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

Episode 84 is audio from Video Podcast #10 (available on iTunes and YouTube). This is a conversation with Karl Wadensten, President of VIBCO, a manufacturer in Wyoming, R.I. Here, we talk about his radio show, "The Lean Nation," which airs on AM 790 in Rhode Island and streams live on the web everyday weekday at 4 PM eastern -- www.790business.com. For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page...

Episode page Podcast #83 is an in-depth conversation with  Jim D'Addario,  the CEO of  D'Addario, Inc. , a manufacturer of guitar strings, drum heads, and other musical accessories. Jim and his family company were  featured on CNN late last year , highlighting how lean manufacturing has helped save and create jobs as part of their business strategy. Jim agreed to speak with me to delve into more d...

* Remastered audio June 2021 Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/82 This is an interview with Dr. Sami Bahri, D.D.S., a dentist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is a pioneer in using Lean methods in the management of his dental practice. In this episode, he talks about what he's learned from visiting manufacturing plants and how single-piece flow is a critical piece of Lean. His outstanding book, F...

Podcast #81 is an interview with Rob Bryant, VP for Quality with CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation). In this podcast, we talk about how CSC, being outside of manufacturing, uses Lean in their business and for their customers. Rob shares some insights on Lean, an outlook for 2010, and finishes our discussion with an inspiring story about how he got into the quality field. You can visit Rob's websi...

A special holiday treat for my Lean Blog readers and podcast listeners, "Gemba Claus is Comin' to Town." Lyrics by Mark Graban, Performance by Steve Sholtes (http://www.stevesholtes.com/). Webpage for the song

Episode page This episode is a discussion with  Joan Wellman , of the consulting firm  Joan Wellman & Associates . Joan is a real pioneer in the lean healthcare arena, having started her initial work with a hospital in 1995 — I haven't found anybody who started this work earlier than her. We first met in Seattle a few months back and I'm thrilled to bring you this discussion about the early days o...

Episode page Eve Yen, founder and CEO of  Diamond Wipes , is our guest for episode #79 of the podcast. In this podcast, Eve discusses her company and how manufacturing in the United States provides a strong competitive advantage. While not explicitly “Lean,” Eve articulates a value proposition that any Lean Thinker would recognize: manufacturing close to the customer allows for shorter lead times...

Episode #78 brings a very special guest, Sorrel King, to talk about systems, communication, and patient safety. Sorrel's 18-month old daughter, Josie, was the victim of a series of preventable medical errors at a world-renowned hospital, passing away in the hospital's ICU. Sorrel channeled her grief and energy into the Josie King Foundation, which works to educate healthcare providers, patients, a...

A returning guest (episodes #30, #38, and #48), Bob Emiliani is again featured in episode #77 of the LeanBlog Podcast. Bob is the President of The Center for Lean Business Management, LLC. He is a leading authority on Lean management, who since 1995 has focused his efforts on de-mystifying the "black art" of Lean leadership through his "Real Lean" series of books. Today, we talk about his most rec...

Episode #76 is a discussion with Dr. David Jaques, VP of Surgical Services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Jaques is a skilled surgical oncologist and surgery department administrator. He came to Barnes-Jewish after serving as vice chairman of the department of surgery and director of graduate education at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He received his medical...

Our guest today for Episode #75 is Peter T. Ward, a professor at Ohio State University’s Fisher College Business and Chair of the Department of Management Sciences. Professor Ward is a leading expert in lean management and is president of the Lean Education Academic Network. His research has been published in a number of journals, including Decision Sciences, Journal of Operations Management and P...

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban...

Episode #73 is a conversation with Doug Burgess, Senior VP of Corporate Lean Six Sigma for Xerox. We talk about the Lean Six Sigma approach at Xerox, how they've used it internally and how they have used it to help customers improve processes and eliminate waste. The Xerox corporate website is: http://www.consulting.xerox.com/lean-six-sigma/enus.html For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast pa...

Our returning guest is John S. Toussaint, MD, the CEO emeritus of ThedaCare, and CEO of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. In the interest of disclosure, he is a partner in our Lean Enterprise Institute efforts to promote Lean in healthcare. Dr. Toussaint has been the guest previously for episodes #54 and #62 where he talks about ThedaCare's lean journey. Dr. Toussaint is very well known f...

Episode #71 is the second part of a discussion with Patrick M. Anderson, the Executive Director of Chugachmiut, the Tribal consortium created to promote self-determination to the seven Native communities of the Chugach Region. I met Patrick at a Lean conference last year where he shared their experiences with applying Lean principles to healthcare delivery in Alaska. Part 1 of the discussion was E...

Episode #70 is an interview with Tamra Kaplan, the COO of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. We talk about the lean transformation work being done in the hospital and Ms. Kaplan's experience in leading this effort. For an earlier blog post about her promotion to COO and Lean at LBMMC, visit http://ow.ly/gyeX. For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes...

* Remastered audio June 2021 Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/69   This is an interview with Dr. Sami Bahri, D.D.S., a dentist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is a pioneer in using Lean methods in the management of his dental practice. The book documents his learning journey for himself and his office staff as they learned how to apply Lean in a very non-traditional setting. His book,  Follow t...

Podcast #68 is a discussion with Benjamin G. Harrison, President & CEO of Kaysun, a privately-held manufacturer that, for over 60 years, has designed and manufactured complex, high-tolerance plastic injection molded products and assemblies. In his role as CEO, Ben is the champion for Kaysun's lean strategy and efforts and we discuss his support for lean in this episode. Kaysun was just named L...

This podcast is an interview with Matt May, author of the Shingo Prize winning book The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation. Available May 19 is his new book In Pursuit of Elegance. Matt's website is www.inpursuitofelegance.com. Come back for a 2nd conversation with Matt next week. There is also a video podcast version of this discussion available as episode #4 at www.leanv...

SPONSOR: MIT Professional Education - Short Programs: MIT will be holding three short courses on campus this July focused on various lean concepts geared towards busy professionals (Lean Academy® Course, Lean Engineering Seminar, Lean Healthcare Academy). To learn more visit them on the web at http://shortprograms.mit.edu/lean. CONTENT: LeanBlog Podcast #66 This is a discussion with Joe Rizzo, Cha...

LeanBlog Podcast #65 is a discussion with Kevin Frieswick, a Lean Process Manager, with MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, MA. I found Kevin earlier this year when I discovered their YouTube video about innovations at MWMC, which included a unique error proofing device to help encourage handwashing by staff and physicians before entering patient rooms. I recommend you first watch the video he...

Episode #56 of the podcast is a discussion with John Shook, one of my absolute favorite people in the Lean world. Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/56   Remastered August 2021 Episode #56 of the podcast is a discussion with John Shook, one of my absolute favorite people in the Lean world. The few times I've seen John present or had the chance to chat in person, I've learned more in that amount...

Here is LeanBlog Podcast #64, again with Jamie Flinchbaugh, Founder of and Partner with the Lean Learning Center and co-author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean. In this Podcast, we talk about the role of coaching in a Lean transformation effort. What is the difference between coaching toward a solution and coaching to learn a method, for example? This was also the first attempt at a "video podcas...

Episode Page I have a very special guest today… it's a very spur of the moment podcast with L.A. mayoral candidate,  David “Zuma Dogg” Saltsburg . This went from email, to phone call, to podcast all in a few hours. He is running on a platform is using  Dr. W. Edwards Deming's 14 points for management . It's very interesting listening — David paid his own way to a Dr. Deming 4-day seminar in Housto...

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/57 Audio remastered July 2021 My guest for LeanBlog Podcast #57 is Alfie Kohn, an author and lecturer in the fields of education, parenting, and human behavior. His books include Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes and The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing. I reached out to Alfie...