Just-In-Time Cafe: Lean Six Sigma, Leadership, Change Management

Just-In-Time Cafe: Lean Six Sigma, Leadership, Change Management episodes:

• 12.15.2019

  Avoid the Advice Trap and Become a Better Leader, Featuring Michael Bungay Stanier

  Beware the Advice Monster! That’s good coaching advice from this month’s guest—best-selling author Michael Bungay Stanier. Elisabeth interviews the king of wit and clarity, while sneaking a peek at his upcoming book, The Advice Trap. Tune in for some saucy...

  
• 11.15.2019

  Using RPA to Lean Out Admin Processes, Featuring Joshua Beaudry

  Today’s guest is Joshua Beaudry, a philanthropic skateboarder who is unleashing robots for good! Automation is all the buzz these days, and we had the honor of speaking with someone at the forefront of the growing field. Joshua also heads...

  
• 10.15.2019

  Surprising Discoveries About Japan's Continuous Improvement Culture, Featuring Laurie Fiorica and Hilary Hellman

  In this episode, Tracy and Elisabeth dip into their incredible experiences in Nagoya and Tokyo in their interview with Laurie Fiorica and Hilary Hellman—two amazing leaders they met on Katie Anderson’s Japan Study Trip. Great takes on Continuous Improvement culture...

  
• 09.16.2019

  Disaster Recovery Made Easy With the Toyota Product System, Featuring Liz McCartney

  Today’s guest is a school-teacher-turned-home-builder who has upended the way this country responds to disasters. As we anxiously tune into the advance of Hurricane Dorian, this interview provides key insights into how the Toyota Production System helped CEO and Author...

  
• 08.15.2019

  Stanford Hospitals Cure HR Bureaucracy With Lean, Featuring Ekta Vyas

  Today at the Cafe we’ll give you great things to contemplate while you get in a few more days at the beach. Our featured guest is Ekta Vyas, the director of Human Resources for Stanford Children’s Health / Lucile Packard...

  
• 07.15.2019

  Leaning Out the Accreditation Process in Healthcare, Featuring MaryBeth Jermyn

  Check out Elisabeth’s interview with the head of Lean Cultural Transformation for Exeter Health Systems, MaryBeth Jermyn. She’s got surprising insights around achieving mandated Lean Healthcare certification in a Lean way. We also have the results of our latest survey where...

  
• 06.17.2019

  How Goodyear Uses Lean Six Sigma to Strengthen Diversity & Inclusion, Featuring Billy Taylor

  Today’s Special features Tracy’s interview with the phenomenal Billy Taylor, the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. For In the News, Tracy and Elisabeth describe their recent Japan Study Trip – fascinating, stunning, wonderful! For...

  
• 05.15.2019

  Removing Waste and Delivering Fresh Farm Food With Big Data

  Today’s special features a woman who left a job at MIT and used big data to launch a farm-to-table food delivery service. Tune in to hear Elisabeth’s interview with Erin Baumgartner, CEO of Family Dinner! For our Survey Says segment, we...

  
• 04.30.2019

  10 Secrets to Outstanding Customer Service, Featuring Jeff Toister

  Today’s Special features Elisabeth’s interview with author and customer service thought leader Jeff Toister who gives a behind-the-scenes look at overcoming the obstacles to providing excellent customer service. Jeff is a great storyteller so stay tuned for that! We’ll start you...

  
• 04.15.2019

  Turning Failure Into Growth With a Great Mentor, Featuring Mohamed Saleh and Heather Pierzchala

  In this episode of the Just-In-Time Cafe, we’ll feature a candid conversation with Senior Sensei Mohamed Saleh and Lean Sensei Heather Pierzchala of Hartford Healthcare as they discuss the journey of their mentoring relationship. In our Survey Says segment, we’ll reveal...

  
• 03.29.2019

  Stop Being a Boss and Find Joy as a Leader, Featuring Richard Sheridan

  The highlight of this episode is Elisabeth’s interview Richard Sheridan of Menlo Innovations. Richard returns to the cafe having just published his second book, Chief Joy Officer. He is proving that joy and success can coexist in corporate work life,...

  
• 03.15.2019

  "Go Slow to Go Fast" Wins Awards and Saves Millions, Featuring Shane Wentz

  In this episode of the Just-In-Time Cafe, Tracy interviews PEX Conference Award Winner Shane Wentz, former Global Director of Continuous Improvement at Radial! In our Survey Says segment, we’ll discuss the results of this-month’s poll and the answer is… “Take a...

  
• 02.28.2019

  Become a Better Coach in Just 21 Days, Featuring Karyn Ross

  For Today’s Special we’ve got Elisabeth’s interview with Karyn Ross to discuss her new bold new book, How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence! With our Appetizer of the Day, QIMacros, we’re continuing our series where we review popular charting, graphing...

  
• 02.15.2019

  How IT Spreads Lean Six Sigma to Boost #2-Ranked University, Featuring Mojgan Amini

  Check out Today’s Special to hear Tracy’s interview with Mojgan Amini, the Director of Process Management & Continuous Improvement at UC San Diego! For Survey Says, we’ll reveal what listeners like about the podcast and launch a poll to find out...

  
• 01.31.2019

  Want a Better Building? Go Lean! Featuring David Umstot

  Today’s Special is Tracy’s interview with David Umstot who wrote the Lean Playbook for the Construction Industry! For our Appetizer we’ll continue our series about charting, graphing and statistical software by reviewing Minitab, the Cadillac of stats packages. For our In...

  
• 01.15.2019

  Plan-Do...Walk-Away? Avoiding the Perils of Lean, Featuring Mohamed Saleh

  For Today’s Special check out Elisabeth’s interview with Lean Sensei Mohamed Saleh of Hartford Healthcare in Connecticut. Aside from being a great guy, he shares rare wisdom on how smart leaders drive successful Lean Transformation. For Survey Says we’re looking for...

  
• 12.28.2018

  How to Display Data to Drive the Best Decisions, Featuring Mark Graban

  Come join us as we host Lean thought leader Mark Graban and discuss his new ebook Measures of Success on Today’s Special. It’s data, display and how they drive decisions for our last episode of the year. For the Appetizer we’ll...

  
• 12.14.2018

  How to Build a Better School System, Featuring Kamaljit Jackson

  For Today’s Special, Elisabeth got to ask Kamaljit Jackson, Senior Accountability and Efficiency Officer at Racine Unified School District, how blame-free Kaizen workshops are helping her school district. For Survey Says we’ll share the results of our latest poll on how people like to...

  
• 11.30.2018

  Start a Conversation = Become a Great Leader, Featuring Edgar and Peter Schein

  For those of you in the U.S., have you had it with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce? Even those of you who didn’t just experience a food coma, you’ll appreciate the all-new menu here at the cafe. Today’s Special is...

  
• 11.15.2018

  Lean Boosts Efforts to Feed Folks in Need, Featuring Alicia Saake

  For Today’s Special Tracy interviews Alicia Saake of Feeding San Diego – a great organization applying process improvement to help people in need. Next we’ll discuss the results of our latest poll and get some insight about how organizations view problems....

  
• 10.31.2018

  Cutting Defects in Half Helps Double Production at Costco Optical

  We’ve got a great menu brimming with brain food! In Today’s Special, it’s Tracy’s interview with Jeff Konstanzer and Carlos Vallejo of Costco. For this episode’s Appetizer we’ll cover an app that lets you know if anyone is paying attention to...

  
• 10.15.2018

  How Music and Mentoring Save Money and Lives for an Army Hospital, Featuring Kelly Hardee Wheeler

  In this awesome episode, Elisabeth interviews Kelly Hardee Wheeler, the trombone-playing Lean Six Sigma Black Belt who’s helping to make Army hospitals safer, better and more accessible. In this month’s poll we find out how long it takes Green Belts to...

  
• 09.28.2018

  The Journey From Plastics & Axles to Shingo Prize Featuring Tracey & Ernie Richardson

  Today’s Special highlights our southern friends Tracey and Ernie Richardson — The couple who started their work life at the first Toyota Plant in North America and wrote a book about it. Today’s Appetizer is the opposite of an app —...

  
• 09.19.2018

  The Secret to Keeping Great Nurses on Staff, Featuring Aisha Ahmad

  This month at the cafe we got a visit from the wonderful Aisha Ahmad of MemorialCare who discusses her efforts to keep desperately needed nurses on staff by developing mentoring programs. In this month’s Poll, we find out exactly how long...

  
• 08.31.2018

  Duct Tape and Standard Work - The Sexy Tools of Lean! Featuring Tom Root

  No one sent you a Zingerman’s Cheesecake? We’ve got the next best thing – an interview with Tom Root, the Managing Partner for Zingerman’s Mail Order and Chief Operating Officer for the larger community of Zingerman’s Businesses. Listen to the...

  
• 08.15.2018

  Customers Are Talking and Comcast Is Listening, Featuring Dana Wilson

  Got cable? Use Comcast? Tune in to hear VP of Customer Experience Assurance Dana Wilson reveal how to get not just the voice, but the look of the customer! In this month’s poll we find out what our listeners value most...

  
• 07.31.2018

  Building Better Government With a Lean Fellowship Program, Featuring Hollie Jensen

  Grab your favorite thermos for a commute with Tracy and Elisabeth – there is much to discuss! Check out Today’s Special to hear Hollie Jensen describe the Lean Fellowship program for the State of Washington – a first-class mentoring program...

  
• 07.16.2018

  Leaving the Office and Building a Joyous Culture With Gary Peterson

  This week we discover the benefits of adding agony to the hiring process. Get the back story from Elisabeth’s interview with Gary Peterson, VP of Operations for the Shingo Prize-winning O.C. Tanner Company. We’ll cover the surprising results of this month’s...

  
• 06.29.2018

  Chucking the Classic Job Interview With Amazing Results, Featuring Richard Sheridan

  This week Elisabeth interviews Richard Sheridan, a man who reimagined the way people could design and develop software. If you have not heard of his company, Menlo Innovations, you do not want to miss this interview! For our In The News...

  
• 06.15.2018

  Crafting a Lean Culture at TaylorMade Golf With Kevin Limbach

  In this episode, Tracy finds out how Renaissance man Kevin Limbach of TaylorMade Golf helped “infect the organization with great problem solvers.” For Survey Says, we’ll find out the results of our poll addressing the biggest challenge to completing online training...

  
• 05.31.2018

  How Effective Lean Leaders Model the Way With Danielle Hinz

  We have a great line up for this episode of the Just-In-Time Cafe Podcast! For Today’s Special we’ve got Tracy’s interview with Danielle Hinz, the Chief Procurement Officer for King County, Washington. She’s leaving government for Amazon, but rest assured, she’ll...

  
• 05.15.2018

  How to Balance Your Crap-to-Fun Ratio With a Personal Kanban, Featuring Shingo-Prize-Winning Author Jim Benson

  This episode is jam-packed with goodies! For Today’s Special, Tracy interviews Jim Benson, the coauthor of Personal Kanban. For the Appetizer we’ll review a free time tracking app called Toggl. For Lean Six Sigma In The News, we’ll find out how...

  
• 04.30.2018

  Ditch the Survey and Take a Journey With Your Customers, With Leslie Henckler

  In this episode we interview Leslie Henckler of TriNet who shares a technique called “Customer Journey Mapping.” Karyn Ross, co-author of The Toyota Way to Excellence, counts Leslie as her mentor, and we found out why. For an appetizer we’ll review...

  
• 04.16.2018

  Chicago Bulls Box Out Injuries With Lean Six Sigma, Featuring Chip Schaefer

  Find out why the Chicago Bulls Director of Sports Performance brought a Fishbone Diagram into the NBA and what happened next! Join the launch of our new poll about how to solve common Lean Six Sigma challenges. Check out Lean Six...

  
• 03.30.2018

  UC San Diego Sparks a Thriving Lean Six Sigma Community With Angela Cook

  In this episode we interview Angela Cook and find out what’s happening on the ground and virtually with Lean Six Sigma at UC San Diego. We’ll release our latest poll results and find out what problem-solvers need from leaders. In the...

  
• 03.16.2018

  How Clarity of Purpose Drives Better Improvement Results, With Karen Martin

  In this episode we interview power consultant Karen Martin and zero in on the role “purpose” plays in outstanding performance. We’ll give you a glimpse into her latest book, Clarity First, and which “Five Ps” make the difference for smart leaders....

  
• 02.28.2018

  Leaning Into Lean Leadership in Government, With John Dickson

  Join us as we find out from John Dickson of Spokane County the secret to nearly 500% improvement! Check out the Chicago Bulls in the news applying root cause analysis to sports medicine. Your poll results are in and we discovered...

  
• 02.15.2018

  Amazon Delivers Excellent Customer Service With Lean Six Sigma, Featuring Bob Zimering

  You don’t want to miss this episode! We’ll interview Bob Zimering who is the Senior Manager for what is essentially Amazon’s Lean Six Sigma effort. We cover an app that does your Excel work for you. We’ll find out what happens...

  
• 01.31.2018

  How Service Organizations Move From Mediocrity to Excellence, With Jeffrey Liker

  Tune in to hear Tracy’s interview with author Jeffrey Liker who just published The Toyota Way to Service Excellence. Find out about an app that facilitates seamless communication with bad grammar. Check out why Pearl Harbor airmen met up with a...

  
• 01.15.2018

  How the Best Hotels Shine With Lean Six Sigma, Featuring Sally Toister

  During this episode’s interview we’ll found out how Sally Toister made Starwood’s Lean Six Sigma Program even better at Marriott Hotels. We’ll highlight the work of some Indiana college students who used Six Sigma to divert bananas, among other things, from...

  
• 12.28.2017

  Unleash Your Creativity & Get Results Using the Toyota Way, With Shingo Prize Winner Karyn Ross

  Wrap up a fabulous 2017 with us at the Just-In-Time Cafe this month and listen to our interview with Shingo Prize winning author Karyn Ross as we discusses transformation in the service sector. We’ll cover an app that will make people...

  
• 11.30.2017

  Using Lean to Build Government's Capacity to Do More Good With Ken Miller

  If you’re in Thanksgiving turkey-recovery mode, relax and tune in to the Just-in-Time Cafe for the latest news and tips. Our guest this week is Ken Miller – a man credited with sparking phenomenal government transformation across the United States. This...

  
• 10.27.2017

  How to Live Lean and Love It Every Day With Paul Akers, Author of "2 Second Lean"

  Before you put your Halloween mask on, or maybe after, join us this October at the Just-in-Time Cafe for some problem-solving treats. Our guest this week is Lean icon Paul Akers and we’ll be discussing his journey from, in his words,...

  
• 09.29.2017

  UC San Diego Practices What They Teach With Lean Six Sigma, With Ashley Gambhir

  In this “Back-to-School” episode, we’ll interview Ashley Gambhir, a leader at UC San Diego who is improving education with Lean Six Sigma. For an appetizer we’ll serve up an app that “Leans Out” podcasts. Both government and healthcare make headlines in...

  
• 08.31.2017

  Why Engaged Employees Make Process Improvement Happen With John Guaspari, Employee Engagement Expert

  Big things happening at the Cafe as summer winds to a close. This month’s app addresses the little-known need for cartoons with improvement teams. One of our “In the News” segments covers the intersection of a college, a hospital and...

  
• 07.28.2017

  The Importance of Building a Lean Culture With Brett Cooper, Co-founder of Integris Performance Advisors

  We saved a seat for you to join us at the Just-In-Time Cafe this week to talk about apps, news, books and all things related to good clean problem solving. We’ll cover an app that gives PowerPoint a face lift. On...

  
• 06.30.2017

  Telling Stories That Create Monumental Change With Mitch Ditkoff, President of Idea Champions

  Join us this month where we’ll discuss an app that creates a digital workspace. On the Bulletin Board, we’ll say good-bye to a Quality Lion and then we’ll find out what happens when you let sailors out of the box. For...

  
• 05.26.2017

  Back to the Birth of Lean - A Journey to Toyota in Japan With Darril Wilburn, Senior Partner at Honsha

  This month, we’re going to discuss an app that makes the case for being “lucid.” On the Bulletin Board, we’ll find out why the University of California at San Diego is putting Lean Six Sigma into hot tubs and we’ll...

  
• 04.28.2017

  Getting Wild & Ending Extinction Using Lean Six Sigma With Jeff Foster of the San Diego Zoo

  This month, it’s all happening at the zoo. We’ll be interviewing Jeff Foster of the San Diego Zoo to find out how rhinos deal with process improvement. For today’s appetizer we’ll review an app that is bad grammar’s antidote to the...

  
• 03.30.2017

  Lean Tours at Seattle Children's Hospital Featuring Jay McNally

  This month, Tracy will be interviewing Jay McNally of Seattle Children’s Hospital where we’ll hear all about their famous Lean Tours. Today’s appetizer is a powerful app that everyone has and most people under-use. During the Bulletin Board segment we’ll discover...