318 - Marcus Hammarberg, How Lean & Kanban Saved an Indonesian Hospital Joining me from Sweden for Episode 318 of the podcast is Marcus Hammarberg, author of the fascinating book Salvation: The Bungsu Story: How Lean and Kanban saved a small hospital in Indonesia. Twice. And can help you reshape work in your company. Marcus is a software developer, consultant, lean/agile coach, speaker, and author. He ended up with an opportunity to work with a hospital in Indonesia and he tells that compell...
Sep 17, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 318
My guest for Episode #317 of the podcast is Patricia Morrill , a speaker, trainer, consultant, researcher, and author of the book The Perils of Un-Coordinated Healthcare: A Strategic Approach toward Eliminating Preventable Harm. With 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she has focused on blending operational efficiencies with healing environments. Patricia has successfully integrated Lean and Project Management methodologies with organizational strategic goals to build roadmaps fo...
Sep 04, 2018•49 min•Season 1Ep. 317
@Flinchbaugh Interviews @MarkGraban About "Measures of Success" Today's episode is the second time that friend and podcast guest Jamie Flinchbaugh has turned the tables by playing host to interview me about my new book, Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, which has recently been the #1 best selling book in Amazon's Total Quality Management category. Jamie is very knowledgeable on these topics, so he was a great person to interview me and to have more of a conversation abo...
Aug 28, 2018•49 min•Season 1Ep. 316
Why do people fear change? Why are adults afraid of talking about their fears? My guest today is eminently qualified to answer such questions and to provide advice that can help us. My guest for Episode #315 is Robert Maurer, Ph.D., author of the outstanding book Mastering Fear. Bob was previously my guest for Episode #153, where we discussed one of his earlier books on Kaizen, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. By the way, earlier this year I noticed that his other book The Sp...
Aug 21, 2018•51 min•Season 1Ep. 315
314 - Skip Steward & Brandon Brown, on TWI & Kata in Healthcare Today I have two guests joining me for Episode #314 of the podcast. They are Skip Steward, the Chief Improvement Officer at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Tennessee and Brandon Brown, the owner and "Master Kata Coach" of his firm, Continuous Coaching Commitment, LLC. In this episode, we discuss their use of methods such as "Training Within Industry" and "Toyota Kata" in the important work of healthcare improvement. Skip and...
Aug 15, 2018•49 min•Season 1Ep. 314
Today's episode (#313) of the podcast is a bit of a departure from the norm. Instead of interviewing a guest about their book or other work, I'm reading what's basically an audiobook-style excerpt of the first part of my new book Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. I say "audiobook-style" because it's not professionally produced and my voice has been bad after being sick last week... but I thought this would be one way to share some of this material and promote the book. ...
Aug 07, 2018•38 min•Season 1Ep. 313
Joining me today for Episode #312 of the podcast is Jeff Hunter, author of the excellent book "Patient-Centered Strategy: A Learning System for Better Care." Jeff was with the ThedaCare in Wisconsin, where he was Senior Vice President, Strategy and Marketing for the health system. After retiring from ThedaCare, he has been a faculty member for Catalysis and has started his own consulting firm, Jeff Hunter Strategy. In today's podcast, we discuss a number of topics, including how a good strategy ...
Jul 31, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 312
http://www.leanblog.org/311 My guest for Episode 311 is Jess Orr, a continuous improvement practitioner at WestRock, a large paper and packaging company, where she helps plants foster a culture of continuous improvement and employee engagement. Her experience includes working directly for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky. She is particularly passionate about sharing best practices across industries, which motivated her to found Yokoten Learning. In today's episode, we talk about her path from...
Jul 24, 2018•52 min•Season 1Ep. 311
Steve Shortell, The Impact of #Lean on Healthcare Quality http://leanblog.org/310 Joining me again for Episode 310 is Stephen M. Shortell Ph.D., MPH, MBA. He is Blue Cross of California Distinguished Professorship, HPM and is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. He was previously a guest on Episode 267 talking about the establishment of the Center for Lean Engagement and Research (CLEAR) at the University of California, Berkele...
Jul 11, 2018•44 min•Season 1Ep. 310
Episode page Back on the podcast for the sixth time is my friend David Meier , a Lean / TPS consultant who is a former Toyota leader at their plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. As we mentioned in our April episode (#304) , he's gotten into what's, perhaps, the most Kentucky of industries… distilling bourbon (and more) at Glenn's Creek Distillery . Update — His “OCD #5” was named “US Micro Whisky of the Year” in the 2023 edition of the Jim Murray Whiskey Bible . Congrats, Dave!!! In this episode, the...
Jun 28, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 309
Joining me again for Episode #308 is Mike Grogan, a previous guest in episodes #182 (from Tanzania) and #224. Mike now lives in the Philippines, where he's helping and coaching many people and has written a new book, The MESSI Way. In this episode, we talk about the idea of "personal Lean" and being the best version of yourself. I appreciate Mike's reflections and honesty and I think we had a great conversation that was very thought provoking. What are your fears? Your failures? What have you le...
Jun 11, 2018•59 min•Season 1Ep. 308
Joining me for Episode #307 of the podcast is my friend Andre DeMerchant, the President of DeMerchant Healthcare Solutions Inc., based in Kitchener, Ontario. We first crossed paths when we had the chance to work together with an American healthcare client via our then-affiliation with Pascal Dennis and Lean Pathways. In today's episode, we talk about Andre's history working for Toyota in Canada and what he learned there -- and why it's important that he learned about "how flow works" at Toyota. ...
Apr 30, 2018•54 min•Season 1Ep. 307
Podcast #306 - Mark D. Valenti, Motivational Interviewing and Health System Improvement My guest for Episode #306 is Mark D. Valenti, the manager of training, education, and workflow integration for the Enhanced Community Care Management (ECCM) at Highmark Health. In this episode, Mark and I talk about the use of "Motivational Interviewing" methods and mindsets in the ECCM program and how "everyday closer to better" is part of their mantra. We discuss the MI approach and how it's different than ...
Apr 18, 2018•39 min•Season 1Ep. 306
Respect for People and Continuous Improvement for Healthcare I was recently asked to do a recorded video presentation for a medical conference in Turkey. I spoke about the dual pillars of "The Toyota Way": Respect for People Continuous Improvement The video is about 20 minutes, split about half and half on each of those interrelated topics. I'm coming to you from a hotel room, somewhat tired after a day of consulting. (Slides PDF and transcript also included)
Apr 13, 2018•25 min•Season 1Ep. 305
Episode page Back on the podcast for the fifth time is my friend David Meier , a Lean / TPS consultant who is a former Toyota leader at their plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. He's gotten into what's, perhaps, the most Kentucky of industries… distilling bourbon (and more). You can also listen to another, much longer episode where David and I talk about bourbon, whiskey, and continuous improvement for almost 90 minutes total there. Today is a shorter episode, where we catch up and hear more about wh...
Apr 09, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 304
Joining me for Episode #303 is Craig Deao, a senior leader with Studer Group. From his bio: "Since 2006, Craig Deao, MHA, has been an integral part of Studer Group as a senior leader for the organization's speaking and conferences teams, and he now directs thought leadership across Huron [Consulting Group]'s broader healthcare practice. Craig is a highly regarded national speaker on leadership, engagement, quality and patient safety. He works with medical staffs and healthcare executives to crea...
Mar 28, 2018•49 min•Season 1Ep. 303
My guest for Episode #302 is Katie Anderson, following up on her last appearances in Episode #233 (when she was living in Japan) and Episode #275 (after she returned to the U.S.). Today, we're chatting because I've just returned from a short trip to Japan and Katie's going back in May (and you can join her). We're sharing observations and reflections on topics ranging from standardized work to Kaizen. Would it be easier to "implement Lean" (or whatever term you'd use) if you're a Japanese organi...
Mar 21, 2018•52 min•Season 1Ep. 302
This podcast is sponsored by Cardinal Health. All opinions expressed here are those of Joe Swartz and not of his employer or any other organization. Joining me again for episode #301 of the podcast is Joe Swartz, my friend and co-author for our books Healthcare Kaizen and The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen:. You can learn more about our books here. He also contributed a chapter to the book Practicing Lean. (read an excerpt). Today, we're talking about "Champions of Change," as I've been wr...
Feb 20, 2018•29 min•Season 1Ep. 301
Episode page Remastered October 2022 My guests for Episode #300 of the podcast are Tracey and Ernie Richardson, authors of the excellent book titled: The Toyota Engagement Equation: How to Understand and Implement Continuous Improvement Thinking in Any Organization The book is full of solid insights and personal experiences from their time working for Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky at the plant known as TMMK (Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky). You can find their book's website . Tracey and Er...
Feb 15, 2018•49 min•Season 1Ep. 300
Joining me again for episode #299 of the podcast is Joe Swartz, my friend and esteemed co-author for our books Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements and The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen: Leadership for a Continuously Learning and Improving Organization. You can learn more about our books here. He was previously the guest in episode #187. Joe is Administrative Director of Business Transformation for Franciscan St. Francis Health System in Indi...
Feb 07, 2018•41 min•Season 1Ep. 299
Joining me again for Episode #298 is Billy R. Taylor, for Part 2 of a discussion we started in Episode #293. Last week, a friend texted me last week and said he couldn't wait for Part 2. He said he pulled off the road to take some notes when he listened to Part 1. So without further ado, here is Part 2. Here, we discuss "extreme ownership," why creating ownership is more important than forcing accountability, and important lessons he's learned along the way.
Jan 30, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 298
My guest for Episode #297 is John (JJ) Villarreal, Ed.D., the superintendent of the Rockwall I.S.D. here in the Dallas area. In this podcast, we talk about the applications of Lean in education, how to move beyond what JJ calls "the behavior waste of judgment and blame," and how visiting a factory was inspiring and helpful, among other topics. Even if you don't work in education, I hope you'll be inspired by this podcast.
Jan 17, 2018•45 min•Season 1Ep. 297
Joining me for Episode #296 of the podcast is Zeev N. Kain, MD. MBA, FAAP. He is a physician and a Chancellor's Professor at the University of California, Irvine. See his full bio. He has many additional roles and titles, including: Director, System Redesign & Value Based Care for the UC-Irvine Health Policy Research Institute Executive Director of the UCI-Yale Center on Stress & Health President of the American College of Perioperative Medicine Dr. Kain is "recognized as an internationa...
Jan 10, 2018•50 min•Season 1Ep. 296
My guests for Episode #295 are Sarah Steinberg of Atrius Health and Ted Toussaint, a healthcare innovation strategist, formerly of Atrius Health. Ted is also a faculty member for Catalysis. Today, we're talking about some innovative work that they led at Atrius, using a variety of modern product development and innovation methods, including Lean, Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and more to create a new "Care in Place" model for home-based patient care that helps reduce trips to a clinic or hospit...
Jan 03, 2018•46 min•Season 1Ep. 295
Joining me for episode #294 is Clay Linkous, an account leader and speaker with Studer Group. He is an accomplished cultural transformation and leadership expert who has synthesized Lean and other improvement methods with Studer Group principles and practices. Today, we'll talk about Clay's career and his purpose and motivations - both for working in healthcare and improving healthcare. We're both firm believers in the combination of Studer and Lean practices, so we're also discussing that as ou...
Dec 13, 2017•49 min•Season 1Ep. 294
My guest for Episode #293 of the podcast is a dynamic speaker and manufacturing leader, Billy R. Taylor. I saw him speak a few years ago at a Shingo Prize Conference and I've wanted to get him on the podcast ever since. He's currently the Director of Commercial, Off Highway, and Support Manufacturing North America for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Over the past 20 years, he has risen from "the lowest level of the organization," up through the manufacturing leadership ranks at Goodyear,...
Nov 29, 2017•34 min•Season 1Ep. 293
Today, our topic is something that I've really taken an interest in the past two years: "Motivational Interviewing." See my past blog posts on this subject. I think it's a powerful methodology that will help anybody in their Lean transformation efforts... as well as our work engaging anybody in a small improvement. "Motivational Interviewing" or M.I. is defined by Miller and Rollnick (in their seminal book) as a "collaborative conversation for strengthening a person's own motivation and commitme...
Nov 09, 2017•58 min•Season 1Ep. 292
My guest for Episode 291 is my friend and colleague, Jeff Roussel (@jeff_roussel on Twitter). Jeff is the VP of Sales at KaiNexus, a technology company that I have been involved with for over six years. As Jeff will humbly explain in the podcast, he joined our team almost four years ago as an experienced sales leader, not as an expert in Lean or process improvement. But, he's a voracious learner and he probably talks to more organizations about their process improvement efforts - what their aims...
Oct 24, 2017•44 min•Season 1Ep. 291
@EricRies: From #LeanStartup to "The Startup Way" Joining me again for episode 290 is a three-time guest, Eric Ries. When we first talked, in episode 115 six years ago, his New York Times bestselling book The Lean Startup was being published. In 2012, we discussed the impact of Toyota's Taiichi Ohno on his work, in episode 142. This time, we're talking about his new book, The Startup Way. In this episode, Eric talks about how "Lean Startup" concepts came from "Lean" and the Toyota Production Sys...
Oct 16, 2017•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 290
Episode page Audio remastered January 2023 My guests for Episode #289 are Kathleen Sharp, MBOE, LSS MBB, now the Director of Optimization at McLeod Health, and David Schoenwetter, D.O., FACEP, a Medical Director at Geisinger Medical Center. They are joining me to talk about the innovative Geisinger Mobile Health Paramedic program that they developed and piloted with Lean thinking throughout. Kathleen and David will discuss why it was important to engage stakeholders in innovation, how they viewe...
Oct 11, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 289
