The Lean Solutions Podcast

This episode is a recording of a conversation I had with a global team about my best selling book, "Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap."  A team from Xylem Inc. spent the past few months studying the questions in the book and discussing their answers and learnings for application across the enterprise.  The team had some great questions for discussion.  Xylem Inc. is a leading global water te...

This is a "Throwback" to one year ago when I interviewed Dr. Jeff Liker about The Toyota Way 2nd Edition.  This episode is in the top 5 of most listened to episodes since we launched this podcast.  What You Will Learn: We discuss his newly published second edition of The Toyota Way. Dr. Liker and I talk about sustainment of continuous improvement initiatives, specifically, CONTROL vs. LEARNING env...

In this episode, Rick Foreman and I discuss Rick's Lean Leadership journey to include his learnings as the V.P. of Lean Development for Federal Heath.  Rick truly exemplifies the qualities of a servant leader and has been successful in his many roles throughout multiple industries. What you will learn in this episode: What's the purpose behind your Lean Leadership journey "Behavior is the echo of...

In this episode, Deb Coviello and I discuss Leader Standard Work and how best leverage this tool as an Executive Leader: even the creative & innovative process needs Leader Standard work; not to thwart the creative process but to ensure you have enough time for it without burnout.  Deb is the founder of Illumination Partners, Author of the book CEO’s Compass - Your Guide to Getting Back on Tra...

In this episode, Adam Lawrence and I discuss the power of proper chartering prior to launching into a project or kaizen event of any sort. This is Adam's second time on The Lean Solutions Podcast; the first time was back in episode 50 where we talked about his book, The Wheel of Sustainability.  In this episode, you will learn about: What is chartering and why does it mean so much to you? What are...

In this episode, John Rooney and I discuss Nummi and its impact on European workers during his time as an executive at General Motors.  What you'll learn during today's episode: What is Nummi? The impact of Nummi on the GM European plants  True Lean vs. the appearance of lean Has manufacturing changed? What one bit of advice would you give to a company starting out on its lean journey? What do you...

In this episode, I talk with Lee Campe about some of his favorite problem solving examples. This is Lee's second time on the show.  Previously, in episode 56, we discussed how to maintain a high standards in Lean and Six Sigma.  Today, we talked about his experiences in problem solving with many different industries. What you'll learn in this episode: Are PDCA and A3 the same as 6 Sigma? What’s th...

This week I’m chatting with Michael Parent, a Master Lean Six Sigma Black belt and managing director of Michael Parent Consulting Services in Michigan. In this episode we talk about Lean and Human Centered Design and the value it offers Continuous Improvement in your business. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Operational Definition: What Human Centered Design Is Exploring Human Centered Design The...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Michael Ballé, a business writer, executive coach, organizational researcher and Lean expert with 30 years of experience. In this episode, Michael and I talk about how you can use Lean strategy in your organization and how it can give you an advantage and how Lean can be applied to product development. What You’ll Learn This Episode: How Lean is a strategy Ho...

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a conference presentation I gave to the Lean Six Sigma World Conference about the importance of keeping it simple and visual when it comes to Lean. In this episode, I talk about the importance of good leadership and how you can do small things to create the right culture within your organization. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Why you need to keep things simple i...

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a presentation I did for the Cincinnati ASQ, a professional association representing Quality professionals in the Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky area, about avoiding the continuous appearance trap. In this episode, I talk about my book and how you and your team can avoid the continuous appearance trap by asking certain questions and changes that will affec...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Drew Erdmann who served as the chief operating officer of the state of Missouri from February 2017 to April 2021. Under two governors, he was responsible for leading the management transformation across the state of Missouri's 16 Cabinet departments, which equates to roughly 45,000 employees. In this episode, Drew talks about both private and public sector co...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with John Thacker Jr. who has two decades of experience working in supply chain including managing factories, regional distribution centers, tier one automotive equipment, manufacturing, building trades, food, pharma and consumer goods. John is also the co-host of A Quality Podcast. In this episode, John talks about the importance of Operational Excellence and how...

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a presentation I did for Inforum Affinity Group.  I go over the principles and concepts of Lean and how they can be used today as well as in the future as technology continues to evolve. In this episode I also go over a brief history of Lean manufacturing and how it relates to today. What You’ll Learn This Episode: History of Lean manufacturing How can companies t...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Andy Olrich, a Continuous Improvement and Innovation Leader for the Hunter Water Corporation in Newcastle, Australia. Andy has over 25 years experience in engineering trades, health services, manufacturing, mining, logistics, processes and support. In this episode, Andy and I talk about the importance of leaders committing to standards when training a team an...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Jake Harrell. Jake is a supply chain enthusiast and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He is also the host of A Quality Podcast and the author of the book Chasing Excellence. In this episode, Jake talks about the importance of being funny and bringing humor into Lean to appeal to a wide array of people. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Jake’s background and how his po...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Karyn Ross, an internationally acclaimed consultant, coach, lean practitioner and author. Karyn is also the founder of the Love and Kindness Project which is a movement spreading kindness from person to person around the world. In this episode, Karyn talks about the movement and why it’s so important to focus on kindness, even in a Lean setting and how you ca...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Alessandro Lasi, whose career includes more than 10 years in continuous improvement leadership positions. Alessandro also earned a master's in industrial engineering and has a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and is also a Kaizen facilitator. In this episode, Alessandro and I talk about the mindset and culture of Lean and Continuous Improvement includi...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Nigel Thurlow,  a leading expert on Lean and Agile approaches. Nigel advises companies on successful transformation strategies and how to achieve effective and lasting change. As the chief agile at Toyota connected, he established the Toyota agile Academy and is also the co-author of The Flow System. In this episode, Nigel and I talk about Agile, how it relat...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Gareth Shaw. Gareth is the President, UK & Europe of Doceree, the first global network of physician-only platforms for programmatic messaging. In this episode, Gareth and I talk about leading high performing work teams and how you can maintain your high performing teams digitally during the pandemic. Gareth also shares information about pharma marketing a...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Anna Tagliapietra, an Italian Lean Office trainer and consultant. Anna mixes methods and tools from design thinking and design sprint to the traditional Lean tools using micro structures to help people interact and find ideas during their improvement projects In this episode, Anna talks about design thinking in Lean and how organizations can use micro structu...

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Dirk Fischer, an automotive General Manager, Lean Operations Engineering supply chain and Quality Manager expert with more than 25 years of experience. In this episode, Dirk and I go over system waste, what’s causing it and how you can avoid it. We also go over holistic business excellence and how it relates to system waste. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Di...

Patrick Adams is the author of the best selling book “Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.” He is an international speaker, coach, and consultant. 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-profits, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to bil...

This week on the podcast, I’m speaking with Randy Otterbridge. Randy is the Chief Idea Officer at RBridge Business Institute, which is a Consulting and Business Creation company and is also an author and a podcast host. In this episode, Randy and I talk about how you can apply Continuous Improvement and Lean principles into not only your business but also your personal life in order to create a be...

This week on the podcast, I’m speaking with Jim Huntzinger. Jim is the founder of Lean Frontiers and has also launched new business in the free market healthcare arena through several virtual lean and free market healthcare events and the United in Care Summit. He is also the author of several books. In this episode, Jim and I talk about the relevance of Lean accounting and how TWI fits into the L...