The Lean Solutions Podcast

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Shayne Daughenbaugh is joined by Dr. Anas Saeed to explore how organizations can successfully integrate artificial intelligence and automation into their business processes. They discuss why simply adding AI to existing workflows can amplify inefficiencies and why organizations need to rethink and redesign processes before introducing new technol...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode In this episode, Catherine McDonald is joined by Marilyn Rosa-Green to explore the pressure paradox and how the same drive that makes leaders successful under pressure can also lead to self-doubt, stress, and burnout. They discuss why high-performing leaders often normalize unhealthy levels of pressure, how to recognize the warning signs, and the difference betwee...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams and Catherine McDonald are joined by David Norris to explore why organizations should improve their processes before automating them. They discuss how jumping too quickly into automation or AI can result in organizations simply automating existing waste and complexity. David shares how leaders can understand the current state, ident...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Andy Olrich and Catherine McDonald are joined by Lean culture coach Edwin Proper to explore why organizations need to stop managing Lean and start growing people . They discuss how lasting Lean cultures are built through small, consistent leadership habits rather than tools or one-time improvement initiatives. Edwin shares practical ways leaders...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams and Shayne Daughenbaugh are joined by returning guest Olaf Boettger to explore how continuous improvement and daily management apply beyond traditional operations, including sales, commercial teams, innovation, and product development. They discuss why effective daily management requires the courage to identify problems instead of h...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Shayne Daughenbaugh is joined by Michael Krumpak, executive coach, leadership advisor, and author of Why Smart Leaders Do Stupid Things , to explore why even experienced, well-intentioned leaders sometimes make poor decisions. They discuss how pressure, stress, and blind spots can disconnect a leader's intentions from their actions—and why recogn...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Catherine McDonald is joined by Dajana Achelpohl to explore the AI readiness gap. The difference between simply giving people access to AI and actually creating meaningful business value from it. They discuss why organizations can invest in AI tools, licenses, and pilot programs yet still struggle to see measurable results or sustained adoption....

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Catherine McDonald is joined by Stephanie Angelo to explore why culture is the hidden process behind organizational performance. They discuss how organizations can improve processes all day long, but without a culture that supports trust, accountability, and engagement, those improvements are unlikely to stick. Stephanie explains why company cult...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams and Andy Olrich are joined by Dr. William Harvey to explore one of the biggest challenges in continuous improvement: sustainment. Together, they discuss why organizations can be great at launching improvement initiatives but struggle to maintain momentum and achieve lasting results. William identifies three fundamental conditions th...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Natalie Howden is joined by Cindy Darnell, Steve Burgett, and Jordan Kimball for a preview of their sessions at the Lean Solutions Global Summit. Together, they explore how organizations can design better processes, reduce ambiguity, strengthen communication, and develop people through continuous improvement. Steve a...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Shayne Daughenbaugh and Andy Olrich welcome James Martin to explore why batching often feels more efficient, but can actually hurt the flow of an entire organization. James shares real-world examples of reducing batch sizes and moving toward flow, including a transformation that reduced processing time from 14 hours...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams is joined by Rebecca Moyers, Director of Operational Excellence for the State of Missouri, for a preview of her session at the Lean Solutions Summit, The Feedback Advantage. Rebecca shares how the State of Missouri is using employee and customer feedback to guide process improvement, strengthen experiences, and focus limited resourc...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams is joined by Paul Doyle and Shawna Hondorp for a preview of their sessions at the Lean Solutions Summit. Together, they explore two critical topics shaping today's organizations: developing leaders through intentional systems and using AI to strengthen talent acquisition without losing the human connection. The conversation dives in...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Shayne Daughenbaugh sits down with Seamus Maguire to explore one of the biggest reasons problem-solving fails, even in organizations with experienced people and proven Lean tools. Drawing from his new book, Finding Fact Before Fixing , Seamus explains how cognitive biases, assumptions, and the pressure to find quick answers often lead teams to so...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams is joined by Brett Lesiewicz, Judd VanBergen, and Phil Ranck for a preview of their sessions at the 2026 Lean Solutions Summit. Together, they explore how stronger relationships, proactive planning, and better communication help organizations succeed in uncertain environments. The conversation highlights how Lean tools like the Last...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Andy Olrich and Catherine McDonald sit down with Andrew Kettner to discuss why one of the most overlooked leadership skills, eye contact, can have a profound impact on trust, communication, and continuous improvement. Andrew explains how effective leaders must look beyond reports, dashboards, and data by practicing Lean's "go and see" mindset. Th...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams sits down with John Dyer to explore the thinking behind the Lean Excellence World Championship and why it has become one of the most engaging learning experiences at the Lean Solutions Summit. The conversation dives into how the competition gives participants and observers the opportunity to see Lean in action. From process mapping...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Catherine McDonald sits down with Kathy Miller to explore why successful transformations are driven by people, not just processes. You'll learn how trust, meaningful work, optimism, and strong relationships create lasting cultural change, why consistency is essential for leaders, and how simple daily leadership habit...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Catherine McDonald and Shayne Daughenbaugh welcome Michael Parent to discuss SIPOC, one of the most effective tools for understanding and improving business processes. Michael explains how SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) helps teams define process boundaries, identify stakeholders, and maintain focus on delivering customer...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode : Spotlight Episode!! As we continue revisiting some of the conversations that sparked meaningful discussions, we’re bringing back this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast with Patrick Adams and Shayne Daughenbaugh. In this conversation, Patrick and Shayne explore what new leaders should focus on when stepping into a Lean journey. Instead of jumping straight int...

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Catherine McDonald and Shayne Daughenbaugh discuss the practical realities of capturing, creating, and deploying Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in fast-growing organizations. Drawing from Shayne’s experience leading SOP standardization across multiple locations, they explore how businesses can create consistency while maintaining a human-ce...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this special Lean Solutions Summit episode, Patrick Adams sits down with keynote speakers Richard Sheridan, Joe Dyer, and Jason Schroeder to discuss the summit theme: Better Together: People Plus Innovation . The conversation explores the growing role of AI, automation, and technology in today's organizations while emphasizing that sustainable success still de...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams welcomes back Beth Carrington to explore the difference between simply executing action plans and developing true scientific thinking through Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata. Beth shares her journey from the automotive industry into Lean transformation work and explains how discovering Toyota Kata fundamentally changed her approa...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Andy Olrich sits down with returning guest Adam Lawrence to explore why so many improvement efforts fail to stick and what leaders can do to create lasting, sustainable change. Adam shares the origin story behind his “Wheel of Sustainability” framework and explains why sustainability is ultimately a leadership process, not just a technical one. T...

What You’ll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Shayne Daughenbaugh and Catherine McDonald sit down with leadership strategist and Army veteran Jonathan Pride to explore the SOAR mindset. A leadership framework built around storytelling, ownership, abundance, and resilience. Jonathan shares how leaders can move beyond compliance-driven management and develop teams through coaching, curiosity,...