Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond

Joining me for episode #208 is  Michael Bremer , author of the recently released book  How to Do a Gemba Walk . Michael is  president of The Cumberland Group , a business improvement consulting firm based in Illinois. In today's episode, Michael talks about different types of gemba walks, key behaviors that need to be exhibited by leaders, and why it's critically important to build trust and credi...

Episode #207 is part two of my conversation with  Chris Jerry , founder of  The Emily Jerry Foundation .  The foundation was created in the aftermath of the  tragic death of his daughter, Emily  – a preventable medical error caused by a number of factors and bad systems. You can  read Emily's story here . In  the first part (Episode #203) , Chris told the story of what happened. In part two, we ta...

My guest for episode #206 is Ed Pound, co-author of the book Factory Physics for Managers: How Leaders Improve Performance in a Post-Lean Six Sigma World that was released in April. It is, of course, a new version of the original Factory Physics textbook that I used in college and was the subject of Podcast #25 with Prof. Mark Spearman. Ed is the chief operations officer of Factory Physics, Inc.,...

Episode #205 is a conversation with  Joe Schnur , VP Business Development at  Intelligent M , a company that “designs data-driven hand hygiene compliance  improvement solutions for hospitals that dramatically reduce healthcare-acquired infections and their associated costs.” Joe and I share a passion for improving patient safety and we've had a number of great conversations comparing notes on the...

Joining me today for Episode #204 is Paul Plsek ( @PaulPlsek ) and we're talking about his excellent book (a Shingo Research Award recipient this year) titled  Accelerating Health Care Transformation with Lean and Innovation: The Virginia Mason Experience . Virginia Mason, of course, is Virginia Mason Medical Center, the outstanding Lean organization that was  named “Hospital of the Decade” by Lea...

My guest for Episode #203 (and for  Part 2 of our discussion in episode #207 ) is  Chris Jerry , founder of The Emily Jerry Foundation.  The foundation was created in the aftermath of the  tragic death of his daughter, Emily  – a preventable medical error caused by a number of factors and bad systems. You can  read Emily's story here . I first learned about this tragedy a few years back and I blog...

My guest today for Episode 202 is  Patrick Graupp , co-author of the excellent book  Getting to Standard Work in Health Care: Using TWI to Create a Foundation for Quality Care , co-authored with Martha Purrier from Virginia Mason Medical Center. If you're brand new to the Training Within Industry (TWI) model, you might want to first listen to  Episode 196, with Jim Huntzinger, on “What is TWI? “ P...

Joining me for episode #201 are  Ron Smith , a Process Improvement Coordinator/Lean Facilitator at Mary Greeley Medical Center (in Iowa) and  Suz Kaprich , a consultant with  KaiNexus  (disclosure: I'm on the management team of KaiNexus and have an ownership stake in the company). Today, they are talking about a three-month “WorkOut” process that Ron and Suz ran recently at the hospital. Given the...

My guest for episode 200 is  Paul Spiegelman , author of the book  Patients Come Second: Leading Change by Changing the Way You Lead . Today, we're talking about his book and its provocative title – what do you mean patients don't come first? What about this trend for “patient-centered care” (and why wasn't it patient-centered to begin with?).  In the podcast, Paul talks about: The book's title an...

Joining me for episode #199 is  Jeff Gothelf  ( @jboogie ), talking about “Lean UX” or “Lean User Experience,” a key method for software development, usually used in conjunction with  design thinking ,  agile development , and  Lean Startup  business practices. Jeff is author of the book  Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience  and he is Managing Director at  Neo , the global...

Episode #198 is a discussion with  Harry Kenworthy  about his work bringing Lean into local and state governments. We had a great conversation that touches on the influence of  Dr. W. Edwards Deming  and many other concepts that might be of interest even if you're not interested in “Lean Government” and the work happening there. Harry is Principal and Manager of the  Quality and Productivity Impro...

My guest for episode #197 is a hospital leader I really respect, Kim Barnas, author of the new book  Beyond Heroes .  Until very recently, Kim was a  Senior VP at ThedaCare , leading Appleton Medical Center and Theda Clark Hospital. I've seen Kim speak to groups at ThedaCare and a few conferences and she has a lot to teach us about Lean leadership, using her stories and experiences in a way that's...

My guest for episode 196 is  Jim Huntzinger , founder of  Lean Frontiers . Today, we're talking about the  Training Within Industry  methodology and his new website  WhatIsTWI.com . We are discussing topics including what a typical TWI “journey” looks like for an organization, how TWI is such a fundamental Lean concept/method, and some examples of how TWI is helping organizations in various indust...

Joining me for episode #195 is my friend Steve Montague from LifeWings. Steve and I met initially through our shared interest in Lean and, like Ron Pereira, we discovered we both lived in Keller, Texas (I've since moved to San Antonio). Steve is a retired Navy pilot and currently flies for a major commercial airline. He's also been involved, through LifeWings, in the movement to bring aviation saf...

My guest for episode #194 is Paul Piechota, Director for the Center for Competitive Change at the University of Dayton School of Engineering. Piechota has authored over 30 publications with such titles as Transforming the Enterprise, Getting to the Future First!, and Establishing a Method for Process and Culture Change in the Military. His most recent publication is the book titled, Keeping Your B...

My guest for episode #193 is Mark Jaben, MD, talking about our brains, Lean, and change. Mark has been a guest blogger for me before and it's great to talk to him today about his research and experiences. In our conversation, Mark talks about "the troublesome features of our brain's operating system" (such as our "hidden brain"), how the A3 problem solving process fits with the way our brains work...

Joining me for podcast #192 is  John Torinus , author of the excellent book,  The Company That Solved Health Care: How Serigraph Dramatically Reduced Skyrocketing Costs While Providing Better Care, and How Every Company Can Do the Same . John is the chairman of Wisconsin-based Serigraph Inc., a graphics parts manufacturer with ownership in ten plants in the U.S., Mexico, China and India with over...

Joining me for podcast #191 is my friend and fellow LEI faculty member  Mike Orzen  ( @MikeOrzen ), co-author of the Shingo Award-winning book  Lean IT: Enabling and Sustaining Your Lean Transformation . I recently crossed paths with Mike in Columbus, Ohio, because we're both mentoring students in the  Ohio State University MBOE program . We have a lot in common, it seems! Mike is also collaborati...

My guest for episode #190 is a returning guest (from episode  #151 ), my friend  Karen Martin , talking about her (co-authored by  Mike Osterling ) newly-released book,  Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation . You can  order via Amazon  and can learn more  via Karen's website . In the episode, we talk about topics including how this book...

Audio remastered June 2022 Episode page Joining me as my guest for episode #189 is  Rich Sheridan , CEO and Chief Storyteller at  Menlo Innovations , a software development company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Rich is author of the new book that I'm really enjoying:  Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love.  Learn more about  the author  and the book at  www.menloinnovations.com/joyinc . You ca...

My guest for Episode 188 has been a leading voice in the Lean community for 25 years,  Daniel T. Jones , founder and chairman of the  Lean Enterprise Academy , based in the UK. Dan collaborated with  Jim Womack  on the books  The Machine That Changed the World ,  Lean Thinking , and  Lean Solutions  and published  other books through the LEA .  Currently, Dan is helping promote Lean in healthcare...

Joining me for episode #187 is Joe Swartz, my friend and esteemed co-author for our books  Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements  and  The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen: Leadership for a Continuously Learning and Improving Organization . You can  learn more about our books here . Joe is Director of Business Transformation at  Franciscan St. Fran...

Episode page My guest for episode #186 is my friend  Jon Miller , CEO of  Kaizen Institute  and long-time blogger at Gemba Panta Rei. Today, we're talking about his upcoming book,  Creating a Kaizen Culture: Align the Organization, Achieve Breakthrough Results, and Sustain the Gains (co-authored by Mike Wroblewski and Jamie Villafuerte). I can't believe I haven't had Jon on the show before… hopefu...

My guests for episode #185 are  Karen Dunn Skinner  and  David Skinner  and our topic, for the first time on the  Podcast , is Lean in law firms and the legal profession.  David and Karen  are husband and wife, attorneys, from Quebec, and consultants for their firm  Gimbal . I had a chance to meet up with them in Montreal earlier this year, after connecting via social media, and they're a delight...

It's great to have  Dr. John Toussaint  back for episode #184 of the podcast (see links to previous episodes below). He is, of course, CEO of the  ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value  and the author of two Shingo Award-winning books,  On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry  and  Potent Medicine: The Collaborative Cure for Healthcare . In this podcast, we...