WLEI - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast (Lean Enterprise Institute)

Spoiler alert! The food you just ate is not fresh. It was "sourced" longer ago than you'd imagine. And since that time, it's been handled in batch after batch. The same can be said for many lean transformations - one batch of improvement activity after another. Zingerman's Mail Order has been reducing batch sizes for 15 years, acting as a sort of "model line" for the entire food industry. Tom Root and Josh Howell discuss ZMO's lean transformation and their many lessons learned, searching for useful takeaways for you the listener.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we talk with Fabrice Bernhard and Catherine Chabiron. Fabrice is the co-founder of Theodo, a fast-growing software company, and Catherine is the author of the new book, Learning to Scale at Theodo: Growing a Fast and Resilient Company.

Fabrice and Catherine share how Theodo has seamlessly integrated lean thinking into its management system enabling it to grow rapidly while maintaining a customer-first mindset and ship quality software.

During the conversation, we dive into:

• Lean vs. Agile: How Theodo found lean thinking and how it complements agile, while challenging traditional perspectives in the software industry.

• Quality vs. Speed: Navigating the delicate balance between producing high-quality code and meeting the demands for rapid delivery.

• Customer Focus: How lean has enhanced Theodo’s customer-centric approach, making it a hallmark of their operations.

• Learning Organizations: The role of continuous learning in building resilient teams that not only solve technical problems but contribute to organizational growth.

• People Development: How Theodo leverages problem-solving at the gemba to foster a culture of continuous improvement and employee development.

Special note: During the conversation, we mention the book The Toyota Way of Dantotsu Radical Quality Improvement, which Theodo has been using to transform its approach to improving quality.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with Emily Swaney and Alli Kulp from OhioHealth. Emily is the senior director of OhioHealth's lean promotion office, leading the organization's continuous improvement team. Alli is a senior advisor in the lean promotion office and previously worked as a registered nurse.

In our discussion, we explore: 

• The lean journey at OhioHealth since 2006 and their goal of creating a culture of 35,000 problem solvers. 
• OhioHealth's strategic goal deployment process and how they cascade goals throughout such a large healthcare system. 
• How lean daily management and problem solving are implemented at the frontlines through huddles and visual boards. 
• Tools OhioHealth has developed to assess lean leadership behaviors and the management system to drive progress. 

Emily and Alli will lead a learning session on creating leadership assessment tools to foster development at the Lean Summit on March 19-20 in Carlsbad, CA. 

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we speak with Regis Megina, a software industry veteran who has undergone a journey from Agile to Lean. Regis shares insights on:  

• How he transitioned from early frustrations with waterfall development to embracing Agile and Extreme Programming 

• The challenges he faced in spreading these new ideas, and why he ultimately sought a deeper understanding of Lean principles 

• Regis' current work applying Lean Thinking to startups and scale-ups, including creating educational materials and training programs 

• The importance of continuous learning, technical mastery, and developing team capabilities - rather than just focusing on process improvement tools. 

For more insights into Lean Thinking applied to product development, subscribe to the Design Brief newsletter. 

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Mehmet Gur, Senior Director of Operations Engineering at DHL eCommerce. He has been leading the company's next-generation automation efforts. Since the pandemic, DHL eCommerce – DHL's business-to-consumer unit – has faced dramatic increases in volume. This surge required new automation technology to meet customer demand and heightened expectations regarding delivery speed. Mehmet oversees a large team of technical engineers tasked with meeting this challenge. 

During the discussion we touch on:  

• Lean Thinking and Automation: How Mehmet's team used value-stream mapping to close the gap between automation equipment’s theoretical throughput and actual throughput.  
• Automation Evaluation: What should organizations consider before investing millions in new technology. 
• People Development: How to use problem-solving at the gemba to not just solve intractable technical problems but develop engineers.  
• AI in Distribution: How emerging technologies are revolutionizing logistics for higher throughput and customer satisfaction. 

Mehmet will lead a learning session on these themes at the LEI Lean Summit in March 2024. To learn more and take advantage of early registration discounts, visit lean.org/summit. Register by October 31 to save up to $900 on your summit registration. 

As we slowly emerge from the long pandemic, LEI and colleagues like the Good Jobs Institute are deeply committed to helping produce decent jobs. In this conversation, LEI President Josh Howell spoke with Executive Director Sarah Kalloch of the Good Jobs Institute about ways they are both working to help foster good work. WLEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld moderated this conversation.  

Download a transcript of the conversation here.  

In this edition of The Management Brief, LEI President Josh Howell sat down with Charlie Murphy, Senior Vice President at Turner Construction, to discuss the company's remarkable lean transformation journey. Charlie shares how the organization leveraged core lean principles and practices to drive a dramatic improvement in safety performance and build a culture of continuous improvement.

Key takeaways include: 

• Turner's safety performance improvement, from a recordable incident rate of 5 per 200,000-man hours down to under 1, driven by fact-based problem-solving and a rigorous management system.
• Building problem-solving capability and implementing hoshin kanri connected high-level priorities to daily problem-solving and operational improvements.
• The shift from "relentless" to "co-learning" safety incident reviews fostered a more collaborative, fact-based approach to addressing safety issues.
• Standardizing daily management systems and empowering middle managers were critical steps in scaling lean practices across Turner's 1,500 active projects.

Subscribe to The Management Brief for free.

In this episode of WLEI Podcast, we welcome Cynthia E. Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and author of Design for the Other 90%. Cynthia speaks about design as a catalyst for change and what it means, as she says, to be in “the collective work of building capacity and agency in communities across the world.”

Industry 4.0 is not a disruptive force that makes TPS irrelevant, but rather can be an enabler that builds on lean culture and thinking. What principles should lean companies prioritize as they introduce digital tools into their work? Lean thinkers Jeff Liker and Jim Morgan start with the basics of people, processes, and purpose. Listen in to their thoughts as they discuss the TPS-Industry 4.0 mashup with Host Tom Ehrenfeld in this latest episode of WLEI. 

You can read and download a complete transcript of the conversation 

Copy and past this link: https://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=5333

Over the past five years, the Lean Global Network’s Lean Healthcare Initiative has carried out extensive research in eight hospitals across five countries, and recently published the white paper, "5 Guiding Principles to Transform Healthcare." In this podcast, LEI Senior Coach and white paper co-author Alice Lee shares insights into the research conducted by this group of “tailors” (individuals who saw patterns and helped identify how to apply them). She expands on the five guiding principles they developed and explains how these insights were gleaned from healthcare organizations. The principles provide guidance for any chief architect in any organization looking for traction with their lean work.  

• You can download a free copy of the paper here.  
• Download a transcript of the conversation here. 

Learn from top healthcare leaders who are transforming their organizations through lean thinking and practice, including,

• Lisa Yerian, MD, Chief Improvement Officer at the Cleveland Clinic, and John Shook, senior advisor to the Lean Enterprise Institute 
• Kimberly Eng, Chief Operating Officer, Lynn Community Health Center, and Kiame Mahaniah, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Lynn Community Health Center 
• Jack Billi, MD, Medical Director, Collaborative Quality Initiatives, and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Engineering, University of Michigan
• Carlos Frederico Pinto, M.D. (aka Dr. Fred); CEO; Instituto de Oncologia do Vale (IOV)

Get more details about and register for the Virtual Lean Learning Experience 2020.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with Alan Goodman, professor and department chair of quality engineering at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Alan spent his career in operations at GE before becoming a professor. The podcast explores his recent work to teach young students lean skills to prepare them for careers after school.

In the discussion, we explore: 

• Alan's background in lean and how he's transferring his skills to students through a program he's grown from a one-week online course to a year-round initiative. 
• Getting students interested in lean concepts through interactive games and how to apply these lessons to adult learning.
• Alan's vision to partner with companies to create a pipeline for students to enter the workforce from school.
• Methods Alan incorporates new technologies like AI and gamification into his teaching methods to foster creativity and critical thinking. 

If you'd like to support Alan's work, check out https://cityonahillmke.org. 

Lean veteran Billy Taylor, author of the new book The Winning Link: A Proven Process to Define, Align, and Execute Strategy at Every Level, discusses with WLEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld how to cultivate "extreme leadership" as a means of building a cohesive and top-tier organization.

Bill shares a "connected operating system" that, he says, helps people and organizations define and achieve ambitious goals. He learned and developed this approach through decades of success at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Jay Multanen and Jared Ragozzine from Bestbath, a manufacturer specializing in showers and bathtubs for both commercial and residential buildings. Jay is the co-CEO, while Jared is Director of Lean and Continuous Improvement. 

During the conversation we touch on:  

Organizational Transformation: Gain insights into how Bestbath has built a problem-solving culture through methodical structural changes and targeted people development strategies. 

Competitive Differentiation: Understand how adopting lean practices has not only streamlined their operations but conferred a significant competitive edge in the market. 

Strengthening Partnerships: Learn how lean thinking has fortified Bestbath's relationships with their construction trade partners, thereby enhancing collaborative opportunities. 

Profit-Share Model: Explore Bestbath's innovative profit-sharing scheme that has been pivotal in fostering the right behaviors across all levels, from the C-suite to the shop floor. 

Jay and Jared will host a learning session on building a problem-solving culture at the Lean Summit on March 19-20, 2024.

Register by October 31 to save up to $900 on your registration. Click here to learn more and register.

Regret, the pervasive and often toxic emotional mess most of us invariably experience, need not be so painful, says best-selling author Dan Pink. In fact, his new book The Power of Regret counsels readers to deliberately view regret as a process that can be examined in a way to help us all lead better lives. This WLEI podcast with host Tom Ehrenfeld explores how Pink came to this conclusion and explores parallels between his approach to processing regret and Lean’s mindful approach to framing problems for continuous improvement.

Andrew Lingel, President of United Plastic Fabricating, discusses leading lean transformation of a family business through knowledge, grit, and outrage.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with Dr. Jackie Gerhart and Dr. Christopher Longhurst. Dr. Gerhart is a family physician and VP of clinical informatics at Epic Systems, while Dr. Longhurst is the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Digital Officer at UC San Diego Health. 

In the discussion, we explore: 

• How health systems are using AI to improve patient outcomes.
• The potential for AI to reduce clinicians' cognitive burden, allowing them to reconnect with patients.
• What educators should consider when training the next generation of doctors who will begin their careers with access to AI.

Special note: As this conversation demonstrates, the workplace is rapidly changing, fueled by technological advancements like AI, shifting generational expectations, and evolving customer demands. 

Join LEI at "The Future of People at Work Symposium" July 18-19 in Detriot, MI to learn about these challenges from business luminaries like Jim Womack and Jeff Liker and collaborate with peers to address them. Click here to learn more and register.

In the latest episode of the WLEI podcast, we take a deep dive into a new venture whose goal is to rekindle America’s industrial tradition. Re:Build Manufacturing was founded by former Amazon executive Jeff Wilke in 2021. We sat down with its CEO Miles Arnone and Chief Lean officer Bonnie Davis to learn about Re:Build Manufacturing’s purpose and how it fulfills it.

For decades U.S. manufacturers swept up by the opportunity to maximize profits with low-cost labor have been offshoring manufacturing. But the short-term boost in profits has generated long-term, unintended consequences.

Communities that once thrived on manufacturing experienced severe economic downturns. This decline led to increased economic inequality, as those who lost their jobs struggled to find employment that matched their skills and offered comparable wages. Also, manufacturers struggled to protect their innovations as overseas suppliers threatened intellectual property theft or infringement. And the offshoring trend has eroded America's manufacturing and engineering capabilities. As companies began to rely on overseas suppliers, they lost valuable knowledge and skills that were once a hallmark of American industry.

During the podcast, Miles and Bonnie delve into the specifics of how Re:Build's strategy works, as well as the company's culture and mission. They provide valuable insights into the future of American manufacturing and the vital role that Re:Build aims to play in reshaping it.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we explore the LPPD principle: Understand Before You Execute. Too often, companies commit to a product design before assessing their customers’ needs, leading to development churn and failed products. The conversation examines how to avoid that trap by precisely identifying customer needs before development and features a case study of a company that did just that.

However, people did not engage in this conversation. Artificial intelligence, specifically Google’s NotebookLM, generated the entire discussion based only on this six-minute video clip. The result is astonishing.

Tune in and share in the comments what you thought of the conversation.

“It’s only a failure if you don’t learn,” says Mr. Isao Yoshino, who shared many key lessons from his career at Toyota with Katie Anderson, who based her new book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn on his experience and insights. Join us for a podcast with host Tom Ehrenfeld that explores the lessons gleaned from his career at Toyota. 

Download a complete transcript of the conversation here: https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/597.pdf  

In his talk from the 2018 Designing the Future summit, Rivian COO and LEI Senior Advisor Jim Morgan discusses how Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) serves as an enterprise activity that can engage the entire organization and improve operations and growth. LPPD's principles and practices will result in better products, argues Morgan, who shares the following key ideas:

*People first

*Understand—then execute

*Design new value streams

*Create a framework of success

*Constantly learn and improve

*Establish an effective management system

Tune in here to listen to the full podcast of his presentation about creating a shared future. And download a transcript of this talk here.

Read more from Jim by checking his previous articles:

Creating New Value and A Lesson in Fundamentals

Are You Building High-Performing Teams?

Product Focus=Customer Focus

The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection

TPS 2.0?

Also check out his book Designing the Future

Finally, learn more about the 2020 DTF summit

"What is the role of a lean leader, and what is the humbling daily work that goes into this task? How can one humbly assume the very ambitious role of leading others in earnest lean practice? And how does one prepare for heroic actions by creating a steady cadence of productive daily habits? These are the types of questions explored by Karen Gaudet in her new LEI book titled Steady Work. Tune in to her podcast with Tom Ehrenfeld here." 

Roger Martin’s terrific new book When More is Not Better proposes tangible suggestions for broadening the economic gains from democratic capitalism. He critiques the concentration of wealth and power that decades of what he calls America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency have generated, proposing tangible measures for business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens to pursue. In this conversation with LEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld, Roger explores lean-adjacent measures that complement his message. What operational, approaches might be considered in concert with his policy-based and systematic suggestions?  

Download a transcript of this talk here.  

In this episode of WLEI Podcast, we welcome Sandrine Olivencia, author of Build to Sell and expert in applying Lean principles to software development. Sandrine shares her journey from waterfall to Agile and eventually to Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD), which she sees as a more holistic and sustainable system for building great products and lasting businesses. The conversation explores: 

• The importance of Gemba and why leaders at all levels need to stay closely connected to customers and the problems they face. 

• How Lean thinking can help companies avoid “feature frenzy mode” and maintain a clear focus on delivering customer value. 

• Why even mature tech companies often struggle to develop people and the steps leaders can take to build a culture of problem-solving and continuous improvement.  

• Practical advice on where to start implementing Lean principles, including Sandrine’s three key strategies for building a more product-led company.  

• The limitations of so-called “founder mode” and “manager mode” and how an alternative “Lean management mode” addresses the shortcomings of both. 

How much of your work time do you spend doing actual work that leverages what you do best? And how much of your invaluable time and focus is chipped away by myriad distractions—of which the most pernicious might be email and its constant demand for your attention. I’m Tom Ehrenfeld, host of the Lean Enterprise Institute’s WLEI podcast. I spoke with author Cal Newport about his newest book, A World Without Email, where he challenges us to rethink why we need to be constantly plugged into communication that seldom helps us produce valuable work.  

In this edition of The Management Brief, Mark Reich sits down with Isao Yoshino, a 40-year veteran of Toyota and a driving force behind the company’s success with hoshin kanri. Yoshino shares the impact that hoshin kanri and A3 problem-solving has had on him professionally and personally.

Key takeaways include:

· Multiple roles over four decades at Toyota shaped Yoshino’s management beliefs and career.

· Yoshino discusses working directly with Mikio Sugiura, who was instrumental in developing Toyota’s hoshin kanri process.

· Hoshin kanri can positively impact a company as it has Toyota, notes Yoshino, but it’s not without a few challenges.

· Delivering bad news first and an earnest desire to learn from failures were commonplace for Yoshino and Toyota executives and fostered the improvement mindset that still thrives in the company today.

As all of us try to figure out how to work in this pandemic-tinted world, lean practice suggests a few practical approaches. In this special edition of WLEI, the podcast of the Lean Enterprise Institute LEI’s Josh Howell, Matt Savas, and Masia Goodman talk about how the design of the upcoming Virtual Lean Learning Experience taps into lean ways of learning and leverages the latest learning technologies.

You can download a transcript by copying the following URL into your browser: https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/594.pdf

In this edition of The Management Brief, Mark Reich sits down with Geoff Miller, CEO of Grand Rapids Chair, to discuss his company's lean transformation journey. Geoff shares how the adoption of hoshin kanri and A3 problem-solving has helped the company maintain strategic focus and build organizational capability. Geoff offers a candid reflection on his leadership transformation, underscoring the importance of perseverance and continuous learning, even in the face of significant disruption. 

Key takeaways include:

• Hoshin Kanri enabled Grand Rapids Chair to build stability in critical daily management measures like safety, quality, and reliability.
• The catchball process for cascading strategic goals fostered alignment and buy-in across the management team.
• A3 problem-solving empowered employees across departments to tackle large, complex challenges and drive meaningful change.
• Sustaining a lean transformation requires personal commitment from leadership to model the problem-solving mindset and tools.
• Developing human capability in problem-solving is essential for realizing the full benefits of lean.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, our guests are Jennifer Trask and Brittney Heatherington from MillerKnoll. Trask is the Director of the MillerKnoll Performance System (HMPS) for business processes and dealer network, while Heatherington is a continuous improvement coach for the dealer network. 

In our discussion, we explore: 

• MillerKnoll’s methodical approach to people development. 
• How MillerKnoll has built a culture of operational excellence throughout its value stream from its factories to its dealers. 
• How MillerKnoll successfully engages dealers in problem-solving by coaching at the gemba.
• The importance of approaching problems situationally versus applying a fixed solution.

January 27, 2020

Featuring: Deborah McGee and Bryant Sanders

As this series continues to explore the implications and dynamic of “coaching” in a business environment, Bryant Sanders models the mindset and techniques for coaching work improvement to develop people. Bryant draws on 26 years Toyota experience to facilitate his coaching techniques with a team in the field leading to a dramatic improvement in the work. He walks us through the story from deciding where to focus, to earning the team’s trust, facilitating reflection solidifying the what and the why and then leveraging one another’s strengths to upskill the team and eliminate difficulty and waste in the work. An excellent study in masterful coaching on the floor where the work happens.

We invite your thoughts and experiences about coaching and being coached: email your stories! pod@lean.org

Related Articles/ content:

·       The Hard Work of Making Hard Work Easier (article)

·       Job Breakdown Sheet (pdf)

·       Making Hard Work Easier (article)

Pat Greco In 2011, Dr. Pat Greco began as the superintendent of the Menomonee Falls School District in Wisconsin. She faced no shortage of problems: a suspension rate seven times higher than the state average, performance gaps across income and race, cost overruns, and a failure to meet performance goals defined under the No Child Left Behind Act among others. Not to mention a new administration was upending collective bargaining for public sector employees instilling fear within the teachers she was setting out to lead. By the end of her tenure she had led the school district to rank as one of the country’s best. She did so primarily through PDCA cycles in the classroom between teachers and students, as well as between management and the board of education.

The long-term success of companies like Danaher, Fortive, Herman Miller, Parker Hannifin and many others, have all validated the power of lean thinking and practice. But if that’s the case, why aren’t there more exemplars? And why do so many companies either intentionally misconstrue Lean, or fail to realize its full promise over time?

Long-time Lean veteran Mark Deluzio has recently published Flatlined: Why Lean Transformations Fail and What to Do About It. Join him, Art Byrne, Jim Womack and host Tom Ehrenfeld in a wide-ranging conversation about the ongoing gap between operations at most companies—and an ideal Lean state.

Be sure to download an edited transcript of their conversation here.

In the latest episode of the WLEI podcast, we delve into hoshin kanri (strategy deployment) with Otto Funke and Joseph Tamayo from GlobalFoundries, a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. Otto has overseen the strategic planning process at one of GlobalFoundries' production facilities for sixteen years. He will share insights on how the site has developed a robust process that has withstood leadership changes. Alongside Joseph, they will explore how this process creates alignment around objectives, both vertically and horizontally, enabling front-line workers to link their tasks to broader corporate goals. Furthermore, they will shed light on how this strategic approach is instrumental in cultivating GlobalFoundries' next generation of leaders.

Otto and Joseph will host a learning session on hoshin kanri at the Lean Summit on March 19-20 with optional workshops on March 21-22.

Register by October 31 to save up to $900 on your registration. Click here to learn more and register.

December 23, 2019

Featuring: Deborah McGee and Jeff Smith

As this series continues to explore the implications and dynamic of “coaching” in a business environment, Jeff Smith reveals the importance of the learning environment for impactful coaching. Jeff draws on 22 years experience within the Toyota Production System and recalls his coaching experience at New United Motor, and later as a coach in many organizations. We talk about coaching in the front office as well as shop floor, engaging with problems using A3 thinking, and mechanisms to signal abnormal conditions inherently perfect for effective coaching moments.

We invite your thoughts and experiences about coaching and being coached: email your stories! pod@lean.org

Related Articles/ content:

• Learning to Help Anna Elevate Her Game(article)
• Toyotas Secret: The A3 Report (article)
• Lessons from NUMMI (podcast)
• Kaizen Express (book)
• Managing to Learn (book)

In times of crisis, lean offers a stable approach to healthy work. Furthermore, as Jim Womack notes in this podcast with Tom Ehrenfeld, foundational lean practices such as just-in-time supply chains are not—and have never been—liabilities in a time such as today’s coronavirus outbreak. Misguided stories about the woes of JIT are as misguided today as they were when they appeared during avian flu, SARS, and other legitimate medical events that required large supplies of emergency goods. Womack also talks about the lessons to be found in Karen Gaudet’s book Steady Work as they relate to having a stable work environment that enables people to not think about the work—but to already have that mindfulness built in, so they can simply serve other humans in the moment, at a time of great need. 

Listen to this conversation on the LEI podcast here.

Related articles/content:

• Jim Womack’s 2006 essay Just In Time, Just In Case and Just Plain Wrong.
• Jim Womack’s 2006 essay Fewer Heroes, More Farmers. 
• Karen Gaudet’s book Steady Work.   

Lean has always promised great improvements for health care providers, but has there been a personal element that has been lacking to date? In this episode of WLEI, two healthcare giants, Kim Barnas and John Toussaint, will share a key insight from their new book Becoming the Change: they argue that personal transformation on the part of healthcare leaders plays a vital role in broader organizational change. Listen in for insights and advice on how to help your lean effort. 

You can download a transcript by copying the following URL into your browser: https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/596.pdf

LEI chats with Frank Paluch, Retired President of Honda R&D Americas, and Lara Harrington, Retired Honda Chief Engineer. Frank and Lara share how Honda utilized Lean Product and Process Development principles to launch successful vehicles like the Honda Passport. 

During the conversation we dive into the following: 

• Understanding Customer Value – As Chief Engineer of the Honda Passport Lara explains how she used rapid prototyping and gathered consumer feedback early in the development process to determine a vehicle design that would appeal to customers and grow Honda’s market share.
• The Chief Engineer – Frank and Lara reflect on the chief engineer’s role, what makes a great chief engineer, and the matrix organization in which they work.
• People Development – Comparing hiring in engineering talent versus developing it internally.
• Future of the Auto Industry – Discussing the industry push toward EVs and contrasting Tesla’s approach to development to Toyota’s. 

Special note: Lara and Frank will lead a keynote about Lean Product and Process Development at the Lean Summit in March 2024. To learn more and register, click here.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we sit down with Mark Dolsen, President of TRQSS, a seat belt manufacturer that supplies Toyota and other automakers in North America. Mark shares insights into TRQSS's lean journey and the critical role of frontline supervisors in driving continuous improvement. 

Key takeaways include: 

• TRQSS has evolved its lean practices over decades, starting with the influence of Japanese coordinators and later adopting TWI principles. 

• The company's "TPS for Team Leaders" program focuses on developing supervisors' capabilities in areas like flow, standardized work, and kaizen. 

• TRQSS's quality management approach is rooted in the principle of "mizenboushi" — proactively maintaining process conditions to ensure good parts every time. Read more about how TRQSS applies mizenboushi in this paper.

• Mark's leadership philosophy emphasizes coaching, teaching, and empowering employees to make decisions and contribute to the company's lean culture. 

In the latest issue of The Management Brief, host Mark Reich sits down with Marcia Brey, the Vice President of Logistics at GE Appliances.

Marcia shares her extensive career journey at GE Appliances, spanning roles in design, customer service, distribution, quality, and eventually leading the company's lean enterprise transformation. 

Key points discussed include:

• Marcia's initial exposure to lean principles like value-stream mapping and kaizen events while leading the warehouse network.

• Her transition to plant manager of a complex refrigeration factory and the importance of daily management and engaging the team to solve problems.

• The creation of GE Appliances' lean enterprise team in 2016 to implement new processes and drive strategic alignment using hoshin kanri.

• How hoshin kanri is used to cascade objectives, enable cross-functional collaboration, and develop leadership skills through reflection.

• Marcia's advice for leaders struggling to implement strategy and daily management systems, emphasizing the need to start somewhere and continuously improve.

• Her current role in logistics and the opportunities to further explore customer problems and strengthen the value stream by breaking down traditional organizational boundaries.

Josh Howell, LEI president, talks with Dr. Sarah Womack, an eight-year veteran of Toyota and author of Toyota’s Improvement Thinking from the Inside. Sarah discusses how her transformation and that of other individuals within Toyota collectively contributed to organizational improvements and high performance. Her Toyota experiences exponentially advanced her learning and today enable her to successfully impart lean values and mindsets to organizations that are very unlike Toyota. Learn more about lean thinking and practice at lean.org

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with Billy Taylor, former operations executive at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He is now President of LinkedXL and author of The Winning Link: a Proven Process to Define, Align, and Execute Strategy at Every Level. 

In our discussion, we explore:

• Billy’s career journey from third shift supervisor to director of North American operations for Goodyear.
• How Billy led a transformation of one of Goodyear’s worst-performing plants through instituting a few core principles: deliberate clarity, defined ownership, deliberate practice, and trust. 
• Billy’s approach to scaling a management system from a single plant to multiple plants across North America through intense collaboration with plant leaders. 
• The current challenges of retaining employees due to changing workforce mindsets post-COVID and how to re-engage workers.

Professor Jeffrey Liker’s The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles From the World’s Greatest Manufacturer has proved to be one of the most influential books of the lean movement—and beyond. Last month he published a revised second edition of this classic resource, bringing new thinking and context to his explanation of what makes this system so dynamic and enduring.

Liker explains his emphasis on what scholar Takahiro Fujimoto calls its “superior evolutionary learning capability,” providing more grit and clarity on topics such as its organic (not mechanistic) nature. Listen to him discuss these topics with LEI Senior Editor Tom Ehrenfeld in this new edition of the WLEI podcast.

You can download a PDF of the transcript at https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/600.pdf

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Jill Katic and Grace Eovaldi from Barton Malow, a major construction company that has recently seen significant growth. Jill and Grace share how they've been working to foster a culture of problem solving throughout Barton Malow, principally through a program dubbed Lean University. 

During the conversation we dive into the following:  

Lean Principles and A3 Problem-Solving: Exploring Lean University's five-day training program, which introduces participants to lean principles and the A3 problem-solving method over a three-month period. 

Problem Identification and Analysis: How Jill and Grace use the program to help participants identify and dissect problems in their work, guiding them in developing effective countermeasures. 

Business and Cultural Results at Barton Mallow: Insights into the tangible business outcomes and cultural shifts experienced by Barton Malow since beginning Lean University. 

Lean Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: The significance of Lean University for organizations seeking to cultivate lean thinking and problem-solving abilities among their employees. 

Barton Mallow's Lean Journey: An overview of Barton Malow's experience with Lean University and its role in transforming the company's culture. 

Special note: Jill and Grace will lead a learning session about building a problem-solving culture through Lean University at the Lean Summit in March 2024. To learn more and register, click here.

Too often, a change in executive leadership can bring a lean transformation to a grinding halt.  But that has not been the case at Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC).

Within two years of the start of their lean journey, LCHC CEO Lori Abrams Berry announced her intention to retire. The immediate reaction from the LCHC community was concern that her departure would impact the progress made on advancing lean thinking and practice with improved outcomes and engagement of its team members. Instead, the impending CEO transition was embraced as a challenge, a gap to tackle.  Learn how LCHC approached this executive leadership transition to ensure the continuity of their lean transformation. 

• John Shook’s favorite conference keynote of all time
• Using lean thinking to improve hypertension in a community health centre
• Ep. 9 Leadership, Building Consensus, and Embracing Culture with Dr. Kiame Mahaniah and John Shook
• Lean Summit 2020
• Surviving CEO Change, Evolving Through Culture and Being a Humble Leader
• Lean Coaching Summit

Regardless of how well you track tangible metrics in your workplace, neglecting underlying emotions has enduring costs, says Susan David, author of the best-selling book Emotional Agility. Many performance gaps are partly caused by human factors—underlying conditions that don’t necessarily show up on Pareto charts, yet have as much relevance and bearing on business outcomes as other common gaps that are identified as problems to address. Join this WLEI podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the need to acknowledge and “manage” emotions as a means of developing broader agility for your work team.  

The global pandemic coupled with profound structural economic shifts are two daunting challenges reinforcing  the need for a powerful method of framing and facing crucial problems today. Over the past year, our monthly podcast WLEI has aired conversations with Jim Womack, Dan Jones, Karen Gaudet, and other thought leaders exploring the power of lean—and adjacent schools of thought—as a source of promising countermeasures. 

Lean can help people face problems both large (reviving healthy enterprise in this economy) and small (clarifying tangible ways to create workplaces that respect their workers). Thinkers such as Dan Heath discussed the power of solving problems completely--but more importantly, preventing them from happening in the first place. Author/coach Karen Gaudet explained how a disciplined system of standard work can create a workplace that is resilient enough to respond to unimaginable tragedy. 

And while tackling external problems is vital, many individuals also noted the need for lean to squarely face its own challenges. Jim Womack addressed the perennial misunderstandings attributed to lean when things fall apart. Mark Deluzio led a conversation with Art Byrne and Jim Womack about the struggle to spark meaningful lean adoption. And Dan Jones proposed powerful ways of rethinking lean for the future.  

These talks provide a wealth of insights for you to apply as practical tips—and ways to think deeper about your lean journey. 

In the latest edition of the Design Brief, we sit down with Jay Hill, the Vice President of Advanced Technology at GE Healthcare, to discuss the company's approach to product development in the complex healthcare technology space.  

Jay offers insights into:  

• GE Healthcare's deep engagement with clinicians at all stages of product development, from needs identification to prototype evaluation.  

• The "lead program integrator" role and its importance in managing the integration of complex, multi-disciplinary healthcare systems.  

• GE Healthcare's structured approach to monitoring technology trends and matching them with clinical problems to inform their product roadmap.  

• Exciting applications of AI in healthcare, from automating workflows to supporting clinicians in making better diagnostic and treatment decisions.  

• Advice for medical students and early-career clinicians on embracing the evolving relationship between their practice and advancing technologies. 

In 2021 Toyota Motor became the first manufacturer from outside the United States to sell the most cars in the USA. While this news hook may very well prove to be transient, it raises key issues about what has accounted for the company’s success. What aspects of Toyota’s vaunted production system, which is foundational for lean, have supported its success? How does Toyota’s approach contrast with a company such as Tesla? How can companies productively balance the need to develop products that dazzle consumers with the need to simultaneously develop the brilliant processes that produce these coveted items?  

Join LEI founder Jim Womack and LEI President Josh Howell in a conversation hosted by Tom Ehrenfeld about lean’s enduring value in today’s time of discontinuity.

Josh Howell shares his decade-end reflections, focusing on why he left Starbucks in 2013. His reasons may surprise you. He also interrogates the question, “If a company discontinues a formal lean initiative, or lean program, or lean team, does that mean its lean implementation has failed?” 

“It seemed nothing short of a miracle could save Ford Motor Company in the mid 2000s.  Ford didn’t receive a miracle, but it did get something just as valuable:  Alan Mulally.”  (Daniel Miller, The Motley Fool, May 2015)

In this podcast, Alan shares:

• His view on the CEO’s role in a successful transformation.
• What “people first” leadership means to him and how his basic values and love for people guide his decision making.
• What he learned about innovation and customer focus from his lawn mowing business.
• How his early experiences with lean and Toyota shaped his views on leadership and the importance of an effective management system.
• How he has continuously improved and evolved his Working Together Management System for over 40 years, starting with aircraft development, then transformations of global organizations, and finally how it influences his work today with Google, Mayo Clinic, and Carbon 3D.

To learn more go to lean.org

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, Jim Womack and John Krafcik share the origin story of the term "lean." Jim led the MIT global benchmarking study of the automotive industry, which led to the seminal book The Machine That Changed the World, and John was one of the principal researchers. Jim went on to co-author a similarly influential book, Lean Thinking, and founded the Lean Enterprise Institute. John Krafcik became an executive in the auto industry, serving as CEO of Hyundai America and Waymo. The discussion closes by turning from the past to the future with updates on Waymo's autonomous driving technology.

This conversation took place at LEI's Lean Summit in March 2024.

Special note: Are you keen to explore how technology such as autonomy will reshape the future workplace? Join us at "The Future of People at Work Symposium" July 18-19 in Detriot, MI, to learn about these challenges from business luminaries like Jim Womack and Jeff Liker and collaborate with peers to address them. Click here to learn more and register.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we speak with Dennis Wade from Oakland University and Lisa Eshbach, PhD from Ferris State University. They share their universities' programs that provide hands-on lean learning experiences for students through collaboration with industry partners. 

In our discussion, we explore: 

• The backgrounds and roles of Dennis Wade and Lisa Eshbach in academia and their work connecting students to real-world lean projects. 
• The models used at Ferris State University and Oakland University for experiential learning projects, including course-based projects and paid internships. 
• The impact of these programs on students' development of lean skills and tools, as well as skills like collaboration and problem-solving. 
• Examples of projects undertaken by students, such as a kanban system for an eye clinic supply room and creating a food pickup process for a university food pantry. 

Dennis and Lisa will lead a learning session on connecting industry to academia at the Lean Summit on March 19-20 in Carlsbad, CA.

To contribute to the James P. Womack Scholarship, which funds student internships at Oakland University, email us at info@lean.org. Click here to read case studies from past student projects funded by the scholarship.

How can one create a safe workplace where all employees are encouraged and expected to take ownership of their work? How can one build simple mechanisms to enable individuals to ask healthy questions and challenge each other? Harvard Business School Professor Amy C. Edmondson discusses these questions and more with LEI's Tom Ehrenfeld in a conversation triggered by her recent book The Fearless Organization. 

Additional Resources:

• The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson
• How Teaming Produces Execution-as-Learning By Amy C. Edmondson

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we speak with Ben Armstrong, Executive Director of MIT's Industrial Performance Center, and Jim Morgan, Senior Advisor at the Lean Enterprise Institute. They share perspectives from Ben's extensive research on the history and future of US manufacturing and Jim's first-hand knowledge of developing new products and production processes. 

In our discussion, we explore:

• The rise and decline of America's manufacturing expertise and how the decoupling of design and production has impacted innovation.
• Challenges currently facing small and medium manufacturers, and what investments they should consider.
• The role of industrial policy and government support in spurring new growth in US manufacturing.
• Emerging technologies like AI and how they could transform manufacturing operations going forward.

This podcast was delivered to subscribers of The Design Brief, LEI’s newsletter devoted to improving organizations’ innovation capability. It is the second of four in a series on process development entitled “Making Things Well.” 

Subscribe to the Design Brief newsletter by clicking here.

Lean practice has always coexisted with technology that enables the human operators to do their job better—in the service of delivering more value with less waste to the customer. But do today’s digitized, information-saturated, workplaces provide so much assistance that the machines actually get in the way? In his new book, Augmented Lean, co-author Natan Linder talks with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld about how Tulip, the company he co-founded to provide a “human-centric framework for managing frontline operations,” seeks to delegate technology and improvement to the operators doing the key lean work.

“We should shift more of our energies upstream personally, organizationally, nationally, and globally. We can and we should stop dealing with the symptoms of problems again and again, and start fixing them." So writes author Dan Heath in his terrific new book Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, which has just been published. 

This conversation between LEI editor Tom Ehrenfeld and Dan explores the practical applications of the upstream mindset, and; given the timing, explores how upstream thinking is all the more relevant in our current pandemic. Please listen in, and stay tuned until the final minutes of this podcast: Dan makes a special offer to all you listeners!

In this episode of WLEI Podcast, we welcome Amy Smith, Founding Director of MIT’s D-Lab, an innovative university-based program in international development and a senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI's guests are Mary Nell Egan and Lisa Karam from MassMutual, a leading insurance company. Egan and Karam delve into the intricacies of transformation in a traditionally cautious, large organization.

In our discussion, we explore several key themes:

• MassMutual’s evolution from a tool-centric to a customer-value approach in their lean journey.
• The methods Egan and Karam used to engage previously disengaged leaders with lean, linking continuous improvement to corporate strategy.
• The critical role of meeting people where they are in mitigating resistance to change.
• The significance of resilience in lean transformation.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Steve Spear, a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, and associated faculty member at Adriane Labs of the Harvard School of Public Health. Spear is also author of The High-Velocity Edge and Wiring the Winning Organization and principal of SeeToSolve.

The conversation explores: 

• Stellar examples of product development innovation (and the learning cultures that made these achievements possible)
• What Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, DevOps, and more schools of systems thinking and management all have in common
• What business and product leaders across hardware and software can learn from each other
• Key ideas and core principles you should take away from his latest book 
• What kind of leadership Steve believes is needed now and what good leadership looks like in practice, given all of the organizational challenges companies face today

Organizing a restaurant kitchen is a daunting task to think about. Find and establish the problems at hand, implement an improved process to adhere to those problems. It all lends itself towards increased profitability, more respect for the workers with emphasis on value-creating work, increased tact-time; but its also much easier said than done.

A flagship restaurant worked with LEI coaches and learned to increase their profitability through the lens of storytelling, where each piece is an innate - and respected - part of the whole.

Listen in to hear how this all came together, and also check out the case study complementing this podcast. 

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with prolific author and business leader Art Byrne. 

During the discussion, Art shares his decades-long journey leading lean transformation, from running kaizen events with the first wave of ex-Toyota consultants in the US to leading manufacturer Wiremold to record profitability.

For a decade, Art wrote 100 "Ask Art" columns, answering the lean community's most pressing questions. He has compiled the best of those into a new book, The Lean Turnaround Answer Book: 40 Years of Lean Observation. 

Our conversation covered: 

• The transformative impact of implementing the Toyota Production System to improve efficiency, quality, and customer service.
• The critical role of leadership and involving top executives in driving successful lean transformations through setting stretch goals and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• The challenges of traditional accounting methods in a lean environment and the need to transition to lean accounting practices.
• The strategic advantages of reducing setup times and lead times in manufacturing, allowing companies to gain a competitive advantage.
• Practical insights from the author's experience writing a book to provide answers to common questions about implementing lean principles across various industries.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we're joined by Dr. Carlos Frederico Pinto (aka Dr. Fred), a medical oncologist with over 30 years of experience leading transformative changes in cancer care. Dr. Pinto shares insights on using lean thinking to dramatically improve patient outcomes and access to care.

Some highlights from the conversation include:

• How redesigning patient pathways allowed breast cancer patients to receive all necessary tests and treatments in a single visit. 
• Dr. Fred's current work with public healthcare institutions in Brazil reducing wait times for prostate cancer patients from over 1,000 days to less than two weeks.
• The importance of daily management and developing leaders with the right behaviors and values to drive lasting change.
• Dr. Fred's upcoming book, "The Systems Architect Manifesto," which shares his insights on organizational transformation.

Join my conversation with Art Smalley as he walks us through two models for situational leadership and coaching. Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson’s examination of leadership (and coaching) styles relative to learner (and performer’s) behavior, from the book Management of Organizational Behavior, and The Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition.

Art adds context and color by weaving in stories from parenthood, his years of experience at Toyota, and relates the content to his work with Four Types of Problems. Together, we explore the thresholds of performers at all levels as a way to help assess and engage the right coaching approach for the situation.

Please join our conversation by emailing your thoughts and questions to pod@lean.org

Related Articles/ content:

• Four Types of Problems (book)
• Four Types of Problems (webinar)
• Management of Organizational Behavior (book)
• Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition (Wikipedia)
• Art’s website

Meet two influential voices in my own coaching practice: Paul Serafino who first engaged me in a coaching way in the business environment, opening my eyes and heart to growth and development. And Jason Berkman, a leader who I was fortunate enough to coach and learn with in LEI’s co-learning program.  In two candid conversations, we explore the differences between coaching, managing, leading and training, the importance of trust and motivations, and how a coaching relationship emerges.

We further explore the value of failure, the role of emotions, pushing through our thresholds and making the decision to transform, because “the challenge you’ve been asking for your whole life is finally here.” Please join our conversation by emailing your thoughts and questions to pod@lean.org

Related Articles:

• 5 Ways My Thinking Changed With the Help of a Lean Coach
• A bold lean experiment in one of our kitchens

Electrification has given rise to new American automotive ventures such as Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid Motors. Aside from the powertrain, these companies are innovating the driving experience through breakthrough performance and by deeply integrating software into vehicle architecture.  

These disruptions demonstrate exciting possibilities but raise a challenge: how can companies innovate while upholding customer expectations of quality? 

In an episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI sat down with industry veteran and Lucid Motors’ Vice President of Quality Jeri Ford to explore that question. Jeri has over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, having held leadership roles at Ford and Rivian before joining Lucid. 

The conversation explores: 

• How product development impacts quality downstream in manufacturing and supply chain. 
• The importance of collaboration between functions to achieve quality objectives. 
• Balancing speed and quality in bringing new vehicles to market. 
• Adapting processes for the integration of software and hardware in modern vehicles. 
• Building alignment and a culture of quality in a startup environment. 

Listen to gain these insights and learn about the challenges facing the automotive industry in an era of technological change.

Be among the first to get the latest insights from LEI’s Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) thought leaders and practitioners. This article was delivered to subscribers of The Design Brief, LEI’s newsletter devoted to improving organizations’ innovation capability. It is the fourth of five in a series on quality entitled “Whatever Happened to Quality First? Rethinking Product Development the Wake of Recalls and Catastrophic Failures.” Click to read the first, second, and third articles.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we sit down with Jose Ferro, the founder of the Lean Institute Brasil and co-author of LEI's new book Daily Management to Execute Strategy: Solving problems and developing people every day. José shares his insights on how companies can effectively connect their high-level strategy to frontline operations and the importance of developing a problem-solving culture. 

Some key takeaways from the conversation include:

• Daily management is a structured process to align an organization's strategy with its day-to-day work.

• Solving problems at the operational level is fundamental to an effective daily management system and developing people.

• Leader behavior can enable effective problem-solving and destroy effective problem-solving.

• A clearly defined help chain connects frontline daily management to managerial-level daily management and provides systematic support to frontline operations.

• The approach to implementing daily management should be tailored to each organization's specific needs and context.

Order your copy of Daily Management to Execute Strategy: https://www.lean.org/store/book/daily-management-to-execute-strategy-solving-problems-and-developing-people-every-day/

Discounts up to 20% off are available for large orders.

"What will the world look like when Covid-19 recedes, and what role will Lean play? According to Lean Pioneer Dan Jones, Lean can play a key role in shaping the emerging economy in numerous ways—not simply boosting performance of legacy assets of mass production, but also helping to scale up new technologies much faster through several generations with user feedback. “Most significantly, it can mobilize the creative contribution of everyone, including users, to develop very different and sustainable systems for the future.”

Tune in to this conversation between Dan and WLEI Podcast Host Tom Ehrenfeld for an engaging conversation into the potential role of Lean as we move into and beyond this current age.

Download a transcript of the interview here. And check out this Lean Post adapted from Dan’s talk."

In this special edition series, Designing the Future. Jim Morgan talks with Dave Pericak, the Chief Engineer of the 2015 Ford Mustang. 

Pericak was featured in A Faster Horse, a documentary exploring the ins and outs of designing world's most popular sports car. 

Morgan is the author of the new book, Designing the Future and has spent over 30 years in industry as a product development leader including serving as a global engineering director at Ford Motor Company during the product-led revitalization under CEO Alan Mulally.

In his new book Dying for A Paycheck, Stanford University Graduate School of Business Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that there is an overwhelmingly compelling case to be made that the workplace profoundly affects human health and wellbeing, and that these psychosocial stressors have gotten worse in recent years. His book vividly details how the costs are enormous to both individuals and to companies and to society. He believes that If we're going to address this, we need to see the problem and its enormous scope. In this podcast Pfeffer shares thoughts with LEI editor Tom Ehrenfeld on potential countermeasures to this problem. 

Some key points:

 Good work starts with good job design. “The companies that are really going to solve the problem of unsafe work, just as they've done for physical safety, have to begin by thinking about every aspect of the job and job design. And that's where I think there is a great deal of compatibility between the principles of Lean and what I'm talking about. This begins with basically redesigning the work, and eliminating the stuff that is harmful, unnecessary, and stressful.”

Lean principles can help transform the design of work for more humane practice. “We have to be willing to redesign the psychosocial aspects of work if we're going to make it psychologically healthier and less stressful,” says Pfeffer. “Just as we've redesigned the physical equipment to make work environments safer, we have to be willing to redesign the psychosocial aspects of work if we're going to make it psychologically healthier and less stressful.

Tackling this problem requires acknowledging toxic work as a challenge to address. “I think we need to make human life and human wellbeing at least as important as economic outcomes. What does it profit us to have a fabulously high GDP if life expectancy is diminishing? What does it profit us as a society to have high stock market with a suicide rate that's up 70% in the last eight or nine years with widespread depression? We need a much broader definition of what success looks like.”

Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg makes a bold promise in his new book, What’s Your Problem? (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020). He seeks to upgrade people’s ability to solve problems by understanding how to solve the right problems. Learning to reframe problems can help people to stop chasing the wrong solutions, better understand what they are grappling with, and, in some cases find radically better solutions. Join us in listening to his insights on ways that everyone can boost their ability to solve the right problems.

Click here to download a full transcript of the conversation.

What is the best way to tackle complex problems? Getting better at this perennial challenge certainly fuels the beating heart of lean practice. It is the key theme in author Paolo Savaget's new book, The Four Workarounds: Strategies from the World’s Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems. He discusses his findings with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld.

Today's podcast features a conversation about closing learning gaps between LEI's CEO Eric Beuhrens and Steve Spear. Steve is author of a few works key to understanding lean.  There’s “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Producing System” and “Learning to Lead at Toyota,” both in Harvard Business Review and his book The High Velocity Edge. 

As you’ll hear, Steve’s work really focuses on how Toyota as one of a few real exceptional organizations competes on the basis of a management system that optimizes on the speed, quality, and breadth of problem solving talent.  He coaches these capabilities into organizations ranging from hospitals, industrial companies to the US Navy through his company HVE LLC, and teaches about them at MIT where he’s a senior lecturer.

In this conversation chapters from his book The High Velocity Edge were mentioned. To read a pdf of those chapters go to: https://www.lean.org/downloads/The-High-Velocity-Edge-Chpt-1-4and5.pdf 

A few weeks ago Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announced that they are forming their own company to combat the costs and issues with healthcare in the US. 

Eric Buehrens sat down with LEI's Communications Director, Chet Marchwinski to discuss this new organization, and talk about some of the challenges they may face and offering some advice.

Tracey and Ernie Richardson, authors of the Toyota Engagement Equation join John Shook on the main stage at the Lean Transformation Summit in Nashville.

Jim Womack interviews Matt Savas about a recent trip to Toyota Motor Kyushu, Japan.

Matt and Jim share their observations on how Toyota has countermeasured their aging workforce by being clever and not replacing resect with robots.

In the latest episode of the WLEI podcast, we explore the topic of organizational change with Dr. Lynn Kelley, former vice president of supply chain and continuous improvement at Union Pacific Railroad and author of the new book Change Questions.

Kelley posits that there is no such thing as a fixed plan for a successful transformation. Leaders must approach change situationally, recognizing they face unique challenges no single method could address. In her book, she proposes a series of questions that methodically guide management to implement change and measure its impact:

1. What is your value-driven purpose?
2. What is the work to be done to achieve the purpose or to solve the problem?
3. How will you engage and develop employees?
4. How will you establish a supportive management system with the appropriate leader behaviors?
5. What are your organization's beliefs, values, norms, attitudes and assumptions?

By grappling with these questions, leaders will be able to design and implement a lasting transformation that leads to better business outcomes and engaged employees.

To learn more about the book and download a free digital workbook, check out www.changequestions.net

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we speak with Karen Khachikyan, CEO of Expper Technologies, and Mineh Badmagharian, the clinical and product development leader. They shared the remarkable story behind Robin, a robot designed to provide emotional support and comfort to pediatric and geriatric patients in hospitals and care facilities.  

What stood out most was the team's relentless focus on truly understanding their end users - the children, seniors, and medical staff who interact with Robin. Insights from the discussion include: 

• The importance of understanding your customer. The team spent years carefully observing how children reacted to different iterations of Robin, refining details like the robot's age and favorite animal to create a personality kids would love. 

• Integrating the technical and clinical needs. The two teams weren’t always aligned, but they found creative solutions by keeping the user experience as the north star.  

• Understanding the human element of robotics. - Perhaps most inspiring was the team's deep personal connection to Robin, treating it as a beloved member of the family, a sentiment shared by nurses and patients with access to a Robin. 

Before listening, check out videos of Robin in action.

• https://youtu.be/FwZuUkjoj4M
• https://youtube.com/shorts/fkBHxs2aUA4?si=mK2eKW_5lL8vyBw1 

While Lean can trace its direct roots to the production system launched by Toyota more than 50 years ago, its timeless appeal translates into immediate practical countermeasures in a surprising number of situations. What A Unicorn Knows, a terrific new book by authors Matt May and Pablo Dominguez, proves this by presenting a comprehensive application of lean principles that couldn’t be more timely. Join us for their conversation with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld for a wide-ranging exploration of the deep relevance of lean for growing companies today.

If you do not yet know the company Rivian you will undoubtedly know it very soon. In 2019 Rivian made waves in the auto industry by announcing two “electric adventure vehicles”, the R1T – an electric pickup truck - and the R1S - an electric SUV. Both vehicles are expected to launch in the United States later this year and globally in 2021. Rivian is also developing a fleet of electric delivery vans to fulfill a 100,000-unit order placed by Amazon. In the last twelve months the electric vehicle company has raised 3 billion dollars. Listen in to hear how R.J. and Jim are bringing this vision to life. Reference links:

• Podcast teaser video
• Rivian.com
• Episode One: The Climb | Adventurous Forever | Rivian
• Elon Musk’s New Nemesis: Rivian Founder R.J. Scaringe Has a $3 Billion War Chest And Tesla In His Headlights

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with software industry veteran Robert Martin. Robert is one of the original signers of the Agile Manifesto and the author of several influential books, including Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship. 

During the conversation, Robert shared insightful perspectives on some of the biggest challenges facing software development today. From the demographic problem of perpetual inexperience to his pioneering approach to development dubbed "software craftsmanship" that aims to promote quality work, Robert covered a wide range of issues impacting the industry. Some other topics discussed include:

• Balancing speed and quality in development and emphasizing a quality-first mindset.
• The benefits of test-driven development, such as providing freedom to change code safely.
• AI's potential impacts and appropriate uses of AI-generated code.

Be among the first to get the latest insights from LEI's Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) thought leaders and practitioners. This podcast was delivered to subscribers of The Design Brief, LEI's newsletter devoted to improving organizations' innovation capability. It is the second of four in a series focused on craftsmanship or pursuing perfection in products and people. Craftsmanship embodies simple elegance, precise execution, and a deep, personal connection to work that transforms both the creation and the creator.

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, Matt Savas sits down with LEI President Josh Howell and Richard Vellante, Executive Director of Community and Training Events at LEI. They discuss the labor shortage and recent supply chain issues with the perspectives and intuition, as well as addressing recent blames towards lean within the supply chain industry. 

Leadership is at the center of these topics, with Rich's experience as an Executive Chef lending some hands on nuance to the conversation. Leaders should be hard on the process, not the people getting accustomed to that process. 

NFT's are also discussed, as their ever developing trajectory in the media landscape surely can borrow a thing or two from the way that lean thinkers lead and act. 

D-Lab at MIT is using LPPD thinking to help solve problems in the developing world, and are truly making the world a better place for all those involved.

Today Kendra Leith, Associate Director for Research, at D-Lab joined LEI’s Communication’s director to share more about how D-Lab works and some of the great projects they are working on.

To learn more about D-Lab at MIT and the great projects they are working on visit d-lab.mit.edu.

To hear from Kendra Leith in person join us this June 19-20 at the Designing the Future Summit in Traverse City, Michigan. There you’ll not only hear Kendra but you’ll also hear from the chief engineers of the 2015 Ford Mustang, 2019 Toyota Avalon, as well as how lean product and process development applies Software development, energy creation, healthcare and more.

To learn more about this event go to lean.org/designfuture2018

Two things to think about. Challenges and Culture.

Challenges shape who we are. I think we can all look at who we are and remember a few key challenges we’ve faced and how they have changed us and the way we view things. It certainly helps shape us as leaders.

Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, CEO of the Lynn Community Health Clinic.

Born in the Congo, raised in Switzerland, educated in the US, Kiame faced remarkable challenges, was immersed in multiple cultures, and has come out of all as a remarkable, yet humble leader that is focused on building consensus instead of being a top down iron fisted CEO.

Dr. Mahaniah was kind enough to sit down with LEI’s Chairman, John Shook to talk about growing up in different cultures, from the Congonese to the Quakers, and how he became a CEO in an organization trying to become lean, and helped keep that movement going. Which is something that typically ends lean’s progress in an organization.

Many lean thinkers find the traditional accounting reporting completely out of alignment with the new lean management system. Part of PDCA is checking outcomes to help identify next steps, but if the financial language of business is not reliable to provide good information for evaluation and decision making, sustainment of good experiments is at risk. Is there a better way? Yes, according to the five panelists on this week’s podcast.

Additional Articles:

• How lean accounting promotes lean in the organization
• Profit and Cost At Toyota
• Cost Saving is Tired--Value Creation is Hot!
• Real Number book
• The Value Add Accountant book

Lean thought leaders Jim Womack and John Shook discuss Tesla. 

Author and and LEI faculty member Mike Orzen discuss connecting with people through leading with respect with John Shook. 

The conversation primarily focuses on what mindfulness is and how it fits in with lean thinking and practice. Mike also gives some great tips on staying focused when you catch yourself getting distracted.

Dr. Lynn Kelley was hired by Union Pacific to lead the introduction of the “UP Way” company-wide. The UP Way at that time consisted of a select few lean practices that the company had decided were foundational for their operations. In this conversation, Dr. Kelley shares how her Ph.D in Research and Evaluations informed the unique approach taken for the implementation of the UP Way.

The "Playbook" of Sustaining Change on the Lean Post

CI Sustainment: A Hiding Place for Complexity on the Lean Post

In a conversation across the Atlantic LEI’s president, Josh Howell, talks to the Lean Enterprise Academy’s CEO, Dave Brunt, about the strategic value of executives doing the value-creating work of their organization. Dave shares what happened when a team member left LEA and he became responsible for picking, packing, and shipping to customers books about lean thinking.

Additional Resources:

• Lean Solutions book
• Creating Lean Dealers workbook
• Learning to See workbook

Dr. Lisa Yerian of the Cleveland Clinic sits down with Josh Howell, LEI President & Executive Team Leader, to talk about the spread of lean thinking at her organization. Among other things, they explore the sequence of learning between defining purpose, discovering problem-solving at the gemba, and developing lean leadership capabilities.

Additional Articles:

• Cleveland Clinic’s Prescription for Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement By: Lisa Yerian
• How Are You Supporting Your Own Lean Transformation? By: Lisa Yerian
• Stop Asking Your Leaders to "Support" Your Lean Transformation By: Lisa Yerian
• Tiered Teams Solve Problems In Real Time: How a team of teams can address problems as they emerge

Can the restaurant industry change they way they've worked for decades? Legal Sea Foods has been on their lean journey for a few years and lean has influenced everything from the second that fish is caught right up until their guest has left the restaurant. 

Legal Sea Foods' Executive Chef, Richard Vellante sat down with LEI's Senior Coach, Josh Howell to talk about some of the changes and experiments that have taken place at several of Legal Sea Food's locations.

Author Art Smalley joins Chet Marchwinski to discuss problem solving and his new book Four Types of Problems from reactive trouble shooting to creative innovation.

"If it cannot be grown, then it must be mined." 

Practically everything around you exists because of mining. From phones, to computers, to cars, to glasses, to your belt buckle, they all are made from mined resources. 

Laura Mottola has taken lean thinking underground, literally. Learn what lean in mining looks like, what it takes to engage those doing the work, and what is next for this ever evolving industry.

Former Starbucks Executive and Senior Coach at LEI Scott Heydon, joined author and LEI Chairman John Shook for a last minute learning session at the Lean Coaching Summit. 

The response was so positive we've adapted it to be a podcast.

Live from the 2018 Lean Transformation Summit in Nashville, Jim Womack interviews Ben Hartman, author of the Lean Farm, Joel Daly General Manager Veada Industries, and Aluminum Trailer CEO/Owner Steve Brenneman.

You’ll hear how lean thinking was shared from one person to another in very different industries, and the amazing changes that took place.

How do we create more Lean Thinkers? That is the problem we address in today’s podcast with Matt Lovejoy, Chairman of Lovejoy Industries and LEI board member. Matt - along with former LEI executive, John O’Donnell – is spearheading a new initiative: the James P Womack Scholarship and Philanthropy Fund.

The fund provides scholarships to students to fund hands-on problem-solving experience at charity organizations under the guidance of an LEI coach. The fund’s first partnership is with Oakland University in Michigan. Two of its star students, Monisha Vasudeva and Sagar Bajaj,  are learning and doing kaizen at Humble Design, a charity that ‘furnishes homes for families transitioning from homelessness.’

The problem they’re helping Humble Design solve is capacity. Currently, Humble Design is able to furnish homes for 3 families every week, but there is demand for 30. That’s a gap of 27 families they can help transition from homelessness every week. There are few more important problems worth solving! 

You can read about the progress the students have already made in a recently published article.

You can learn more about the James P Womack Scholarship and Philanthropy Fund at JPWFund.org, including how to donate and partner.

For more, check out our website.

Rich Calvaruso of GE Appliances, a Haier Company, sits down with Matt Savas to talk about problem-solving. How does GE Appliances develop people through problem-solving? And how has the company's emphasis on hands-on problem-solving impacted its culture.

For more, check out our website.

Dr. Carlos Frederico Pinto (aka ‘Dr. Fred’) is a medical oncologist and CEO of Instituto de Oncologia do Vale (IOV), one of Brazil’s top oncology clinics. There are few problems more important than the one Dr. Fred and IOV are trying to solve: reducing the cancer burden.

In the podcast, Dr. Fred explains how he’s led IOV through lean transformation in service to solving this problem. He details three distinct stages of transformation: 1) improving patient care flow and quality; 2) building a management system to enable growth; 3) developing leaders in preparation for succession.

Dr. Fred also shares how oncology built in him a resilience to failure, and in turn, how that resilience has served him in leading transformation.

Read more about Dr. Fred and IOV, head over to Planet Lean for case studies and interviews.

Dr. Fred will speak at the Lean Summit in Carlsbad, California next April 6-7. To learn more and register, click here.

20 years ago the book Learning to See was published, bringing with it the concept of Value Stream Mapping. Now 20 years later the book is still a best seller and Value Stream Mapping is the cornerstone of lean thinking. Jim Womack, the publisher of the book sits down with John Shook one of the book's authors to talk about what it took to make such a pioneering publication.

John and Jim also discuss the book Managing to Learn which explored A3 creation and coaching.