, he promotes enterprise excellence through a people-centric culture to the next generation of business leaders. 

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We've carefully selected a few of our standout episodes from Season Two. These episodes stood out for their ability to captivate and engage our audience, making them the highlights of the season.

As always, the continued success of this podcast is made possible by your unwavering support, and for that, we extend our heartfelt gratitude. We're thrilled to revisit and share these moments with our dedicated listeners!

Episode Details:

In this episode, Mark Deluzio and I discuss the Danaher business system, as well as the art of Lean Transformation.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why do Lean Transformations fail?
2. Could you explain the importance of having a business strategy and the ability to deploy/execute the strategy.
3. What made the Danaher Business System so successful?
4. As the "Father of Lean Accounting," how important is it to change the accounting systems when embarking on a Lean Transformation?
5. What role does Respect for People play in the success of a Lean Transformation

About the Guest:

Mark DeLuzio is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lean Horizons Consulting. He is also a former Corporate Officer and Vice President of Danaher Business System (DBS) for Danaher Corporation.

Danaher has been recognized as the leading implementer of Lean globally and has been rated as the 3rd most profitable US stock over the last 30 years. Mark is also credited with developing the first Lean Accounting process in the United States for Danaher’s Jake Brake Division, where he served as their Chief Financial Officer. Mark is the author of “Turn Waste into Wealth,” which offers practical advice for those considering a Lean transformation and “Flatlined – Why Lean Transformations Fail and What to do About It”, which offers the lessons learned from Mark’s association with hundreds of Lean transformations on a global basis.

Links:

We've carefully selected a few of our standout episodes from Season Two. These episodes stood out for their ability to captivate and engage our audience, making them the highlights of the season.

As always, the continued success of this podcast is made possible by your unwavering support, and for that, we extend our heartfelt gratitude. We're thrilled to revisit and share these moments with our dedicated listeners!

Episode Details:

In this episode, Mike Leigh and I discuss the application of lean as well as the implementation of a lean mindset within organizations.

What You'll Learn:

1. Can you describe your Lean journey so far?

2. How has your attitude toward the application of Lean changed?

3. What is your approach to helping companies move forward on their Lean journey?

4. You're not a big fan of Six Sigma. Why is that?

5. What advice would you give to Lean practitioners who want to make a difference in their organizations?

About the Guest: 

Mike Leigh is the President of OpX Solutions, a performance improvement company that helps manufacturers remove the barriers that prevent them from achieving their goals by developing leaders and improving processes.  Prior to starting his company, Mike had a 13-year manufacturing career where he held a variety of operational supply chain leadership roles.  Prior to that, he served in the US Navy as a surface warfare officer where he specialized in nuclear propulsion, and later retired as a Commander in the reserves.

Links:

We've carefully selected a few of our standout episodes from Season Two. These episodes stood out for their ability to captivate and engage our audience, making them the highlights of the season.

As always, the continued success of this podcast is made possible by your unwavering support, and for that, we extend our heartfelt gratitude. We're thrilled to revisit and share these moments with our dedicated listeners!

Episode Details:

In this episode, Katie Anderson and I discuss a culture of excellence through continuous improvement during a pre-recorded webinar.

What You'll Learn:

1. What are the ingredients that make up a culture of excellence?

2. In cultures of CI, what does it mean to “learn, lead, and care”?

3. Can you share your favorite story from Mr. Yoshino that exemplifies a culture of CI?

4. Why do you do the Japan study trip?

5. What will we see that backs up how the Japanese culture played a part in Toyota’s success?

About the Guest: 

Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, consultant, and professional speaker, best known for inspiring individuals and organizations to lead with intention and increase their personal and professional impact. Katie is passionate about helping people around the world learn to lead and lead to learn by connecting purpose, process, and practice to achieve higher levels of performance. Her book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning is an international #1 Amazon bestseller

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In this episode of The Lean Solutions Podcast, host Patrick Adams engages in a comprehensive exploration of a culture centered around continuous improvement, the implementation of visual management techniques, and the establishment of clear performance expectations.

What You'll Learn: The annual Rapid Results Summit provides an opportunity for State employees, Rapid Results Agency representatives, and Executive Agency leadership to increase Rapid Results engagement throughout the State of Illinois, continue education on Rapid Results-related topics, engage with all levels of leadership, and network with other State leaders and continuous improvement professionals.

About the Speaker:  Patrick is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant and professional speaker. He is best known for his unique human approach to sound team building practices, creating consensus and enabling empowerment.

Patrick has been delivering bottom-line results through specialized process improvement solutions for over 20 years. He’s worked with all types of businesses from private, non-profit, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion-dollar corporations. Patrick is an Author of the best selling book, Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.

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In this episode Lee Houghton and I dive into building a better workplace as well as measuring success in culture improvement.

What You'll Learn:

1) What's the most important thing about creating an improvement culture?

2) What are the 2 most important measures companies should measure but don't?

3) How can the lessons of comedy help you overcome resistance to change?

4) At Get Knowledge you talk about a BEST model, what does that stand for?

5) How did losing your friend in 2018 reshape how you help people and what are the 3 lessons he shared?

About the Guest: Lee is a business improvement coach who prides himself on helping people and teams make today better than yesterday, a lot of people can say these things about themselves though. So what makes Lee different is his random journey to get to where he has with, one pivotal moment in losing his best mate ‘Chris’ after his brave cancer battle that changed Lee’s life forever.Lee’s random journey has included writing 5 children books, owning a bouncy castle business AND DJ, including 18 months Dj’ing dressed as a monkey.... all these things have shaped his career from data input administrator to co-founding Get Knowledge in 2018. BUT, as a shiny object syndrome sufferer, it was losing Chris that has sharpened his focus and desire to help people confidently deliver change.

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In this episode Catherine McDonald and I shed light on key principles of lean management, share success stories, discuss supporting leaders, and reveal strategies for sustaining effectiveness in the long term.

What You'll Learn:

1. What do you see as the key principles and practices of Lean management and how can these be effectively applied in different organizational contexts?

2. Can you share some success stories of companies that have implemented Lean principles and practices and achieved significant improvements in operations and practices?

3. Leadership has a huge impact on the success of Lean management and CI. How do you support leaders to develop the skills they need to optimize their team and processes?

4. What strategies and techniques do you employe to engage and motivate people at all levels of an organization to embrace Lean thinking and get involved in CI?

5. How do you measure the effectiveness of Lean and Leadership Development initiatives and ensure they are sustainable in the long term?

About the Guest: 

Catherine is a Lean and Leadership Coach. Her work involves training and coaching executives and teams in organizations of all types and sizes. In 2018, Catherine started her own business- MCD Consulting where she works as a Lean and Leadership Coach. She specializes in Lean deployment in non-manufacturing industries, including food, retail, education, non-profit, health care, event management, hospitality and media. Catherine's approach is strategic, enthusiastic and empathetic. Through collaborative methods, she facilitates people and organizations to move from short-term reactive working to long-term strategic thinking.

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In this episode Karen Martin and I discuss Hoshin Kanri's vital role in organizational alignment, true north establishment, troubleshooting, and long-term sustainability.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is Hoshin Kanri?

2. Why is it so important for organizations to have complete alignment?

3. How do organizations determine their true north?

4. What are some examples of organizational noise or breakdowns in organizational Hoshin and what can we do about it?

5. How do organizations sustain their Hoshin?

About the Guest: 

Karen Martin, President of the global consulting firm TKMG, Inc. and President and Founder of TKMG Academy, Inc., is a leading authority on business performance improvement, problem solving, and Lean management systems. Known for her keen diagnostic skills and rapid-results approach, Karen and her team have worked with clients such as Adventist Health, AT&T, Chevron, Epson, GlaxoSmithKline, International Monetary Fund, Lenovo, Mayo Clinic, Prudential Insurance, Qualcomm, and the United States Department of Defense to develop more efficient work systems, grow market share, solve business problems, and accelerate performance. An in-demand speaker, she’s the three-time Award-winning author of Clarity First, The Outstanding Organization, and Value Stream Mapping.

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In this episode Jim Huntzinger and I discuss TWI, Toyota Kata, and their relation.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is TWI?

2. Why is Toyota Kata important?

3. What is the relationship between TWI and Toyota Kata?

4. Why are TWI and Kata foundational skills?

5. Are TWI and Kata more than just front-line skills?

6. What role does coaching play in these fundamental skills?

About the Guest:  Jim Huntzinger began his career as a manufacturing engineer with Aisin Seiki, a Toyota Group company transplanted to North America to support Toyota. Next he joined Briggs & Stratton where he held positions in engineering, operations, and management working to implement and evolve lean into operational and business practices, and several plant design & development and startups. He also spent a number of years consulting with organizations ranging from small privately-held to huge-global corporations in a variety of industries. In 2005 Huntzinger founded Lean Frontiers, producing Summits and immersive workshops to build and expand the lean community. He has researched at length the evolution of manufacturing in the United States with an emphasis on lean’s influence and development.

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In this episode, Dr. Michael Sanders, Sean Fields, and I explore Quantum Lean - its essence, unique steps, and origins - while uncovering why it stands as a beacon of progress in operational excellence.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why Quantum Lean?

2. What is Quantum Lean?

3. What are Quantum Lean's key steps?

4. How is Quantum Lean different from other approaches?

5. How did Quantum Lean come about?

About the Guest:  Sean Fields, a 35-year industry veteran with experience in various sectors including oil field equipment manufacturing, food processing, and job shops, has a comprehensive background in all aspects of business, from the shop floor to quality, safety, and engineering. As a published author and contributor to numerous industry publications, including the co-authorship of "Quantum Lean," Fields brings a wealth of expertise to his approach. His adaptable and user-friendly methods for improving operations stem from a diverse range of environments, from mass production to custom shops, offering unique solutions to business challenges. Dr. Michael Sanders, co-founder of Beehivefund, leverages over 30 years of diverse industry experience - from welding apprentice to CEO in various sectors - to advise on business strategies. Teaming up with Sean Fields, they have honed their lean methods, consistently achieving proven success. Dr. Sanders, a sought-after expert in lean, six sigma, and quality systems, holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, an MBA from Texas Tech University, and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

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In this episode, Katie Anderson and I discuss our trip to Japan, as we immersed ourselves in a profound exploration of lean principles and their practical applications.

What You'll Learn: Reflections on Japan and our carefully planned itinerary, which included visits to well-known manufacturing facilities and conversations with experienced lean practitioners.

About the Guest: Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, consultant, and professional speaker, best known for inspiring individuals and organizations to lead with intention and increase their personal and professional impact. Katie is passionate about helping people around the world learn to lead and lead to learn by connecting purpose, process, and practice to achieve higher levels of performance. Her book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning is an international #1 Amazon bestseller

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In this episode, Stéfany Oliver and I discuss their Lean coaching journey, 'Staying Flowcused', and how wellness ties into Lean leadership.

What You'll Learn:

1. How did you get into Lean coaching?

2. What are your current areas of focus?

3. Tell us more about your concept of Staying Flowcused and what it entails?

4. Bringing it back to Lean and leadership for a moment, tell me more about the links between wellness and Lean leadership?

5. What's next for you?

About the Guest:  Stéfany is driven by her passion for helping people who feel overwhelmed. She's on a mission to help people find flow: in their work, in their kitchen and in their heart. She lives and teaches the manifesto of being Fueled by plants, Fueled by perspective and Fueled by prayer. She's a Lean Management Coach by trade but didn't start off her professional career that way. Over the years, she's been coming into the full expression of who God has created her to be as a food creator, speaker, cookbook author and inspirational storyteller. She’s also been building her own health, wellness and optimization coaching business.

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In this episode, Glenn Wilson and I discuss DevSecOps, lean manufacturing in digital contexts, cybersecurity's evolution, total security, and building resilience in an uncertain world.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is DevSecOps and what is the problem it is trying to solve?

2. What can digital organizations learn from lean manufacturing in relation to delivering high quality digital products?

3. What should continual learning and improvement look like in cybersecurity?

4. Can organizations become totally secure and provide products and services with zero defects?

5. Can organizations become more resilient to cybersecurity threats in an uncertain world?

About the Guest:  Glenn is a management consultant specializing in DevOps, Agile, and security. He is founder of Dynaminet and holder of a CISSP. He is also the best-selling author of the book “DevSecOps: A leader’s guide to producing secure software without compromising flow, feedback and continuous improvement”. He is an experienced security professional who has worked for over 20 years in the IT industry across multiple sectors. Glenn focuses on strategy and employs systems thinking in practice to enable organizations to apply secure processes and principles across the organization to enrich their relationship with their customers.

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In this episode, Tim Schipper and I navigate the realms of Lean and Agile practices. Uncover the captivating aspects of Lean in action, explore the core intersections between Lean and Agile, and learn how these strategies can enhance development.

What You'll Learn:

1. What do you appreciate about Lean the more it is practiced?. 

2. What are the important similarities between Lean and Agile? 

3. What is the central common element between Lean and Agile? 

4. Can you apply Lean / Agile to development? 

5. What is an important metric when applying Lean/Agile to development?

About the Guest:  Timothy Schipper is a graduate of Calvin College and the University of Michigan (Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering and Masters of Science). His career has spanned 40 years and includes time as a tool designer, engineering educator, engineer, IT manager, Lean expert, author, and Agile Transformation leader. He has led Lean transformations since 2003 in the areas of manufacturing, office processes, IT development, global product development, new business initiatives, government agencies, and non-profits. He is currently works for Steelcase Inc. of Grand Rapids MI. Timothy has written two books on the topic of Lean: Innovative Lean Development: How to Create, Implement, and Maintain a Learning Culture, and The Highly Effective Office: Creating a Successful Lean Culture in any Workplace 

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In this episode, Calvin Williams and I delve into the essence of FIT, exploring its foundational premise and its role in guiding organizations. As our conversation unfolds, we unravel the relationship between FIT and Agile Strategy Execution, dissecting how these concepts synergize to empower organizations with the adaptability and strategic prowess needed in today's dynamic landscape.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is the premise of FIT?

2. How does an organization become FIT?

3. How does FIT work with Lean?

4. What exactly is Agile Strategy Execution?

5. What is the relationship between FIT and Agile Strategy Execution?

About the Guest:  Throughout his career, he has helped generate over $2.5B in cost savings and growth opportunities for some amazing organizations. This was done by applying sound principles of Industrial Engineering, Lean, Operations Leadership, and Respect for People. He works on the cutting edge of both Operational Excellence and technology and is also a SaaS founder who understands how to apply the latest developments in tech like AI, ML, IoT, VR/AR, Cloud, and many others to accelerate growth and Operational Excellence.

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In this episode, John Dyer and I explore the insights gleaned from Dr. W. Edwards Deming's "Red Bead Experiment," the efficacy of hands-on visual teaching, and insights from "The Leadership Experiment."

What You'll Learn:

1. Dr. W. Edwards Deming performed the "Red Bead Experiment" in many of his classes. What were some of the lessons he was trying to share with his audience? 

2. What is the power behind using a hands-on, visual teaching technique, such as the Red Beads, to teach a difficult lesson? 

3. I understand that you have been developing an activity called "The Leadership Experiment." Can you describe what this activity is all about? 

4. What are some of the lessons learned? 

5. Can you share with our audience an idea you are working on regarding a Lean, team based process improvement competition that we may try and implement in 2024?

   
   

About the Guest:  John Dyer is an author, coach, and trainer with 39 years of experience in the field of improving processes. His recently published book “the Façade of Excellence; Defining a New Normal of Leadership” examines the four leadership styles required to move an organization’s culture to one of trust, collaboration, and teamwork. John started his career with General Electric and then worked his way up to a Corporate V.P. of Global Improvement at Ingersoll-Rand before starting his own consulting company. He has had the opportunity to study with several leaders in the continuous improvement field such as Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Brian Joiner, and Stephen Covey.

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In this episode, Dr. Jeff Liker and I dive into the fascinating world of Kata coaching and explore the key concepts from his novel on the subject

What You'll Learn:

1. What led you to write a novel with Tilo Schwarz?

2. For the listeners that do not know, what is kata coaching?

3. What did Tilo add about coaching to Mike Rother's 5 question card?

4. Why a novel about kata coaching? I understand that Tilo already published a book about the coaching microskills.

5. What would you like to hear from readers that would really excite you?

About the Guest:  Jeffrey K. Liker is Professor Emeritus, Industrial and Operations Engineering at The University of Michigan and President of Liker Lean Advisors, LLC. He is author of the best-selling book, The Toyota Way, Second Edition, and has coauthored nine other books about Toyota including The Toyota Way to Service Excellence, and The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership. His graphic novel with Eduardo Lander and Tom Root tells the story of lean transformation at a mail-order company: Lean in a High-Variability Business. His articles and books have won thirteen Shingo Prizes for Research Excellence. He was inducted into the Association of Manufacturing Excellence Hall of Fame and the Shingo Academy.

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In this episode, John Willis and I discuss his upcoming book as well as key moments from our recent trip to Japan.

What You'll Learn:

1.) John's upcoming book about Dr. Deming.

2.) Why Deming still matters today.

3.) What Mr. Yosino. said about Mr. Nemoto.

4.) What Mr. Youshino said about Dr. Deming.

5.) What were my favorite parts of Katie's Japan Study?

About the Guest:  John Willis is Senior Director of the Global Transformation Office at Red Hat Prior to Red Hat, he was the Director of Ecosystem Development for Docker, which he joined after the company he co-founded (SocketPlane, which focused on SDN for containers) was acquired by Docker in February 2015. Previous to founding SocketPlane in Fall 2014, John was the Chief DevOps Evangelist at Dell, which he joined following the Enstratius acquisition in May 2013. He has also held past executive roles at Chef and Canonical. John was one of the earliest cloud evangelists and is considered one of the founders of the Devops movement. John is the author of 7 IBM Redbooks. He is also the co-author of the “Devops Handbook” and “Beyond the Phoenix Project” along with author Gene Kim.

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In this episode, Mark Graban and I discuss the value that comes from making mistakes and how learning from our mistakes is effective in lean culture.

What You'll Learn:

1. What inspired you to write the book?

2. How does "learning from mistakes" fit into a Lean culture?

3. What is Psychological Safety and how can leaders create the conditions for it?

4. Examples from Toyota? A small software company like KaiNexus?

5. Why is it counterproductive to punish mistakes?

About the Guest: Mark Graban is an author, speaker, and consultant, whose latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, was released in June. He is also the author of the award-winning book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement and others, including Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve. He serves as a consultant through his company, Constancy, Inc, and is also a Senior Advisor for the technology company KaiNexus. Mark hosts podcasts, including “Lean Blog Interviews” and “My Favorite Mistake.” Mark earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Leaders for Global Operations Program.

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In this episode, Ovidiu Contras and I discuss tangled environments and how to work through them effectively.

What You'll Learn:

1. What’s your Lean career path?

2. What’s a tangled environment?

3. What are the challenges in improving work in a tangled environment?

4. What helped in guiding teams to significantly improve work in the tangled environment?

5. VSM for non-repetitive work? How is that working?

6. Any recommendations for those wanting to try this in their business?

About the Guest: Ovidiu Contras is a Lean Coach and Author. He has Authored 2 Books: Navigating the Lean Transformation and Untangling with VSM, both reflecting his own experiences. He has been involved in more than 20 years of Lean, as a continuous improvement employee.

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In this episode, Paul Dunlop and I discuss the value of visual management and the effectiveness of an SQCD board.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is the value of visual management?

2. What is an SQCD board?

3. What are the steps to developing a good SQCD board?

4. How do we know if our SQCD board is working?

5. What challenges have you experienced in rolling out SQCD boards with your clients?

About the Guest: Paul brings with him over 20 years of management and manufacturing experience in a broad range of industries. In his operational management and consultancy roles Paul has led successful Lean implementation and transformations using the principles of the Toyota Production System.

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In this episode, The Lean Solutions Podcast host Patrick Adams discusses the ingredients necessary to fuel a mighty flame of continuous improvement in an organization as well as his book Avoiding The Continuous Appearance Trap, which received the Shingo publication award earlier this year. In the show notes, there is an article that Patrick wrote regarding the topics he speaks about in this episode.

What You'll Learn:

The Tinder

• Stability in processes and leadership. (You cannot improve chaos.)
• The vision must be clearly communicated.
• Standards, accountability, and expectations are clearly stated.
• Targets to achieve business goals are set.

The Kindling

• Choose a high-value target area.
• Empower committed employees to change.
• Leaders enable action by removing roadblocks.
• Deploy structured problem solving. (Constant learning is the norm.)
• Generate small, simple improvements.
• Celebrate success on small wins.

The Firewood

• Continuous and frequent “touches.”
• Hard work.
• Inspect what you expect. (Audit.)
• Sustain, replicate, and integrate the improvements.

About the Speaker:  Patrick is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant and professional speaker. He is best known for his unique human approach to sound team building practices, creating consensus and enabling empowerment.

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In this episode, Chad Bareither and I discuss the importance of a continuous improvement mindset.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is continuous improvement?

2. Is a continuous improvement mindset anchored more in the hard skills (tools/systems) or the soft skills (behavior/thinking)?

3. How does an organization get started with Continuous Improvement?

4. How would that same organization sustain the benefits?

5. What are some of the challenges you see in the world of Continuous Improvement?

   
   

About the Guest:  From an early career as a Quality Engineer, Chad Bareither quickly found his niche and passion in Continuous Improvement. Now, with years of experience as an internal change agent for larger organizations, including three Fortune 500 companies, he takes that operational excellence mindset beyond the “shop floor”. As the owner and principal consultant of Bareither Group Consulting, he enables continuous improvement through the application of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. Chad partners with his clients to clarify and deploy their strategy, make process improvements to achieve those goals, and establish a system for daily management of the business.

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In this episode, Tom Passaro and I discuss him and his team's early lean journey, and the challenges and wins they have experienced.

What You'll Learn:

1. Tell us about your company.

2. What products/services do you provide?

3. Who is your ideal customer?

4. Why did you decide to embark on your own lean journey?

5. What challenges have you had?

6. What have the results been?

7. What do you have to celebrate?

About the Guest:  Tom is the President and co-founder of Innovative Power Products, located in Long Island New York. He has been an entrepreneur for over 35 years in the RF and Microwave industry. Him and his team embarked on their Lean journey about 2 years ago.

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In this episode, Matthew Singh and I discuss PI initiatives and programs as well as positively influencing culture.

What You'll Learn:

1. What do you think are some important elements of a successful PI program?

2. How does one go about impacting positive cultural change?

3. What insights can you provide about the sustainability of a program?

4. What's been your greatest challenge in your PI endeavors?

5. What has been your greatest win in the PI endeavors?

About the Guest:  Matt Singh is the Director of Operational Excellence and Master Black Belt for the Department of Administrative Services in the state of Nebraska. Over the last 20 years he has previously served in a variety of progressive management roles including sales & service, operations, and supply chain. He is certified as a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma, Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, Certified Lean Sensei, and holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential. 

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In this episode, Ken Segel and I discuss the importance of continuous improvement principles as they apply to patient care.

What You'll Learn:

1. Can you tell me a little bit about Value Capture’s mission and history so our listeners can get a sense for your work in healthcare, and how your firm combines leading with safety and Toyota Production System principles or lean?  

2. How about your personal story?  How did you get connected to this mission?

3. Can you say a little bit more about the state of lean in healthcare?  What challenges are you seeing?  What are your health system clients doing to try to break through?  How are you advising them?

4. How about the current state of safety in healthcare?  There have been some scary headlines recently about patient safety not having progressed much in 20 years …

5. Last summer we both spoke at a conference where in a keynote you and Mark Graban announced that this is an ideal time for folks in any industry to grab WORKFORCE SAFETY as an imperative to revive or strengthen lean journeys.  Can you say why?

6. Where do you think the Operational Excellence movement should go next, to move deeper into the work and not risk being a series of the latest flavors of the month?

In this episode, Adam Lawrence and I discuss the Wheel of Sustainability and its elements.

What You'll Learn:

1. Which element of the Wheel of Sustainability do you find most challenging for your Kaizen teams to engage with and why?

2. How do you help your Kaizen teams deal with this element (Clear Benefits)

3. What are you trying to accomplish with this element during a Kaizen event?

4. Do you have some stories how using this element of the Wheel of Sustainability helped avert or avoid problems?

5. How does Leadership Commitment support and work with this element?

About the Guest: 

Adam Lawrence is the Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC. He has 30+ years of experience in process improvement activities, targeted at manufacturing and business processes. Having facilitated 300+ Kaizen events in multiple industries around the world, Adam aligns with leadership, engages teams, and creates sustainable results. Adam is also the author of The Wheel of Sustainability.  

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In this episode, Mike Leigh and I discuss the application of lean as well as the implementation of a lean mindset within organizations.

What You'll Learn:

1. Can you describe your Lean journey so far?

2. How has your attitude toward the application of Lean changed?

3. What is your approach to helping companies move forward on their Lean journey?

4. You're not a big fan of Six Sigma. Why is that?

5. What advice would you give to Lean practitioners who want to make a difference in their organizations?

About the Guest: 

Mike Leigh is the President of OpX Solutions, a performance improvement company that helps manufacturers remove the barriers that prevent them from achieving their goals by developing leaders and improving processes.  Prior to starting his company, Mike had a 13-year manufacturing career where he held a variety of operational supply chain leadership roles.  Prior to that, he served in the US Navy as a surface warfare officer where he specialized in nuclear propulsion, and later retired as a Commander in the reserves.

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In this episode, Rich Sheridan and I discuss the impacts of implementing a culture of storytelling.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why are you called the Chief Storyteller at Menlo?

2. Why is storytelling such an important part of your company's culture?

3. What kinds of stories are relevant to tell?

4. How do you curate stories?

5. How do you build a storytelling culture?

About the Guest: 

Rich Sheridan, CEO and Chief Storyteller at Menlo Innovations, is a successful entrepreneur and author of two best-selling books—Joy Inc.: How We Built Workplace People Love and Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear. Rich’s passion for inspiring organizations to create their own joy-filled cultures has led him to address audiences across the world—through four continents and 18 countries (and counting) as well as throughout the United States.

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In this episode, Katie Anderson and I discuss a culture of excellence through continuous improvement during a pre-recorded webinar.

What You'll Learn:

1. What are the ingredients that make up a culture of excellence?

2. In cultures of CI, what does it mean to “learn, lead, and care”?

3. Can you share your favorite story from Mr. Yoshino that exemplifies a culture of CI?

4. Why do you do the Japan study trip?

5. What will we see that backs up how the Japanese culture played a part in Toyota’s success?

About the Guest: 

Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, consultant, and professional speaker, best known for inspiring individuals and organizations to lead with intention and increase their personal and professional impact. Katie is passionate about helping people around the world learn to lead and lead to learn by connecting purpose, process, and practice to achieve higher levels of performance. Her book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning is an international #1 Amazon bestseller

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In this episode, Toby Curry and I discuss lean process implementation in an organization as well as factors that can contribute to failure in a lean practice system.

What You'll Learn:

1. Can you give us some background on who you are and some of your work experience?

2. Lean manufacturing practices have been around for decades. Throughout the life of Lean Practices, the demand for these skills and practices has been cyclical. Why do you feel there is or should be a heightened awareness or attraction to Lean practices in today's climate?

3. Can you give us an example of a lean process implementation that your organization has benefited from?

4. What do you feel is the largest factor that contributes to failed lean initiatives in manufacturing facility?

5. If you could go back now and impart some wisdom to yourself before you started practicing lean initiatives, what would it be?

About the Guest: 

Toby Curry serves as the director of operations for Coastal Automotive, a Tier-1 global automotive safety component manufacturer, where he is responsible for operational P&L, continuous improvement, production, logistics and quality. Toby has spent over 20 years in the automotive manufacturing industry, with 10 of those years in executive leadership. He’s passionate about making a positive difference for customers, community, and employees through building a great workplace culture. A US Navy Submarine Veteran, prior to joining Coastal, Toby served in various roles including process engineering, continuous improvement, and production supervision. He earned his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Grand Valley State University and a certificate in executive management from the University of Notre Dame. 

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In this episode, Katie Labedz and I discuss trends and ways to become successful in terms of a person's CI journey as well as improving everything in every process.

What You'll Learn:

1. Tell us about your new book "How to Improve Absolutely Every Process"

2. What trends are you seeing in the CI space?

3. Why are people hesitant to start or restart their CI journey?

4. Why do most CI journeys fail?

5. How can people set themselves up for success in their CI journey and where to start?

About the Guest:  Katie Labedz is the President of Learning to Lean, LLC.  She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Project Management Professional. She has been practicing Lean, Six Sigma and Project Management concepts for over 20 years. She has a diverse background that includes manufacturing, materials, supply chain, HR and IT in the automotive and electronic industries. Katie makes it her professional goal to expose the genius in all of her students.  She has also authored two books: "How to Improve Absolutely Anything-Continuous Improvement in Your Home, Office and Family Life" and "How to Improve Absolutely Every Process-Kaizen for process improvement and fun."

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In this episode, Tony Hayes and I discuss ways to create a lean learning culture through an organizations atmosphere and leadership platforms.

What You'll Learn:

1. What is the definition of a good Lean “Learning Culture?

2. What are the challenges to creating this type of atmosphere within an organization?

3. What role does Leadership play in facilitating or creating the platform for learning?

4. Can you share some examples of how you have done this at your current company or others from your past experiences?

5. What advice would you give our listeners as the consider creating their own Learning Culture within their organizations?

About the Guest:  Tony is an Executive Lean Leader, responsible for the Wabash Management System, Continuous Improvement and Quality at Wabash, supporting the CEO and the Executive Leadership Team, driving customer value creation. He has extensive experience in delivering profitable growth, improving risk profile, and increasing return on invested capital in the automotive, transportation, aerospace and defense industries. Tony is a seasoned operations and lean expert with extensive experience in strategy and organizational governance. Tony has utilized his lean expertise to assist organizations with their most complex problems in manufacturing, engineering, material planning and logistics, value chain management, and quality.

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In this episode, Steve Johnson and I discuss training paths and employee tools when it comes to a robust training program. You'll also here how a robust training program can help reduce employee turn-over.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why did you start a training program for technicians?

2. What does the training path look like for a technician?

3. Does an employee need any experience or certifications to start this program?

4. Does the employee need any tools?

5. How long will it take to complete this program?

About the Guest: Steve Johnson has over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. He served as a certified technician at a local Gm dealership for about 8 years. Steve's work ethic was unmatched, which is what earned him a position as a Service Advisor. Eventually, when a service manager position became available, Steve was asked to grab the metaphorical reigns and lead the service team to achieve an unprecedented level of customer service and shop performance. To achieve this, Steve had to develop a service team that would exceed his level of expectations for professional business and work culture needed to create the best service team Berger has ever had. The dealership has received GM dealer of the year award 11 times and has continued to break multiple financial records year after year.

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In this episode, Tom Hughes and I discuss the extensive experience Tom has gained helping hundreds of organizations across the world do standard work / digital work instructions better with his software product GembaDocs.

What You'll Learn:

1. How did the whole GembaDocs thing happen?

2. How can you say it’s a Game Changer? That’s a pretty big claim!

3. Why is OWNERSHIP so important with Standards?

4. Why / how can we implement standards in a more intelligent way?

5. Improvement Starts With I ; GembaDocs – how do people access them?

About the Guest:

Tom Hughes is an Ireland-based entrepreneur and the author of "Improvement Starts With I." He is the creator of GembaDocs, a software company that assists businesses in creating quick, simple, and digital standard work practices. Tom is currently a partner in Lumen Electronics, an Irish business that develops and manufactures products.

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In this episode, Mark Deluzio and I discuss the Danaher business system, as well as the art of Lean Transformation.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why do Lean Transformations fail?
2. Could you explain the importance of having a business strategy and the ability to deploy/execute the strategy.
3. What made the Danaher Business System so successful?
4. As the "Father of Lean Accounting," how important is it to change the accounting systems when embarking on a Lean Transformation?
5. What role does Respect for People play in the success of a Lean Transformation

About the Guest:

Mark DeLuzio is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lean Horizons Consulting. He is also a former Corporate Officer and Vice President of Danaher Business System (DBS) for Danaher Corporation.

Danaher has been recognized as the leading implementer of Lean globally and has been rated as the 3rd most profitable US stock over the last 30 years. Mark is also credited with developing the first Lean Accounting process in the United States for Danaher’s Jake Brake Division, where he served as their Chief Financial Officer. Mark is the author of “Turn Waste into Wealth,” which offers practical advice for those considering a Lean transformation and “Flatlined – Why Lean Transformations Fail and What to do About It”, which offers the lessons learned from Mark’s association with hundreds of Lean transformations on a global basis.

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In this episode, Bob Emiliani and I discuss the problem of classical management. 

What You'll Learn:

1. What is classical management?
2. You put together an A3 and challenged lean practitioners. Can you tell our listeners what is an A3?
3. What were the root cause results of the A3 investigation?
4. What are your suggested solutions?
5. Any new books in your future?

About the Guest:

Dr. Bob Emiliani has been a Lean practitioner and professor of Lean management for over 25 years.

Prior joining academia, he worked in industry for 15 years and had management responsibility in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain management. He was the first academic to establish a research agenda focused on Lean leadership, resulting in numerous publications and varied leadership development workshops. His work on Lean leadership and Lean as applied to higher education are widely recognized.

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In this episode, Sam Morgan and I discuss his personal journey into launching his coaching business to include his personal use of kata to make it happen.  We discuss the use of kata for both business and personal applications. 

What You'll Learn:

1. How did you get to the point of starting your own coaching business?
2. You don't have any lean certifications (LSSMB) or coaching certifications (ICF) What makes you feel like you are qualified to coach lean and ops leaders?
3. You talk to lots of lean and ops leaders, what's the biggest challenge you are hearing that they face on a daily basis?
4. What do you feel like we need to do to solve this challenge?
5. What does continuous improvement mean to you?

About the Guest:

Sam Morgan is a self-proclaimed “confident learner.” After spending the past five years of work in the continuous improvement space he landed at KataCon, a conference for continuous improvement professionals who practice the Toyota Kata.  There he had a powerful moment realizing where his true passion lies: transforming people through coaching.

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In this episode, Dr. Joe Sprangel and I discuss Humanist Manufacturing.  Joe explains the Humanist Manufacturing Framework to include the humanist commitments necessary for leader success.  

What You'll Learn:

1. What is Humanist Manufacturing?
2. Could you share the phases of your humanist manufacturing framework?
3. What are the humanist commitments you used as the foundation of your framework?
4. The second phase is focused on the leader and the leadership team.  Why is this important?
5. It appears that you have a strong emphasis on creating a human-centric organization.  What does this mean to you?

About the Guest:

Dr. Joe Sprangel is an associate professor of business at Mary Baldwin University.  He is also the founder and principal consultant of Emmanuel Strategic Sustainability.  He made the transition to higher education after 28 years of industry experience.  His industry career included work in machine build and repair, machine design, manufacturing engineering, and plant and engineering management.

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In this episode, Elisabeth Swan and I discuss the intangibles when it comes to leading others.  Elisabeth is the president of Swan Consulting & Associates, Inc., and co-founder of the Just-In-Time Café. She’s the co-author of the Problem-Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey, and has been helping clients drive change for decades. She’s a Master Black Belt, Speaker, Coach and Lean Six Sigma consultant with a focus on leveraging people to build vibrant problem-solving cultures.  Today, we discussed her new book titled, "Picture Yourself a Leader: Illustrated Micro-lessons in Navigating Change" which will be published in just a few months. 

What You'll Learn:

1. What do you mean by "intangibles" in terms of process improvement?
2. Why do people struggle with intangibles?
3. Do you have an example(s)?
4. What are some root causes?
5. What are some actions people can take?

About the Guest:

Elisabeth has been working as a business process improvement consultant and change leader for over 30 years. She specializes in process-based organization design, problem solving, Lean Six Sigma and change management for blue chip clients.

Her client engagements focus on working with leadership and leveraging the talents of internal project managers and teams in achieving strategic goals. The track records of these engagements consistently showcase measurable improvement.

Elisabeth's industry experience includes healthcare, hospitality, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, energy and technology.

Specialties: - Process Improvement Program Design
- Lean Six Sigma
- Coaching
- Training Design and Implementation
- Leadership Coaching
- Improvement Team Training
- Large Group Facilitation
- Facilitation and Communication Skills

Important Links:

To get updates on when the book comes out: