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

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/141

Remastered audio June 2021

Episode #141 is a chat with Norman Bodek, as he shares his recollections of working with Taiichi Ohno, one of the creators of the Toyota Production System. Norman met and worked with Ohno in Japan and then published the translation of Ohno's classic book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production in 1988.

For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/141.

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple Podcasts.

Episode #140 is a discussion with Scott Patten and Peter Armstrong from LeanPub.com  – they want to be THE website for publishing “in-progress books”. We'll be talking about lean publishing and how that's different than self publishing and about how leanpub.com works. In the upcoming part 2 of the podcast, we'll talk more about how they are applying the concepts of the Lean Startup methodology to their service and their business.

Conflict of interest disclosure:  I have published a number of books through Leanpub. I'm a huge raving fan of their service and the way Scott and Peter have worked with me as I learned and used Leanpub.com.  

For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/140.

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple Podcasts.

Episode #139 is a conversation with Dave Munch, MD, the Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Healthcare Performance Partners (HPP). Before joining the consulting firm, Dave was a senior C-level clinical leader at Exempla Lutheran Health System where he led their Lean Production applications for more than five years, resulting in substantial improvements in both clinical and non-clinical processes.

Today, we are talking about important Lean mindsets and systems principles, including making it safe for people to surface problems in the workplace and aligning management behaviors and methods at all levels so we can use Lean to achieve our most important objectives in healthcare. Dave is also a speaker at the upcoming Lean Healthcare PowerDay event, produced by HPP. Hope to see you there!

Conflict of interest disclosure: I will be a paid speaker at the Lean PowerDay event.

For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/139.

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple Podcasts.

Episode #138 is a discussion with Al Norval from Lean Pathways, talking about his new publication titled:

“The Lean Manifesto: Back to basics – how a Lean business system creates value by engaging everyone in improvement.”

It's a free six-page document and you can download it here. The manifesto is a fun, upbeat guide to the basics of the Lean methodology and management system, including a brief history of Lean, as well as its foundational concepts, and a discussion of why “just in time” is not the right place to start.

Conflict of interest disclosure: I have a business relationship with Lean Pathways where I sometimes work with their healthcare clients.

For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/138.

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple Podcasts.

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at [email protected] or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the “Lean Line” at (817) 993-0630 or contact me via Skype id “mgraban”. Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

Alistair Norval is a professional engineer who developed his skills at Eastman Kodak Company, where he helped design and implement the Kodak Operating System, based on the principles of the Toyota Production System. In this capacity, he received in-depth personal training with leading international senseis. Following that, Alistair helped guide Celestica International, a provider of Electronic Manufacturing Services, with their lean journey at multiple site value streams in Asia. More recently, Alistair has been guiding clients on their lean transformation while achieving significant business results. His clients include the Medical, Consumer, and Professional Services business sectors.

Alistair has been a manager of manufacturing, product and process engineering, and has helped launch several plants. His experience covers both continuous chemical processes as well as discrete manufacturing. He has applied lean methods in new product development and the supply chain. His passion is to apply lean thinking across the enterprise so as to achieve consistently superior results.

Episode #137 is a chat with Jerry Bussell, founder of the Jacksonville Lean Consortium. I've met and talked with Jerry many times through LEI, so I'm thrilled to finally get him on the podcast.

Jerry is a retired Medtronic executive (leading Lean efforts in a unit that won the Shingo Prize); he's now doing work with healthcare quality improvement, he's writing a new book, and he's speaking at the Lean Transformation Summit next month in Jacksonville.

Jerry is also friends with Sami Bahri, DDS – and he's also a patient of the “World's First Lean Dentist” (click here for my podcasts with Sami, episodes 29, 69, and 82).

For a link to this episode, refer people to  www.leanblog.org/137.

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple Podcasts.

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at [email protected] or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the “Lean Line” at (817) 993-0630 or contact me via Skype id “mgraban”. Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

About Jerry Bussell (from the Lean Transformation Summit site):

Sporting a license plate reading “Leanjax,” Jerry Bussell is the past chairman and founder of the Jacksonville Lean Consortium, a group of companies and government agencies improving business performance by sharing knowledge about implementing lean principles. Recently retired as vice president, Global Operations, at Medtronic Surgical  Technologies, Bussell is president of Bussell Lean Associates, a lean management advisory service for CEOs and their executive teams. He is also an executive advisor to Underwriters Laboratories' Center of  Continuous Improvement and Innovation.

Bussell received the prestigious Medtronic Wallin Leadership award for transforming Medtronic ENT's traditional manufacturing operation into a nationally recognized model of lean manufacturing. Under his leadership, Medtronic ENT/NT received an IndustryWeek Best Plants award for North America in 2002, a Shingo Prize in 2003, and a Shingo  Silver Medallion recipient in 2009. In 2005 Bussell was inducted into the Shingo Academy for his contributions to operational excellence. He is a past chairman of the Board of Governors for the Shingo Prize and is a member of the Champions Club with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence. Bussell holds a bachelor's degree from St.  John Fisher College and a master's degree from Baylor University.

He is currently writing a book on lean leadership lessons from Abraham  Lincoln that will be available in 2012.