https://leanblog.org/50 To celebrate the 50th LeanBlog Podcast, the tables are turned. Guest host Jamie Flinchbaugh chats with me, Mark Graban, about the history of my blog , my podcasts , and how this led into my new book, Lean Hospitals . This was Jamie's idea (thanks). I normally try not to be the center of attention on the podcasts, letting my guests do most of the talking (so I can learn), so I'm a bit uncomfortable talking about myself… but here it is. Topics include why I started the blog...
Aug 06, 2008•28 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Episode #49 is another conversation with Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth, who you might remember from Episode #26 last year and Episode #45, which was the first part of this conversation. In this episode, we talk about "Visual Displays," a topic from her Shingo Prize-winning book Visual Workplace, Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence Through the Technologies of the Visual Workplace. Gwendolyn established Quality Methods International (QMI) in 1991 as a consulting, training and research firm, ...
Jul 27, 2008•22 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Episode Page A returning guest (episodes #30 and #38 ), Bob Emiliani is again featured in episode #48 of the LeanBlog Podcast. He has, since 1995, focused his efforts on what he describes as de-mystifying the “black art” of Lean leadership. In this episode, we talk about his “ Real Lean ” series of books. A returning guest (episodes #30 and #38 ), Bob Emiliani is again featured in episode #48 of the LeanBlog Podcast. He has, since 1995, focused his efforts on what he describes as de-mystifying t...
Jul 21, 2008•19 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/47 Remastered audio June 2021 Norman Bodek is once again back for episode #47 of the LeanBlog Podcast, talking about his most recent trip to Japan (his 68th trip!). He poses the question, "What can we do to leapfrog Toyota?" Norman asks important questions about how we can help people, in any role, enjoy their work, rather than dreading Mondays. Why does Norman think the Canon photocopier plant he just toured is the best he's ever seen? Why does Norman disagr...
Jun 23, 2008•31 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Episode #46 is a chat with a good friend of the Lean Blog, Dean Bliss, a Lean Improvement Specialist with the Iowa Health System. Like myself, Dean made a transition in from manufacturing into health care a few years back, he'll share some of his experiences and recommendations for how to use Lean in a hospital and how to make that transition. He will also share some stories about how his hospital prioritized what problems to solve with the Lean methodology. If you have feedback on the podcast, ...
Jun 12, 2008•22 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Episode #45 is another conversation with Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth , who you might remember from Episode #26 last year. In this episode, we talk about “Visual Displays,” a topic from her Shingo Award-winning book Visual Workplace, Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence Through the Technologies of the Visual Workplace . Gwendolyn established Quality Methods International (QMI) in 1991 as a consulting, training and research firm, specializing in the Visual Workplace....
Jun 03, 2008•23 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Episode #44 of the LeanBlog Podcast is a conversation with Ralph Keller, the President of AME, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence. Today, we're discussing AME and their upcoming regional conference in San Diego, to be held June 9 to 11, 2008. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email o...
May 21, 2008•19 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Episode #43 of LeanBlog Podcast is a very special one. My guest is Mike Mickleright, writer, consultant, and performer -- most interesting to me is his impersonation of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. As I wrote about before, I've seen his DVD and Mike agreed to create this podcast with me. We start off talking with Mike about his background with Dr. Deming and how he created the impersonation. Then, we shift into me interviewing Mike as Dr. Deming, asking him some questions on modern quality approaches ...
May 18, 2008•25 min•Season 1Ep. 43
This is LeanBlog Podcast episode #42 with Dr. C. Martin Hinckley, of the firm Assured Quality. Re-mastered audio, January 2024 He is the author of the book "Make No Mistake!: An Outcome-Based Approach to Mistake-Proofing," available through Productivity Press. We'll talk about his book and approaches for teaching people how to develop mistake proofing in processes. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call...
May 07, 2008•24 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Episode page Here is LeanBlog Podcast #41 with Dr. Jeffrey Liker , Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. Dr. Liker is most recently the co-author (with Michael Hoseus ) of Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way and many other books, which can be found here on Amazon.com . This is part 3 of our recent series. Today, we talk about the development of managers within a Lean organization. For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page , whi...
Apr 27, 2008•13 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Episode page: leanblog.org/40 Here is LeanBlog Podcast #40, an interview with a retired UAW/GM employee who wishes to remain anonymous, at this point. We have traded many emails over the past year, about Lean, and I'm impressed with this individual's true passion for Lean and Toyota Production System concepts. We both agree that the “root cause” of many Lean struggles comes back to management's inability to create trust and to give up some control to the employees who actually do the work. The i...
Apr 12, 2008•21 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Episode page Here is LeanBlog Podcast #39, once again featuring Dr. Jeffrey Liker , Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. Dr. Liker is most recently the co-author (with Michael Hoseus) of Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way and many other books, which can be found here on amazon.com . This is part 2 of what will be a 3-part podcast series, so be sure to check back. Today, we talk about some of the challenges that organizations face in ...
Mar 31, 2008•17 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Episode page Here is LeanBlog Podcast #38, our guest today is Bob Emiliani , the author of Practical Lean Leadership: A Strategic Leadership Guide For Executives . It's a workbook-style guide that forces you to think through your own leadership approach and your own situation. In this podcast, we talk about “lean leadership,” “value added behaviors,” and some pitfalls to avoid in lean implementations. LeanBlog Podcast #38 Key Points & Key Words How Bob first got involved with Lean and, espec...
Mar 09, 2008•23 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Episode page Here is LeanBlog Podcast #37, once again featuring Dr. Jeffrey Liker , Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. Dr. Liker is most recently the co-author (with Michael Hoseus) of Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way and many other books, which can be found here on amazon.com . This is part 1 of what will be a 3-part podcast series. Listen to part 2 and part 3 . For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page , which includes ...
Mar 03, 2008•18 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Episode page: https://leanblog.org/36 LeanBlog Podcast #36 once again features our friend and frequent guest, Norman Bodek , noted lean author, consultant, and President of PCS Press. In this episode, Norman talks about his most recent publication, a text by the legendary Shigeo Shingo , called Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking – The Scientific Thinking Mechanism , as well as future publications he is working on. This was recorded back in 2007, before the book was published (it has now bee...
Feb 08, 2008•22 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Episode Page LeanBlog Podcast #35 is another discussion with David Meier, co-author of the book Toyota Talent , written with Dr. Jeffrey Liker. In this podcast, we follow up our previous discussion ( Podcast #31 ) to talk about the upcoming Toyota books, as well as some of the leadership challenges that companies face with working with Lean. If you enjoy this podcast, I hope you'll check out the rest of the series by visiting the LeanBlog podcast main page at http://www.leanpodcast.org/ . Keywor...
Jan 28, 2008•26 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Episode page LeanBlog Podcast #34 is a discussion with Chris Harris, from Harris Lean Systems , and co-author of the book Developing a Lean Workforce: A Guide for Human Resources, Plant Managers and Lean Coordinators . If you enjoy this podcast, I hope you'll check out the rest of the series by visiting the LeanBlog podcast main page . Now that my book manuscript is done, I'm going to get back into regular podcasting, with episodes in the coming weeks featuring Norman Bodek, David Meier, and Jef...
Jan 23, 2008•25 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Episode Page Here is LeanBlog Podcast #33, a new interview with Jim Huntzinger , the President of the Lean Accounting Summit . In this Podcast, Jim gives us an update on the recent Summit and talks about some of the latest trends in Lean Accounting.
Nov 18, 2007•26 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/32 Remastered audio June 2021 LeanBlog Podcast #32 once again features our friend and frequent guest, Norman Bodek , noted lean author, consultant, and President of PCS Press. In this episode, Norman talks about his recent study trip to Japan and what he saw there. If you enjoy this podcast, I hope you'll check out the rest of the series by visiting the LeanBlog podcast main page . Keywords and Main Points, Episode #32 Trip to Japan The use of videotape to an...
Nov 09, 2007•25 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/31 Remastered July 2021 LeanBlog Podcast #31 is a discussion with David Meier, most recently the co-author of the book Toyota Talent , written with Dr. Jeffrey Liker. In this podcast, we discuss the topics from Toyota Talent, including standardized work and how to use the methodology correctly. We also talk briefly about Toyota's new San Antonio plant. I love David's quote, “Standardization of work doesn't mean that everybody does it exactly the same way.” Th...
Sep 09, 2007•39 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/30 Remastered July 2021 LeanBlog Podcast #30 is an interview with Bob Emiliani , author of the books Better Thinking, Better Results and Real Lean: Understanding the Lean Management System (Volume One) (and Volume Two ). Bob had a long career at United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney and also has degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, as well as a PhD in engineering from Brown University. Better Thinking, Better Results , which is now o...
Aug 12, 2007•22 min•Season 1Ep. 30
* Remastered audio June 2021 Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/29 LeanBlog Podcast #29 features a very special guest, Dr. Sami Bahri, “The World's First Lean Dentist .” If you're thinking “what can I learn about lean from a Dentist?”, please listen in. I think you'll be amazed and will learn a ton. I've really enjoyed the two chances I've had to talk with Dr Bahri, including this podcast session and I've been very impressed with his approach to lean. He's gone back to all of the source texts,...
Aug 04, 2007•38 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/28 Remastered audio June 2021 LeanBlog Podcast #28 features our friend and frequent guest, Norman Bodek, noted lean author, consultant, and President of PCS Press. This also celebrates the 1 year anniversary of the Podcast, which featured Norman as our first guest. As I've given him credit for previously, the Podcast really was Norman's idea when he said I should do "radio interviews" with him. Thankfully, this has turned into a series of interviews with othe...
Jul 29, 2007•35 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/27 Remastered July 2021 LeanBlog Podcast #27 is the second part of two with Jim Baran, the Owner of Value Stream Leadership, a leading recruiting firm that specializes in Lean talent. In this part of the discussion, we focus more on Lean career paths for Lean leaders and practitioners, how to differentiate yourself and how to progress in your Lean career. Keywords and Main Points, Episode #27 Advice for lean job seekers When should you move on? How can a recr...
Jun 18, 2007•32 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/26 Remastered July 2021 Episode #26 of the LeanBlog Podcast brings us Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth , of the Visual Lean Institute . She is the author, most recently of the book Visual Workplace, Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence Through the Technologies of the Visual Workplace . Ironically enough, we will be using this audio-only format to discuss visual methods in the workplace and how that ties into Lean and the Toyota Production System. Her book h...
Jun 02, 2007•32 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/25 Remastered July 2021 For Episode #25, I'm pleased to have Dr. Mark Spearman, Founder and President/CEO of Factory Physics, Inc. (www.factoryphysics.com). You may know Dr. Spearman from his book, co-authored with Dr. Wally Hopp, Factory Physics. If there is ONE operations management textbook to own, this is it (it's well worth the cost). I was fortunate, as an Industrial Engineering undergrad at Northwestern, to take Dr. Spearman's operations course. The in...
May 22, 2007•28 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/24 Remastered July 2021 Episode #24 of the LeanBlog Podcast is the 2nd part of my recent conversation with Jim Womack, of the Lean Enterprise Institute. In this episode, we talk about the state of the auto industry, from the time of The Machine That Changed the World through today. Who does Jim think is in the best shape among the "Detroit Three?" Jim also answers some questions from Lean Blog readers. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for...
May 06, 2007•30 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/23 Remastered July 2021 pisode #23 of the LeanBlog Podcast features a panel of Lean leaders from the Group Health Cooperative , a consumer-governed, nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. Based in Seattle, Group Health and its subsidiary health carriers, Group Health Options, Inc. and KPS Health Plans, serve over 500,000 members in Washington and Idaho. GHC has been on a Lean journey, as documented on their “Daily Kaizen” blog. Joini...
Apr 28, 2007•34 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/22 Remastered July 2021 Episode #22 of the Podcast is a discussion with Allan Wilson , CEO of Factory Logic, a software company that was acquired by SAP late last year. Allan is now the VP of Lean Manufacturing Operations for SAP. We talk about the role of technology and software in a Lean implementation. In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for Factory Logic a few years back, including time under Allan's leadership, but I have no financial interest i...
Apr 12, 2007•30 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/21 Remastered June 2021 LeanBlog Podcast Episode #21 features our friend and frequent guest, Norman Bodek , noted lean author, consultant, and President of PCS Press. In this Podcast, we talk about how Lean should be good for a company's employees, that Lean and the Toyota Production System are really about building people and investing in them rather than laying people off. Norman's previous Podcast episodes can be found on the Podcast main page . Here is a ...
Mar 27, 2007•22 min•Season 1Ep. 21
