Lean Blog Interviews

http://www.leanblog.org/362 My guest for Episode #362 is Adam Lawrence, managing partner with Process Improvement Partners LLC. He's an industrial engineer who had a long career working with TQM, Six Sigma, and Lean at Thomasvile Furniture and other Armstrong World Industries companies. Today, we'll talk about setting kaizen events up for success with effective charter documents and team selection. What's the role of leadership? Adam will also talk about the "wheel of sustainability" (scroll down for an image and a PDF that he provided). Adam will also mention a free virtual workshop that he's doing on Monday, April 6th. It was supposed to be done in person at a conference... but given the current circumstances, he's trying to make lemons into lemonade and I appreciate that he's offering up that opportunity for folks. 

http://www.leanblog.org/361 Episode #361 of the podcast is admittedly not about Lean, but it's an important topic that I think needs to be shared in these times. I'm sharing audio that came from a KaiNexus webinar yesterday that we called "Ask Docs Anything" and the topic was, of course, coronavirus and Covid-19. We put out a call for questions and got more than 100 questions for our customers and our community. For the webinar, we focused the questions mainly on personal health and things you can (or must) do to protect your families and others in society. If you'd rather read synopsis answers to the questions, you can do so here. The video of the session is also embedded in that page, or it's also available through YouTube. You can also find more links to resources, articles, and information through this page. 

 http://www.leanblog.org/360Returning for Episode #360 of the podcast is Leah Binder, the president and CEO of Leapfrog Group. We last talked four years ago in Episode #240 about the patient safety crisis and efforts to improve. Today, we'll talk about hospitals' preparation for the Covid-19 / Coronavirus threat. Read her statement on this topic and stay tuned for announcements about free webinars and resources that Leapfrog Group will be providing.We'll also discuss safety (and the lack of reporting and data) in the outpatient (ambulatory) surgery setting -- where 60% of procedures are done today in the U.S. We'll also talk about the progress that's been made in the last four years on the patient safety front, in general. Please check out Leapfrog Group and their Hospital Safety Score website. How does your hospital measure up? How do the hospitals in your community compare? What can hospitals be doing to close their gaps so they get an "A"? How can large businesses who pay for healthcare and have their empl

 My guest for Episode #359 of the podcast is Prof. Dr. Alfred Angerer, joining me from Switzerland to talk about Lean healthcare. I had a chance to visit a hospital with Alfred, in Switzerland, late last year, as we discussed in this episode of his podcast (which we recorded together in his office). In today's episode, he joins me via the internet and we'll talk about his path into studying, teaching, and consulting on Lean healthcare. We'll chat about what's different (and what's similar) in Swiss healthcare and we'll touch on his books and articles in the conversation. 

 http://www.leanblog.org/358 Returning to the podcast for Episode #358 is Steve Spear, a senior lecturer at MIT and author of the book The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational Excellence to Beat the Competition. He's also the founder and co-creator of a software company and product called See to Solve. He's also the author of two outstanding Harvard Business Review articles: “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System" and "Fixing Healthcare from the Inside, Today," both of which we'll discuss today. One of the themes for this episode is the evolution of knowledge. What does that mean for a company and what does that mean for an esteemed researcher and professor like Steve? Steve has a BS in economics from Princeton University, an MA in management and an MS in mechanical engineering from MIT, and a PhD from Harvard Business School. He was previously a guest in episodes #58, 87, and 262. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! 

http://leanblog.org/357Joining me today for episode #357 is Michael Conroy, M.D., the Chief Medical Officer of Sutter Medical Group in northern California.Mike was previously the Medical Director of the Lean Promotion Office for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and he was in that role when we first met about a decade ago. We collaborated on some Lean workshop training material for him to deliver to other physicians, through my role at Catalysis at the time.In today's episode, we'll talk about how he was first exposed to Lean, we'll take a few metaphorical elevator rides to talk about how Lean benefits patients and physicians, and shifting from Lean as tools or events to being a way of thinking and a common operating system for an organization.Mike is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians. After medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, he did his residency at Virginia Mason Medical Center where he worked with Dr. Gary Kaplan, a well-

http://www.leanblog.org/356 My guest for episode #356 of the podcast is Amy C. Edmondson, PhD, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. She is the author of three books on teaming and her most recent book is the topic of conversation today: The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. In the episode, we explore the incredibly important concept of "psychological safety," which means, as Edmondson defines it: "...a climate in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves." This is necessary for Kaizen (continuous improvement) and it's also a huge contributor to people being able to speak up about patient safety risks (or other problems in the workplace). One thing I love about her book is that she doesn't just diagnose the problem (that fear of speaking up is bad), but she also lays out a plan for how leaders can create a more psychologically-safe environment and culture. From her bio: "E

Http://www.leanblog.org/355 So, an engineer, an architect, and a nurse walk into a hospital... no, that's not a setup for the punchline to a joke. Today, in episode #355 of the podcast, I'm sharing three short conversations with three people who have very different backgrounds, but they still all ended up working to improve healthcare. We have a Toyota-trained engineer (Isaac Mitchell), who transitioned (like me) from manufacturing to healthcare. We are also joined by an architect (Laura Silvoy) who got a master's degree in health systems engineering and helps an architecture firm in the improvement and design of healthcare facilities. And, we have a business student (Darrin Judkins) who then got a nursing degree and, after years of providing patient care at the bedside, also got into Lean and healthcare improvement. We all know each other through our involvement in the Society for Health Systems (a part of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers) and the annual Healthcare Systems Process Improvem

http://www.leanblog.org/354 Joining me for episode #354 of the podcast is Kim Hollon, the CEO and President of Signature Healthcare, based in Brockton, Massachusetts. I first met Kim about a decade ago and, as we discover during the podcast discussion, one of my Lean healthcare clients in Dallas was later an important influence in Kim's discovery and embrace of Lean. What prompted the podcast interview was Kim's recent article titled "The Health Care Leader's Role in Safety," which I blogged about not long ago. So, in this episode, we talk about the article, his personal history with Lean, and much more. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast!

Links and full transcript: http://www.leanblog.org/353My guest for Episode #353 of the podcast is somebody whose work I've appreciated for a long time -- Quint Studer. I was first introduced to his book Hardwiring Excellence back in 2005 and I've been following his work (and reading his books) ever since.Today, we'll talk about "hardwiring" and other concepts from his first book. We will also explore his latest book, The Busy Leader's Handbook: How To Lead People and Places That Thrive, a book intended for leaders in all industries. 

http://www.leanblog.org/352 Joining me for Episode #352 of the podcast is Frederick Southwick, M.D. He is a Professor of Medicine and is also Director of Patient Care Quality and Safety in the Division of Hospitalist Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Fred is the author of many books including Critically Ill: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery. In the podcast, Fred will talk about why he shifted from infectious diseases to focusing on hospital medicine and healthcare improvement. This was driven partially by two very personal episodes with problems in the healthcare system that his then-wife and he both suffered from. Fred was appointed as a Harvard University Advanced Leadership fellow, where he studied business and public health. Fred was exposed to Lean through MIT Prof. Steven Spear and they have published an article together, where they call for "all academic physicians caring for patients to focus on systems and quality improvement." In the episode, Fred reflects on how he per

http://www.leanblog.org/351 Joining me for Episode #351 of the podcast are my friends Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart, co-founders of the company Dojo & Co.They're the authors of the new book (to be released on November 19) called Creating Your Dojo: Upskill Your Organization for Digital Evolution. A "dojo" is a learning environment -- whether that's for the martial arts or if it's a "safety dojo" in a Toyota factory. Today, we talk about what it means to create an "immersive learning environment" in a workplace, such as a software company or a product development group within a larger company -- the goal is more effective learning, progress, and adoption of new methods or products. It's interesting to think about how one might use a "dojo" in the context of Lean design or improvement efforts in a hopsital or other settings. Joel, Dion, and I have collaborated before on a few events, including our Learning Symposium where we visited Toyota and Garrison Brothers Distillery last year. 

http://www.leanblog.org/350 Our guest today is Tim Turner, who joined us previously in 2010 for episode #90. Tim was the lead author for a book called One Team on All Levels that was about the Toyota plant and its people in Kentucky. Tim was involved in the ramp up of Kentucky Lexus production and then left Toyota after 22 years. He was at another manufacturing company and now works as a consultant, so it's interesting to hear about all of those different experiences. 

 http://www.leanblog.org/349My guest for episode #349 is John Dyer, president of his consulting firm, John Dyer & Associates, Inc., and author of the new book, The Façade of Excellence: Defining a New Normal of Leadership, which will be released on October 1, 2019. John has been a guest previously in episodes #229 and #280, talking about Dr. W. Edwards Deming, "The Red Bead Experiment," and more. Today, we talk about the book, how to find out of there is a "facade" of excellence, and why "fear makes good people do stupid things," as John says. What's a façade? "A false appearance that makes someone or something seem more pleasant or better than they really are." 

http://www.leanblog.org/348 Our guest today for Episode 348 is Cinnamon Dixon, Director Of Continuous Improvement at Cleveland Clinic. I interviewed her for the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast series and I'm cross posting that interview here to give it more exposure. Our KaiNexus team members who were at the Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit in June were really impressed with Cinnamon's presentation on their "tiered huddle" process that's part of their Lean methodology. So, we asked her to do the podcast. You can a full transcript via the KaiNexus blog. I recently had a chance to visit Cleveland Clinic and I spent the morning observing their tiered huddles, so I'll be writing a blog post about that soon. Thanks to Cinnamon and Cleveland Clinic for being so willing to share! 

http://www.leanblog.org/347Our guest today for Episode 347 is Brad Parsons, the CEO of NEA Baptist, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. NEA Baptist is a 228-bed hospital and 140-provider medical group serving northeast Arkansas -- part of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation. Brad is also the co-author of the new book Creating an Effective Management System: Integrating Policy Deployment, TWI, and Kata. His co-authors have been guests on the podcast before -- Patrick Graupp and Skip Steward. In this episode, we'll talk about core themes from the book, including his role as the leader of their transformational efforts to implement and continue improving an effective management system -- something that's important for so many reasons. We'll also talk about "Process Behavior Charts" and his experience with Don Wheeler.

 http://www.leanblog.org/346  Joining me for Episode 346 of the podcast is Mark Ryan, a Transformation Coach and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt at Franciscan Health. Mark will be one of the hosts and facilitators at our upcoming "Kaizen Live!" site visit event at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis. Only two spots remain, so register today if you'd like to join us. As we talk about in the episode, Franciscan does much more than daily Kaizen. They've built upon that foundation of staff engagement to add other Lean practices -- under the banner of what they call "Managing for Daily Improvement," or MDI. They use "strategy deployment" and other methods to align the organization in their goals and improvement efforts. I hope you enjoy the discussion, whether you are joining us in Indianapolis or not. 

 http://www.leanblog.org/345 

http://www.leanblog.org/344Joining me for Episode #344 is David Reid, a mechanical engineer whose career has taken him from improvement work at Michelin Tire, to being a pastor, to now helping the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain improve through Lean and Kaizen practices and mindsets.I was really excited to see the cover story that was in the May 2019 issue of ISE Magazine (Industrial & Systems Engineering). The headline inside reads, “From lean modules to a lean mindset — Chick-fil-A's success shows how leveraging your greatest asset speeds up cultural change.”In this episode, I get to ask David about some of the drivers for Lean at Chick-fil-A, which is already a high-growth company with many happy customers and employees.How do they influence the owner/operators of stores to embrace Lean and to engage every employee in continuous improvement? Why did they learn that a top-down engineering-driven model couldn't possibly drive enough improvement? How does a Facebook page enter the equation for employees (and

My guest for Episode #343 of the podcast is Amanda Mewborn, an executive director of project management for Piedmont Health.I've known Amanda through the Society for Health Systems and she's one of the very small number of people I know with both engineering and nursing degrees. She has a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an M.S. in Health Systems from Georgia Tech and a B.S. in nursing from Georgia State University.So, in today's episode, we talk about that interesting combination of skill sets and why she got a nursing degree. We also chat about her career in healthcare, along with some of the facility design and construction work she has been involved with. We also hear her thoughts on why it's important to have the engagement and involvement of front-line staff (and patients) in the design process.