Lean Blog Interviews

This episode will be available to paid Apple Podcasts subscribers only until November 1st, when it will become available to the public. Ward is a seasoned C-suite executive with over 6 years leading fully remotely while building technology organizations from the ground up for companies 150 to 650 employees in size and 50M to 125M revenue across the Americas and Europe. He is currently Chief Product Officer and CTO at RealSelf and is a technical advisor with his own company - website is https://wardvuillemot.com - where he advises startup founders and CEOs on technical roadmaps and technology organization along with lean approaches…

Episode page with video and more Our guest today is D. Lynn Kelley! She is author, with John Shook (who has been a guest here many times), of the new book, Change Questions: A Playbook for Effective and Lasting Organizational Change. Lynn currently serves as a senior advisor to BBH Capital Partners. Following a career highlighted by leadership roles in engineering, supply chain, and continuous improvement in various industries, Kelley retired from Union Pacific Railroad in 2018. At Union Pacific, she was senior vice president of supply chain and continuous improvement. She was also the executive co-owner of the company’s innovation program. Before joining Union Pacific, Kelley was vice president of operational excellence, an officer and a member of the executive leadership team at Textron. Kelley holds a PhD in evaluation and research and taught undergraduate and graduate statistics courses. Before becoming a professor, she held the positions of executive vice president and chief operating officer of Doctors

Episode page with transcript and more: https://leanblog.org/487 In today’s episode, we’re joined by two Lean leaders from GE Aerospace: Sam Ruehle, Lean Operations Leader, Lean Transformation Team Greg Pothoff, Executive Director – Business Management Aviation Supply Chain  I interviewed them after the GE Lean Mindset event that was held last month in New York.  Two separate conversations, but common themes — and the same questions of two Lean leaders at different stages of their careers, Sam being a recent college graduate and Greg having 25 years of Lean experience, starting first in the auto industry (which is actually where I first met him 20 years ago). I asked the same core questions, found below, but each conversation is unique as we learn about their roles at GE and their reactions to the Lean Mindset event. Sam emphasizes the importance of the Lean mindset as being framed by three essential pillars: Respect for People, Continuous Improvement, and Customer Focus. As a young leader, she combines th

Episode page with transcript, links, and more: https://leanblog.org/486 My guest for Episode #486 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Mike Kaeding, the CEO of Norhart. They design, build, and rent apartments. They are transforming the way this is done by incorporating technologies and techniques that have revolutionized other industries. This has resulted in improved quality and reduced cost of housing. Ultimately, they are committed to solving America's housing shortage and affordability crisis. And in doing so they hope to improve the way we all live.  He was previously (May 2023) a guest with me on the My Favorite Mistake podcast. In today's episode, learn how Kaeding's company, Norhart, applies Lean practices to uplift the housing sector. Their compelling ambition to bridge the labor productivity gap between manufacturing and construction industries lies at the heart of their Lean journey. From their unique recruitment strategies to their effective lean techniques, Norhart aspires to reshape the housin

Episode page with transcript and more Erica Lee Garcia is an entrepreneur, engineer and leader who has managed to create a positive impact in the engineering profession. Topics in this episode include: Her lean origin story Lessons from running a suggestion program for 2.5 years Shifting to mining, not just a new company but a new industry Engineers Without Borders participation For close to a decade now, Erica has been working to tell better stories about engineering so that kids can make better decisions about this little known career path and make them feel welcome in the profession. Her deliberate method of mixing empathy and compassion with real-world experience enables her to tell authentic and relevant stories in a way that is relate-able to everyone listening. Working as the Chair of her local PEO Chapter, she empowers fellow professionals and impacts change from within. She also has a unique perspective, having spent years working in the automotive and mining industries as an engineer, and the mov

Episode page with transcript and more Featuring James P. (Jim) Womack, Katie Anderson, Jamie V Parker, and Mark Graban. There's more to come from me, Katie, and Jamie about the day.  Jamie's podcast is "Lean Leadership for Ops Managers." Katie's new podcast is called "Chain of Learning." - Coming soon Videos from the GE Lean Mindset sessions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxRhTjvLlyoIh7CVg51ZIM5hRl5XOjlgl **A Candid Conversation on Lean Thinking: Breaking Down the Lean Mindset with Industry Experts** Join us as we delve into a Deep Dive bonus episode of "Lean Blog Interviews," focusing on the intricacies of Lean Thinking. The thought-provoking analysis of the Lean Mindset is led by four esteemed panelists — Mark Graban, Katie Anderson, Jim Womack, and Jamie V. Parker — who share their takeaways from the 'GE Lean Mindset' event.  Central to Lean Thinking is the relentless pursuit of improvement — a belief that stands tall even amidst failings and setbacks. Coupled with the embracing of failure as a fu

Episode page with transcript and more My guest for Episode #484 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Keith Ingels, who previously joined us in Episode 390. He's the RLM Manager of Solutions & Support Centers — RLM being the Raymond Lean Management system. He was also a guest with me for Episode 62 of “My Favorite Mistake.” His story and insights were also featured in Chapter 8 of my book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. In today's episode, we discuss how the Raymond Corporation makes Lean / TPS their own management system, even while being under the Toyota corporate umbrella. RLM focuses on developing people and that starts with leaders. Why does a culture of continuous improvement start with small steps and not requiring ROI calculations for every improvement? We discuss how kaizen participation rates are a leading indicator of employee morale and how absenteeism and turnover are lagging indicators. We talk about that and more… “Critique the process, not th

Episode page with transcript and more For episode 483, we are joined today by Amanda Zimmerman + Dominic Stokes, two Lean Six Sigma professionals who co-host a new podcast called “Squishy Lean.” Amanda Zimmerman is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with a global background. Amanda has worked in Oil and Gas, Software, and in a variety of industries all over the world mentoring professionals in Continuous Improvement. She holds an MBA from Imperial College of London. In 2020 she launched Beautiful Opportunities, aiming to empower people in continuous improvement worldwide and make it easy for people to start applying the tools. Dominic is an industrial engineer with a background in manufacturing engineering and management consulting. Ever since he first learned about lean manufacturing principles, Dom has looked for more opportunities in and outside of work to learn and practice. His overall goal is to find ways to convert commercial lean tools to residential uses. When he isn't learning about lean, he is spen

Hey audiobook fans! The audiobook version of my book is available now! It's just over five hours long, professionally produced, and read by me. It's available through: Amazon Audible – free with a trial membership Apple Books If you're one of the first 3 people to email me (mark@leanblog.org) and you live in the US or UK, I'll email you a code to get a free copy of the audiobook via Audible.  

Episode page with video, transcript, and more  CONTENT WARNING: Today's episode includes discussions about a death by suicide and mental health issues. Help is available. In the U.S., call 988. In the U.K., call 116 123. These calls are free from any phone. My guest for Episode #482 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Gemma Jones. Gemma is an Improvement Coach, Trainer, and Visual Facilitator, based in the UK and working globally. Gemma started her career in Engineering and quickly found a passion for Improvement. She spent 20 years in Manufacturing across numerous industries, then in 2018 she left employment to build her own business. Gemma's mission is to help organisations and individuals be the BEST they can be, by helping people SEE, helping people THINK, and helping people CHANGE. In today's episode, Gemma brings up important topics related to Lean and mental health, and we discuss parallels between "mental health first aid" and physical first aid. How can we learn how to help others when they might

Episode page with video, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #481 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is George Saiz. As a coach, writer, and speaker, George Saiz actively promotes enterprise excellence through a people-centric culture to the next generation of leaders.  In his new business novel, We Started with Respect, he shares from his executive experience in the medical device industry and the many best-practices sites he visited as president and CEO of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence. He is retired and currently resides with his wife in Carlsbad, California. Questions, Notes, and Highlights: What's your Lean origin story? The Goal — a business novel The leader going first with the learning?? Compliance vs Commitment  Using Lean as business problem solving vs. tools for operations? Exposure then to Lean / TPS? The need to focus on process AND people (culture) What aspects of Lean don't work without a high enough level of mutual trust? Gallup surveys show that two out of three employee

Visit our website at www.leancast.org. Lean Blog Interviews is hosted and produced by Mark Graban. 

Episode page with transcript, video, and more For Episode #480 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast turns the tables, as regular host Mark Graban is interviewed today by a guest host, his friend Paul Critchley. Paul was previously the host of the New England Lean Podcast and he's been a guest of Mark's in Episode #5 of the Lean Whiskey podcast series. Today, Paul asks Mark questions about his new book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, the general topic of learning from mistakes, and more. Questions, Notes, and Highlights: What was the origin of the My Favorite Mistake podcast? What have you learned from your guests about PDCA / PDSA and learning from mistakes? What's your favorite mistake? Iterating on improvements and engaging people in that process What advice would you give to leaders and managers so they can incorporate a culture that encourages risk takin… that mistakes are okay with psychological safety? Saying “I'm sorry” shows strength not weakness What'd you

Episode page with video, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #479 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Arnout Orelio, a returning guest (from Episode 403 in 2021). He has been working with Lean management since 1995, the last 15 years as a trainer, coach, and consultant in healthcare.  He is the owner of The Lean Mentor, where he helps people who want to (learn to) improve healthcare. Arnout focuses on teaching lean leadership, as an author, speaker, and mentor, bringing top performance and high levels of productivity within everyone's reach. His mission is to make “more time for better health care.” His first book was Lean Thinking for Emerging Healthcare Leaders and, today, we're discussing his brand new book, Lean Thinking in Healthcare. Questions, Notes, and Highlights: How do you summarize your 25 years of learning how to improve? Creating more time for better healthcare? Problem and productivity as dirty words? Similarities between Dutch and US health systems / payers? What's the general state

Episode page with video, transcript, and more   Joining us for Episode #478 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Shaunté Kinch. In 2022, Shaunté founded Empact Global, a consultancy that works with organizations to help them solve really BIG problems. Her more than 20 years spent implementing Six Sigma, LEAN, and design thinking concepts have inspired her to take on “wicked problems” in a “VUCA” (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world. Originally trained by Shingijustu (pioneers of the Toyota Production System) she has educated over 2800 people in continuous improvement and innovation, led hundreds of workshops, and coached more than 60 leaders. Shaunte holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and a Masters of Engineering, Design, and Manufacturing, both from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. In today's episode, we discuss what Shaunté learned about Lean in her first aerospace jobs, including time spent working with the famed Shingujitsu consulting group. What did Shaunté lea

Episode page with video, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #478 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Zeynep Ton. She is a professor of the practice at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Previously, she was on the faculty of the Har­vard Business School. Ton received numerous awards for teaching excellence at both schools. She was previously a guest in Episode 228 in 2015, discussing her first book The Good Jobs Strategy. Her new book, released in June, is The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone's Work. In today's episode, we discuss what's meant by “good jobs” — and how it's not just about compensation. What are good jobs and what's the case for them, in both human and financial terms? Among other topics, we discuss how it's a system, the “good jobs system,” and there is risk in trying to just copy a piece or two that sounds good (which reminds us both of issues around adoption of the Toyota Production System). Questions, Notes, and Highlights: What

Episode page with transcript and more Joining us for Episode #476 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ken Pilone, who has more than 30 years experience in Organization Development in Government, Retail, Automotive, Distribution, and Aerospace. He recently retired from Providence Health & Services, working most recently as the Senior Manager of Business Process Engineering at Providence Health & Services — a role that encompassed internal Lean consulting, including executive coaching, lean training, leadership development, and all functions typical of a lean promotion or PI/CI function. He's now working as an independent coach. He spent nearly 20 years with Toyota as Lean consultant within the company as well as with suppliers, vendors, partners, and community groups. He a co-creator of the University of Toyota at the company HQ. He led the work to adapt the Toyota Production System to non-production environments (warehousing, supply chain, HQ administration depts., sales, product distribution, deal

CEO of Industrial Logic, author of Joy of Agility Episode page with video, links, transcript and more Joining us for Episode #475 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Joshua Kerievsky, the founder and CEO of Industrial Logic, one of the oldest and most well-respected agile consultancies on the planet.  Since 1996, Joshua and his global network of colleagues have helped people in teams across many industries leverage the wisdom and power of modern product development methods. An early pioneer and practitioner of Extreme Programming, Lean Software Development and Lean Startup, Joshua most recently crafted “Modern Agile” to help people and organizations benefit from a principle-based approach to agility. Joshua is passionate about helping people produce awesome outcomes via genuine agility. He is an international speaker and author of books including most recently, Joy of Agility: How to Solve Problems and Succeed Sooner. In today's episode, we discuss how “agility” doesn't strictly mean “Agile” in software. H

Episode page with video, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #474 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Norbert Majerus. He has his own firm now but previously worked for Goodyear, joining the company in 1978 in his home country of Luxembourg. He moved to Akron in 1983 and worked disciplines in the Goodyear innovation centers in both locations, retiring in 2018. His first book (2016) Lean-Driven Innovation: Powering Product Development at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was a Shingo Award recipient. His latest book is Winning Innovation: How Innovation Excellence Propels an Industry Icon Toward Sustained Prosperity. In today's episode, we discuss Lean and innovation — how they co-exist, how Lean Product Development drives innovation, and how to truly engage people by leading with humility and respecting people. Questions, Notes, and Highlights: What's your Lean origin story? Goodyear had tried Lean a few times in MFG – didn't work well — WHY? This was before Billy Taylor – they worked together

Blog post about Mr. Shingo's passing Today, we mourn and remember Ritsuo Shingo, who recently passed away at age 75. I am re-releasing episode 409 with him from two years ago this month, in April 2021. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and everybody who worked with him, including my friends at the Shingo Institute.