Lean Made Simple: Transform Your Business & Life One Step At A Time!

In this episode, Ryan Tierney unveils the hidden key to lean success: Focusing on People Development. He shares enlightening experiences and practical advice on: How ignoring people development causes lean initiatives to fail The critical mistake of seeing lean as merely physical changes How to build a thriving people development system Learning the true essence of lean from Yellotools Starting ev...

In this episode, Tom Hughes and Matthew Thompson dive into the transformative power of STANDARD WORK. In the conversation we cover: The three root causes of errors in the workplace Why even a loose wire can unleash chaos The surprising role of standard work in fostering a culture of continuous improvement The critical importance of documenting methods for task accomplishment Speeding up operations...

In this episode, Ryan Tierney and Matthew Thompson dive into KANBAN INVENTORY, where they talk about: How to be "firefighter ready" for any customer demand The three essential tools for transforming inventory management The simplicity and effectiveness of Kanban Ryan's journey from inventory chaos to streamlined operations How to manage vast inventory with minimal stress Actionable s...

Hugh Carnahan (Small Biz Rescue) & Jack Bussey (JJB Corporation) are lean maniacs from two different parts of the world, with a love of simplicity and freeing people from burden. In this episode we talk about: How lean can develop you into a public speaker Going to Japan to study lean The power of 3Sing How to stop doing things the way you’ve always done them And the importance of “cloning you...

In this episode, Ryan Tierney delves into the transformative concept of STOP AND FIX, unlocking its potential to: Empower employees at all levels to initiate positive changes Enhance quality control and reduce operational defects Develop a culture of proactive problem-solving Achieve the high quality standards of Toyota Transform stress into success in your personal life Check it out! https://www....

Paul Nolan (Adman Steel Sheds) and Paul Vallely (Kukoon Rugs) are “Lean Maniacs” from the island of Ireland. In this episode, we talk about: Why lean was the answer they were looking for. Making 30-years of progress in 5-years How to convert your people to lean-thinking Why doing tours of other businesses is so important And the power of trusting your people (not to steal a pair of gloves!) Check...

In this episode, Ryan Tierney discusses the principle of TOTAL OWNERSHIP and how it is the key to: Addressing “the forgotten areas” in your business and life Creating a blame-free culture Transforming employees into leaders Bringing total clarity to the role of every team member Solving the chaos of project management And unlocking your own health, success and happiness Check it out! https://www.l...

Alan Weir is the Director of Production Operations at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK. In this episode, Ryan Tierney and Matthew Thompson from Lean Made Simple ask him about: Working his way up from the shop floor to the level of leadership he’s in today What “Genchi Genbutsu” is and why it matters to your business How he spends the first two hours of his day The number one mistake leaders and manag...

Paul Blahyj is a coach at the Toyota Lean Management Centre. In this episode, Ryan Tierney and Matthew Thompson from Lean Made Simple ask him about: How he went from professional ice hockey to making doors at Toyota Working his way up from the factory floor to a senior leadership position Internally promoting vs externally hiring Why Toyota relies so much on paper over digital systems Earning the...

Last week, Ryan and the team were invited to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Toyota Factory in Derby where a car comes off the line every 88 seconds. In this episode, we share three mind-blowing takeaways from this trip, including: What a “quality control tunnel” is and how you can build one for your business Why stopping the line actually speeds up production Developing a people-centric culture t...

In their roles at Fastcap, Kolbe Akers & Lukas Holland are on the front-line in the war against waste. In today’s episode we talk about: Kolbe having a front-row seat to his father’s lean journey How Lukas went from “academic lean” to becoming a “lean maniac” The power of asking people what bothers them Removing places to hide Focusing on people over profit And their favourite lean improvement...

Norm O’Hara is the General Manager of a sporting equipment factory based in Southern China. He’s also a lean manufacturing enthusiast who’s excited to share the improvements he and his team are making on their journey toward organizational excellence. In this episode we talk about: Treating improvement videos as a product Cultural challenges of applying lean in China (And how to overcome them) The...

Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast about transforming your business — and life — one step at a time. In this episode, Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters discusses “The Eight Wastes of Lean.” Along the way, he and Producer Matt talk about: Why waste isn't just the stuff that goes in the bin How overproduction is "the mother of all wastes" Getting called out by the former president...

Brendan McGurgan and Claire Colvin are the co-founders of Simple Scaling, a company that empowers leaders to 10x their business through books, podcasts, live events and accelerator programs. In this episode we talk about: The role lean plays in scaling Why systems will set you free How we’re all in the business of building people Modeling the behaviour we want to see in others And the biggest barr...

Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast about transforming your business — and life — one step at a time. In this episode, Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters discusses the 3S's: Sweep, Sort & Standardize. Along the way, he and Producer Matt talk about: Why clean and lean are NOT the same thing The power of starting the day with an improvement mindset What a digital 3S looks like How to stop...

Michael Althoff is the founder of Yellotools and a pioneer for LEAN transformation in companies, organizations and private environments. In today’s episode we talk about: Why you should love the things your customer hates What baking cookies has to do with lean Learning from each others mistakes And how to “shortcut” your lean journey Check it out! Links: Michael’s website: https://www.michael-alt...

Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast about transforming your business — and life — one step at a time. In this episode, Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters discusses the powerful lean principle: "One-Piece Flow!" Along the way, he and Producer Matt talk about: Why batching is killing your business Escalators vs elevators How to introduce flow into your personal and professional life A be...

Marc Braun is the CEO of Encouraging Leaders, an executive coach and a keynote speaker. His mission is to help successful leaders become even more successful by identifying and addressing the critical behaviours holding them and their teams back. In this episode he talks about: How the first improvement he made was on himself Why he lost his “bathroom privileges” (And how he got them back) Being c...

Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast about transforming your business — and life — one step at a time. In this episode, Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters discusses the powerful lean principle: "Value vs Non-Value!" Along the way, he and Producer Matt talk about: What a Japanese barber taught him about value Fine-tuning our “waste goggles” Why value is only being added when the product...

Brad Cairns is the senior principal at Quantum Lean and is dedicated to improving the woodworking industry in North America using lean methods. He also owns My Door Factory and Stolbek Machines. In this episode he shares: Why he changed his company name from “Best Damn Doors” His first exposure to “lean manufacturing” How waste is like gravity Going from making 5 doors per day to 52 within a few w...

Last week, 200+ Lean Maniacs from 16+ different countries travelled to Limavady, Northern Ireland for the 2-Second Lean Summit. In this episode we catch up with Ryan Tierney to find out how the Seating Matters team pulled off such a successful event (using lean principles) as well as the highlights, learnings and improvements they discovered along the way. Check it out! https://www.leanmadesimple....

Tom Hughes is an entrepreneur and author with 30+ years’ experience of Lean and Senior Leadership. He‘s also the founder of GembaDocs: the best way in the world to document SOP’s. In today's episode we talk about: Why it took him 20-years to actually understand what lean is (And how you can save yourself that long painful journey!) What the heck a “Gemba” is How documenting procedures can radi...

Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast about transforming your business —and life —one improvement at a time. In this episode, Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters discusses the powerful lean principle: "Wherever You Ask The Question, That's Where The Answer Should Be!" Along the way, he and Producer Matt talk about: How Center Parcs, McDonald's, and Amazon have used this principle...

Paul Akers is the founder of FastCap: a multi-million dollar company he and his wife started in their garage 13-years ago. Along the way he’s established himself as an internationally renowned lean thinker, educator, and practitioner as well as being the author of the hugely influential book: 2-Second Lean. In today’s episode we talk about: What 2-Second Lean is and how it can improve your busines...

Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast about transforming your business — and life — one improvement at a time. In this episode Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters discusses a powerful lean principle known as: Leave It Better Than You Found It! Along the way he and Producer Matt talk about: The three levels of “Leave It Better Than You Found It” Creating a generous team culture that always thinks of...