Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond

By Mark GrabanBusiness Management

Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond episodes

September 28, 2022Damon Baker on Lean, Private Equity, and the Ownership Works Initiative
Partner with Coltala Holdings
Episode page with video, transcript, and more
My guest for Episode #458 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Damon Baker. He was recently my guest in Episode #454.
He is the founder and CEO of the firm Lean Focus. He's also a Private Equity Partner at Coltala Holdings.
Today, we're taking a deeper dive into the world of private equity, how Lean can support a particular P.E. model, and the “Ownership Works” Initiative.
Damon Baker has been implementing Lean practices in various GM & VP-level capacities for more than 25 years, but it was at Danaher, where he worked for nine years, that his passion for true business transformation was born. He was instrumental in developing Danaher's company-wide Problem-Solving Process, and was inspired to create a new, comprehensive business system that enables organizations to improve on all fronts.
He has worked in a Shingo Prize-winning facility and is a Shingo Prize Examiner.
Over his career, Damon has demonstrated hands-on leadership and facilitation of 500+ kaizen events in close to 100 major corporations in 16 different countries.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
Private Equity 101?
Public vs. private vs. private equity?
Two types of P.E. firms
Time is up and the fund exits? Means they have to sell the companies?
Has there been a shift in the PE philosophy on extracting value vs. creating value, or do some just do it differently / better?
Mission over margin? Conscious Capitalism?
Lean in private equity — What does PE care about?? Vs. Public Equity
How did you get first get involved with PE?
Coltala Enterprise System? Which tools to apply in which business? Priorities and problem solving?
A lean practitioner working for a PE-owned company? What to ask or look for?
Humility and confidence – Larry Culp talked about this
Tell us about the “Ownership Works Initiative” — KKR and other firms (TPG) – it's not ESOP model
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.
59 min
September 21, 2022Sam Morgan on Being a ”Confident Learner” and a ”Light” for Others in Continuous Improvement
Kata geek and coach
Episode page with video, transcript, and more
Joining me for Episode #457 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Sam Morgan.
Sam is a self-proclaimed “confident learner” and earlier this year after 5 years of practice in the continuous improvement space he landed at KataCon, a conference for continuous improvement professionals who practice the Toyota Kata.
At KataCon, he had a powerful moment realizing where his true passion lies: transforming people through coaching. I'll ask Sam more about that. Sam finds joy in seeing his clients move from fearful to fearless; from insecure to confident.
I know Sam as the host of the YouTube series “C.I. in 5” and he's been part of a learning and collaboration group called “The Lean Communicators.“
His newly launched coaching website is www.illuminatecoach.com. You can also find him on LinkedIn.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
How, when, and where did you first get introduced to continuous improvement concepts and methods?
How did you get introduced to Toyota Kata?
What does it mean to be a “confident learner”?
Adam Grant's book Think Again
Why “Sam Loves Lean” as an email account and account name?
We turn the tables on Sam to ask him his “C.I. in 5”
What is your C.I. in 5? – “confident learning for all”
Tell me about your t-shirt… and for those who are listening via podcast instead of watching via YouTube
Respect for people
Intentionally focusing on inviting guests who are women of color? And people of color more broadly…
“There's not that many Black faces in attendance at Lean conferences, yet alone up on stage,… in what way does systemic racism cause that? What can we, what should we do about that?”
Being welcoming vs. expanding the pool?
Company representation in CI roles?
What is your “Illuminate U” program?
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.
1 hr 8 min
September 14, 2022Jake Stiles on Lean Executives, the Recruiting Landscape, and a Coming ”Compensation Correction”
CEO of Stiles Associates
Episode page with video, transcript, and more
Joining me for Episode #456 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Jake Stiles, CEO of Stiles Associates.
For nearly three decades, Jake has played an instrumental role in growing Stiles Associates from a niche recruiting agency to the premier Lean executive search firm in the country.
He's helped transform client organizations by placing top talent across a wide spectrum of industrial segments including manufacturing, consulting, healthcare and professional services.
As Lean and continuous improvement have spread from factory floors to hospitals, financial institutions and beyond, Jake has continued to build ties to thought leaders and increase Lean's scope at the most innovative institutions.
As a result, he's served as a member of numerous industry associations and boards – including the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) and the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership (GBMP).
Disclosure: Stiles Associates has been a sponsor of the podcast since the start of 2021.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
How did you first get introduced to Lean?
Brought Art Byrne into Wiremold as CEO
Looking for 80% personality / 20% technical??
“Not settling… always pushing, but bringing the team along” — emotional intelligence
Tips for being successful in a new environment?
Transformational executives? Does their experience translate?
Operating vs. transforming – how to evaluate beyond a willingness to lead it??
Search process similar to the transformation process — understanding the current state and the issues… what problem are you trying to solve? Iteration with the client
Jumping across industries — in particular Manufacturing to Healthcare? Key success factors?
How are you counseling hiring companies in a very competitive market?? Candidate-driven market?
Advice for how to work with a recruiter (as a candidate) vs. applying directly for a job?
Compensation “correction” is coming??
Is accepting a counteroffer always a bad idea?
Differences in working for a public company vs a PE company?
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.
57 min
August 24, 2022Ken Pilone on Lean Leadership, Toyota, and Lean Leadership on a Napkin
Former Toyota employee and author
Episode page with transcript and more
My guest for Episode #455 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ken Pilone. He is the author of Lean Leadership on a Napkin: An Executive's Guide to Lean Transformation in Three Proven Steps.
Ken has more than 30 years of experience in Organization Development in Government, Retail, Automotive, Distribution, and Aerospace. He is currently the Senior Manager of Business Process Engineering at Providence Health & Services — a role that encompasses internal Lean consulting, including executive coaching, lean training, leadership development, and all functions typical of a lean promotion or PI/CI function.
He spent nearly 20 years with Toyota as Lean consultant within 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, dealer operations, etc. In addition, he led the Center for Lean Thinking.
Ken has a Masters in Industrial Psychology and Organizational Development with his Toyota experience, Ken has developed specialties in Lean consulting in non-production environments, curriculum development and delivery, leadership and management development coaching, Toyota problem solving method training and public speaking.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
Your Lean/TPS origin story?
How did you end up at Toyota?
How did they train and develop you?
What did you have to unlearn?
The University of Toyota – purpose for that?
Bigger challenge: Translating TPS and Japanese where it's not manufacturing or where it's not Japan?
The “Center for Lean Thinking” at Toyota — No heartburn over the word Lean? Why call it that? Was there debate about that?
“The Toyota salute” = a shrug (I dunno)
TPS = Lean? It depends??
Hard to get Toyota to define TPS — always changing
How was Toyota distinguishing between TPS and Lean internally?
Copying practices vs. principles?
“Single biggest failure mode” = practices & tools and why aren't I getting the same result…
“Toyota Traditions” curriculum
What inspired you to write the book?
3 step approach — introduction, integration, and internalization? Vs. implementation?
The most common or most harmful misinformation out there about Lean and Lean leadership?
5 Whys — why 5 isn't a “rigid rule”?
Why could it be seen as “offensive” if somebody describes themselves as a “sensei”?
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.
1 hr 15 min
August 17, 2022Why Damon Baker Thinks Lean Has a Marketing Problem; the Need to Speak the CEO’s Language
CEO of "Lean Focus"
Episode page with video, transcript, and more
My guest for Episode #454 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Damon Baker. He is the founder and CEO of the firm Lean Focus. He's also a Private Equity Partner at Coltala Holdings.
Damon Baker has been implementing Lean practices in various GM & VP-level capacities for more than 25 years, but it was at Danaher, where he worked for nine years, that his passion for true business transformation was born. He was instrumental in developing Danaher's company-wide Problem-Solving Process, and was inspired to create a new, comprehensive business system that enables organizations to improve on all fronts.
He has worked in a Shingo Prize-winning facility and is a Shingo Prize Examiner.
Over his career, Damon have demonstrated hands-on leadership and facilitation of 500+ kaizen events in close to 100 major corporations in 16 different countries.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
How did you first get introduced to Lean or TPS — what was the context and the circumstances?
Want people to have a positive experience with Lean…
Evaluating someone's lineage?? Company, influences, who they learned from??
What were the key components of the Danaher Business System — and why a “business system” instead of a “production system”?
You say “The Lean community has a marketing problem” — why is that and how do you define that problem?
Our language vs. the language CEOs speak
CEOs care about value creation, making the quarter, how Lean is going to help them
Conferences as echo chambers — where are CEOs and CHROs going to?
“Our CEO isn't buying in…” — what do you suggest?
How many CEOs are “Lean Zealots” like Art Byrne??
Tell us more about your firm Lean Focus –what types of clients do you serve?
Lean in private equity — What does PE care about?? Vs. Public Equity
Has there been a shift in the PE philosophy on extracting value vs. creating value, or do some just do it differently / better?
Tell us about the “Ownership Works Initiative” — KKR and other firms (TPG)
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.
56 min
August 10, 2022Sarah Boisvert on New Collar Careers and the Need for 21st Century Apprenticeships
My guest for Episode #453 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Sarah Boisvert. She is the founder of New Collar Network and Fab Lab Hub.
Episode page
Her career spans advanced “smart” manufacturing, art and music, and innovative workforce training.
Her mission as part of the Fab Lab Network is to create pathways that often do not require college degrees to well-paying, engaging “New Collar” careers, utilizing disruptive technologies like 3D printing, laser machining, robotics, VR and AI/machine learning.
She's joining us on the podcast from Albuquerque.
She is the author of the books The New Collar Workforce and People of the New Collar Workforce.
In collaboration with Santa Fe Community College, Boisvert also founded the New Collar Innovation Center at the Santa Fe Higher Education Center in 2021 to foster innovation in lifelong learning, New Collar workforce training, and the creation of 21st-century startups.
Sarah is going to be part of a main stage keynote panel at the AME annual conference, being held in Dallas, October 17 to 20.
Joining Sarah on the panel are Deondra Wardelle, who was my guest in Episode 405, and also Amy Gowder, President and CEO of GE Aviation Military Systems Operations. I'm going to be moderating the panel.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
You've done many fascinating things in your career… but to ground the conversation, for this podcast, what was your first exposure to Lean manufacturing?
Deming?
Lean in your kitchen?– her choice, reducing frustration
“Lean is people centric”
You said in 2018: “U.S. manufacturing companies are expected to face a shortage of 2 million skilled workers by the year 2020.” — assume this came true? Made worse by the pandemic?
It's worse, much worse than predicted?
A problem beyond manufacturing
For these new technologies…Which of those skills are most in short supply?
What are the skills that “new collar” employees need to have… coming out of high school?
Problem solving — it CAN be taught
As you shared on LinkedIn… “General Motors is expanding hiring requirements to skills, not just degrees!
Give an example of how “degree creep” causes problems?
Working with Los Alamos National Laboratories to also change hiring policies?
As an expert in 3D printing, how do you help companies decide when 3D printing isn't just “cool” but is actually more effective and the preferred choice?
Are your earrings 3d printed? YES
What are the benefits of 3D printing??
There are people in Dallas working on a 3D-printed house? Concrete?
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.
59 min
August 03, 2022Luke Szymer on Agile, Testing Hypotheses, and Process Behavior Charts
Founder of “Launch Tomorrow.”
Episode page with transcript, video, and more
My guest for Episode #452 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Luke Szyrmer. He's the founder of “Launch Tomorrow.” He helps new technology products get to market faster (even remotely).
Luke is the author of the books Align Remotely: How to achieve together, when everyone is working from home and Launch Tomorrow: Take Your Product, Startup, or Business From Idea to Launch in One Day.
He's the host of the highly rated “Managing Remote Teams” podcast. He comes from a product management background and has a BA in Economics and English from the University of Pennsylvania.
He's joining us on the podcast from Poland.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
Background question — How did you get introduced to Agile, Lean Startup, things like that?
“Fuzzy side of innovation”?? — time wasted 20-30 years ago?
Doing the wrong things righter?
Tampering – and increasing variation
Processes for creating software?
When you were reading about “Lean Manufacturing”? How does that resonate with? How does that relate to you and your work?
How easy is it to estimate “story points”?
Lean Thinking – batch vs flow… physical flow vs. work flow — Adaptations to the flow of software?
Takt time – how to translate this in terms of required software, requirements, points
How did you learn about Process Behavior Charts?
Why did that resonate with you?
How do you incorporate PBCs into your work?
Counting physical products vs. story points (something more esoteric)?
Landing pages – product or service that doesn't exist yet
What to test BEFORE a landing page?
How to make a good decision with limited data points?
What's so powerful about testing an idea as a hypothesis?
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.
44 min
July 27, 2022Alan Robinson on Continuous Improvement for All and Practical Innovation in Government
Episode page: https://leanblog.org/451
My guest for Episode #451 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dr. Alan G. Robinson. He specializes in managing ideas, building high-performance organizations, creativity, innovation, quality, and lean production. He is the co-author of 13 books, many of which have been translated into more than twenty-five languages.
Dr. Robinson is on the faculty of the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. and M.A. in mathematics from the University of Cambridge.
He has served on the Board of Examiners of the United States' Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and on the Board of Examiners for the Shingo Prizes for Excellence in Manufacturing.
He's a returning guest (Episode 217) – talked about one of his previous books (co-authored with Dean Schroeder) — The Idea-Driven Organization.
His bestselling book, Ideas Are Free, co-authored with Schroeder, was based on a global study of more than 150 organizations in 17 countries. It describes how the best companies go about getting large numbers of ideas from their front-line employees, and the competitive advantages they gain from this.
His new book, available now, also co-authored with Schroeder is Practical Innovation in Government: How Front-Line Leaders Are Transforming Public-Sector Organizations.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
As we've learned from you previously… “Roughly 80 percent of any organization's improvement potential lies in front-line ideas.” — Potential?
Continuous Improvement vs Innovation? Used to draw a distinction
The Tesla factory doesn't have the continuous improvement culture of NUMMI?
How much progress have you seen in terms of executives understanding the power of engaging everybody in bring forward and implementing ideas?
Alan's first book was with Shingo — “mass creativity”
UMass Memorial Health — 100,000 ideas and your role helping them?
Tell us about the new book — what prompted you and Dean to write this for this audience? What prompted the research?
Educating / influencing elected leaders vs. career government employees
The role of front-line leaders vs. senior leaders vs. elected officials?
Non-partisan – almost 50/50 from their research party wise
The phrase “practical innovation”?
Does adopting these practices mean we are “running government like a business”??
Adoption at local (including schools), state, or federal levels?
Does “practical innovation” get past pointing simply to budgets as a barrier?
Demanding cost savings or ROI is a kiss of death for improvement?
1841 — Original article that invented cost/benefit analysis… “only useful for the simplest…”
“Why cost/benefit analysis is stupid“
Would we expect government in Japan to be a leader in Kaizen?
1 hr 15 min
July 13, 2022Torbjorn Netland, PhD on Company Production Systems, Lean & Technology, and More
Episode page: https://leanblog.org/450
My guest for Episode #450 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Professor Torbjorn Netland, Ph.D.
Tor is the chair of production and operations management in the department of management, technology and economics at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.
He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains and a Fellow of the European Academy for Industrial Management.
His award-winning research on managing performance improvement appears in leading scientific journals such as Management Science, MIT Sloan Management Review, Journal of Operations Management, and more.
Tor is a recognized thought-leader in operational excellence (including lean) and is the recipient of two Shingo Research Awards and numerous teaching awards.
His blogs at www.better-operations.com.
Like my recent guest, Dr. Lisa Yerian (ep 449), Tor is going to be one of the keynote speakers at the 2022 AME Conference, being held in Dallas — Oct 17 to 20. I'll be there and I hope you will be too.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
Tor, what is the topic of your keynote talk on the AME theme of “Embrace Disruption”?
Tell us your thoughts on the role of new technologies in Lean?
Not just emulating Toyota of the 1960s
Lessons learned about bringing new ideas to people?
The dream of the lights-out factory has been haunting us for a while now – GM CEO Roger Smith in the 1980s and in more recent years Elon Musk at Tesla… is that still a dream? Is it a dystopian nightmare? Or something in between?
How did you first get interested in Lean and Operational Excellence?
Dogma vs practical realities – Buffers? Inspection?
Last year, you blogged about the confusion around “what is Lean?” How do you define Lean and what's the most common confusion?
Different views of researchers?
How do you describe the role of company-specific production systems?
Difference in having YOUR production system vs. just a name?
“If you like heated debates, start a discussion thread on the definition of lean on LinkedIn.”
Another heated debate — Lean is not TPS? Goes beyond TPS?
Tell us why it's wrong to blame JIT for pandemic-era supply chain problems…
You have a textbook, written with Michel Baudin, coming out — tell us about that?
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.
1 hr 2 min
June 29, 2022Lisa Yerian, MD on the Cleveland Clinic’s Improvement Journey and How Lean Got Them Through COVID
Chief Improvement Officer at the Cleveland Clinic
Episode page
My guest for Episode #449 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Lisa Yerian, MD.
She joined Cleveland Clinic in anatomic pathology in 2004, and has held several pathology and enterprise leadership positions. After 10 years serving as Medical Director of Continuous Improvement, Dr. Yerian was named Cleveland Clinic's first Chief Improvement Officer of Continuous Improvement in December 2019.
She's going to be one of the keynote speakers at the 2022 AME Conference, being held in Dallas — Oct 17 to 20. I'll be there and I hope you will be too.
Lisa was previously a guest here in Episode 282 back in 2017. Also joining that for that episode was our friend and her colleague, Nate Hurle.
Today, we discuss topics and questions including:
Remembering Nate Hurle (my blog post)
My last podcast with him (episode 404), Nate talked about how the CCIM and your continuous improvement work was helping with Covid testing, treatment, and vaccination… new processes.
As you shared recently at the Catalysis Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit, how did your Lean management system get you through Covid?
Daily management system
Tiered daily huddles
Problem solving systems
“Covid put that system to the test”
Adaptations were required — learned how to make changes to the standard work in hours, not weeks
Urgency – had to work past the old expectation that it takes 3 months to solve problems
The Cleveland Clinic journey
2006: project-based work and some basic tools
2012: deliberately focused on building culture
Started a “culture of improvement” A3
Defined current state, future state — and the gap
Challenge: perception that we're already doing well enough
Little Red Book of Selling (a book Nate loved)
Culture of excellence – “Not getting better fast enough”
A3 problem solving
“Having a piece of paper is a way to de-escalate…”
Building on a culture of patients first
Lisa's appearance with me on the Habitual Excellence podcast
Good enough, world class, vs. aiming for zero harm?
59 min

About Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond

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Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations features thoughtful, in-depth discussions with leaders, authors, executives, and practitioners who are applying Lean thinking in the real world.