Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership

John Chacon on Continuous Improvement and the Dangers of Paying People to Think

Listen Later

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/429

My guest for Episode #429 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is John Chacon, the Director of Construction Excellence at Black & Veatch. We've been connected on social media for a while and John's reply to a tweet led to this podcast conversation, where he said:

“If you have read this blog post and are still thinking about incentivizing folks for ideas…stop…give me a call and I will tell you some stories about paying your folks to think.”

Today, we discuss topics and questions including:

  • John's Lean origin story? In the Marine Corps.
  • Deployed to Japan – painted a different picture – in what way?
  • Cultural differences? A different level of respect?
  • Why didn't you like it at first?
  • How do you define Kaizen?
    • Not just the process, it's the people
  • Continuously improving the people
  • Later company — “The work was to improve the work”
  • How do you foster that culture?
  • Curiosity and genuine wonderment
  • What does Kaizen (what does John) suggest about how to incentivize people to submit ideas?
  • DO we need to incentivize?
  • What happens when you run out of rewards funding? Improvement stops
  • How do you tap into in intrinsic motivation?
  • Kaizen and Kata?
  • Putting things into plain English?
  • Working in other countries – Thailand, India, China — how does the Lean/Kaizen message get delivered differently?
  • Marine Corps like Kaizen — the way you are vs something you do

    • The podcast is sponsored by Stiles Associates, now in their 30th year of business. They are the go-to Lean recruiting firm serving the manufacturing, private equity, and healthcare industries. Learn more.

    This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

     

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and LeadershipBy Mark Graban
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    45 ratings

    More shows like Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership

    View all
    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    1,849 Listeners

    Modern Mentor by QuickAndDirtyTips.com

    Modern Mentor

    692 Listeners

    Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast by Andy Stanley

    Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

    2,268 Listeners

    Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

    Coaching for Leaders

    1,455 Listeners

    Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership by Ron Pereira: Lean Thinker & Co-Founder of Gemba Academy

    Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership

    197 Listeners

    Lean Blog Audio by Mark Graban

    Lean Blog Audio

    15 Listeners

    The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk by Ryan Hawk

    The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

    1,293 Listeners

    KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More by KaiNexus

    KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

    27 Listeners

    Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

    Worklife with Adam Grant

    9,251 Listeners

    WLEI - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast by Lean Enterprise Institute

    WLEI - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast

    21 Listeners

    Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast by John Maxwell

    Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast

    370 Listeners

    Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey) by Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh

    Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey)

    9 Listeners

    A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

    A Bit of Optimism

    2,170 Listeners

    The Lean Solutions Podcast by Patrick Adams

    The Lean Solutions Podcast

    18 Listeners

    My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success by Mark Graban

    My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success

    38 Listeners

    Lean 911 by Mark DeLuzio

    Lean 911

    13 Listeners

    HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

    HBR On Strategy

    79 Listeners