WLEI - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast
Lean Enterprise Institute
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You will hear stories from lean thought leaders, lean practitioners, and adjacent communities in various industries on many topics such as problem solving, coaching, leadership, meaningful work and more.
Available episodes
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Mar 7, 2023
Strategies for Tackling Complex Problems: a Conversation with Paolo Savaget
What is the best way to tackle complex problems? Getting better at this perennial challenge certainly fuels the beating heart of lean practice. It is the key theme in author Paolo Savaget's new book, The Four Workarounds: Strategies from the World’s Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems. He discusses his findings with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld.
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Feb 14, 2023
Empowering Frontline Operators with Human-Centric Technology: a Conversation with Natan Linder
Lean practice has always coexisted with technology that enables the human operators to do their job better—in the service of delivering more value with less waste to the customer. But do today’s digitized, information-saturated, workplaces provide so much assistance that the machines actually get in the way? In his new book, Augmented Lean, co-author Natan Linder talks with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld about how Tulip, the company he co-founded to provide a “human-centric framework for managing frontline operations,” seeks to delegate technology and improvement to the operators doing the key lean work.
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Oct 28, 2022
Creating a System to Achieve Ambitious Goals: A WLEI Podcast
Lean veteran Billy Taylor, author of the new book The Winning Link: A Proven Process to Define, Align, and Execute Strategy at Every Level, discusses with WLEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld how to cultivate "extreme leadership" as a means of building a cohesive and top-tier organization.
Bill shares a "connected operating system" that, he says, helps people and organizations define and achieve ambitious goals. He learned and developed this approach through decades of success at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
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May 18, 2022
Handling the Heat of the Kitchen: A WLEI Podcast
Organizing a restaurant kitchen is a daunting task to think about. Find and establish the problems at hand, implement an improved process to adhere to those problems. It all lends itself towards increased profitability, more respect for the workers with emphasis on value-creating work, increased tact-time; but its also much easier said than done.
A flagship restaurant worked with LEI coaches and learned to increase their profitability through the lens of storytelling, where each piece is an innate - and respected - part of the whole.
Listen in to hear how this all came together, and also check out the case study complementing this podcast.
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Apr 27, 2022
Embracing Regret for Better Living: A WLEI Podcast with author Dan Pink
Regret, the pervasive and often toxic emotional mess most of us invariably experience, need not be so painful, says best-selling author Dan Pink. In fact, his new book The Power of Regret counsels readers to deliberately view regret as a process that can be examined in a way to help us all lead better lives. This WLEI podcast with host Tom Ehrenfeld explores how Pink came to this conclusion and explores parallels between his approach to processing regret and Lean’s mindful approach to framing problems for continuous improvement.
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Jan 27, 2022
Talking Toyota: A WLEI Podcast with Jim Womack and Josh Howell
In 2021 Toyota Motor became the first manufacturer from outside the United States to sell the most cars in the USA. While this news hook may very well prove to be transient, it raises key issues about what has accounted for the company’s success. What aspects of Toyota’s vaunted production system, which is foundational for lean, have supported its success? How does Toyota’s approach contrast with a company such as Tesla? How can companies productively balance the need to develop products that dazzle consumers with the need to simultaneously develop the brilliant processes that produce these coveted items?
Join LEI founder Jim Womack and LEI President Josh Howell in a conversation hosted by Tom Ehrenfeld about lean’s enduring value in today’s time of discontinuity.
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Nov 29, 2021
Lean‘s Role in Labor Shortages and the Supply Chain
In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, Matt Savas sits down with LEI President Josh Howell and Richard Vellante, Executive Director of Community and Training Events at LEI. They discuss the labor shortage and recent supply chain issues with the perspectives and intuition, as well as addressing recent blames towards lean within the supply chain industry.
Leadership is at the center of these topics, with Rich's experience as an Executive Chef lending some hands on nuance to the conversation. Leaders should be hard on the process, not the people getting accustomed to that process.
NFT's are also discussed, as their ever developing trajectory in the media landscape surely can borrow a thing or two from the way that lean thinkers lead and act.
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Jul 25, 2021
Imagining A World Without Email with Cal Newport
How much of your work time do you spend doing actual work that leverages what you do best? And how much of your invaluable time and focus is chipped away by myriad distractions—of which the most pernicious might be email and its constant demand for your attention. I’m Tom Ehrenfeld, host of the Lean Enterprise Institute’s WLEI podcast. I spoke with author Cal Newport about his newest book, A World Without Email, where he challenges us to rethink why we need to be constantly plugged into communication that seldom helps us produce valuable work.
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Jun 27, 2021
Creating Better Jobs and Better Work: A Podcast with Sarah Kalloch and Josh Howell
As we slowly emerge from the long pandemic, LEI and colleagues like the Good Jobs Institute are deeply committed to helping produce decent jobs. In this conversation, LEI President Josh Howell spoke with Executive Director Sarah Kalloch of the Good Jobs Institute about ways they are both working to help foster good work. WLEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld moderated this conversation.
Download a transcript of the conversation here.
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May 23, 2021
Exploring When More is Not Better With Roger Martin
Roger Martin’s terrific new book When More is Not Better proposes tangible suggestions for broadening the economic gains from democratic capitalism. He critiques the concentration of wealth and power that decades of what he calls America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency have generated, proposing tangible measures for business leaders, politicians, educators and citizens to pursue. In this conversation with LEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld, Roger explores lean-adjacent measures that complement his message. What operational, approaches might be considered in concert with his policy-based and systematic suggestions?
Download a transcript of this talk here.
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Apr 26, 2021
Diving Deep to Discover the Value of Lean Companies with Cliff Ransom
Lean done right can dramatically boost the value of any enterprise over the long term, argues Cliff Ransom. For decades Cliff has been analyzing the value of companies by researching and above all visiting them to suss out the integrity of their lean practice. His detailed reports (by his firm Ransom Research) on the performance of companies such as Danaher, GE, Fortive, and many others are closely followed by a passionate slice of the investment world. The following conversation drills down into the lessons learned from looking at public companies through lean-colored glasses.
Click Here to download a transcript of the conversation.
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Mar 21, 2021
Seeking the Right Problems to Solve: Catch the WLEI Podcast with Author Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg makes a bold promise in his new book, What’s Your Problem? (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020). He seeks to upgrade people’s ability to solve problems by understanding how to solve the right problems. Learning to reframe problems can help people to stop chasing the wrong solutions, better understand what they are grappling with, and, in some cases find radically better solutions. Join us in listening to his insights on ways that everyone can boost their ability to solve the right problems.
Click here to download a full transcript of the conversation.
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Feb 21, 2021
Exploring the Continued Relevance of Lean, A Best of Podcast
The global pandemic coupled with profound structural economic shifts are two daunting challenges reinforcing the need for a powerful method of framing and facing crucial problems today. Over the past year, our monthly podcast WLEI has aired conversations with Jim Womack, Dan Jones, Karen Gaudet, and other thought leaders exploring the power of lean—and adjacent schools of thought—as a source of promising countermeasures.
Lean can help people face problems both large (reviving healthy enterprise in this economy) and small (clarifying tangible ways to create workplaces that respect their workers). Thinkers such as Dan Heath discussed the power of solving problems completely--but more importantly, preventing them from happening in the first place. Author/coach Karen Gaudet explained how a disciplined system of standard work can create a workplace that is resilient enough to respond to unimaginable tragedy.
And while tackling external problems is vital, many individuals also noted th…
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Jan 24, 2021
Diving Deeper into the Toyota Way: A Podcast with Jeff Liker
Professor Jeffrey Liker’s The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles From the World’s Greatest Manufacturer has proved to be one of the most influential books of the lean movement—and beyond. Last month he published a revised second edition of this classic resource, bringing new thinking and context to his explanation of what makes this system so dynamic and enduring.
Liker explains his emphasis on what scholar Takahiro Fujimoto calls its “superior evolutionary learning capability,” providing more grit and clarity on topics such as its organic (not mechanistic) nature. Listen to him discuss these topics with LEI Senior Editor Tom Ehrenfeld in this new edition of the WLEI podcast.
You can download a PDF of the transcript at https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/600.pdf
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Nov 22, 2020
Making Lean Stick and Avoiding Flatlining: A Conversation with Mark Deluzio, Art Byrne, and Jim Womack
The long-term success of companies like Danaher, Fortive, Herman Miller, Parker Hannifin and many others, have all validated the power of lean thinking and practice. But if that’s the case, why aren’t there more exemplars? And why do so many companies either intentionally misconstrue Lean, or fail to realize its full promise over time?
Long-time Lean veteran Mark Deluzio has recently published Flatlined: Why Lean Transformations Fail and What to Do About It. Join him, Art Byrne, Jim Womack and host Tom Ehrenfeld in a wide-ranging conversation about the ongoing gap between operations at most companies—and an ideal Lean state.
Be sure to download an edited transcript of their conversation here.
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Oct 25, 2020
Leading to Learn, Learning to Lead: A Podcast with Katie Anderson and Isao Yoshino
“It’s only a failure if you don’t learn,” says Mr. Isao Yoshino, who shared many key lessons from his career at Toyota with Katie Anderson, who based her new book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn on his experience and insights. Join us for a podcast with host Tom Ehrenfeld that explores the lessons gleaned from his career at Toyota.
Download a complete transcript of the conversation here: https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/597.pdf
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Sep 27, 2020
Becoming the Change with John Toussaint and Kim Barnas
Lean has always promised great improvements for health care providers, but has there been a personal element that has been lacking to date? In this episode of WLEI, two healthcare giants, Kim Barnas and John Toussaint, will share a key insight from their new book Becoming the Change: they argue that personal transformation on the part of healthcare leaders plays a vital role in broader organizational change. Listen in for insights and advice on how to help your lean effort.
You can download a transcript by copying the following URL into your browser: https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/596.pdf
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Aug 26, 2020
Exploring the Advantages of Online Learning
As all of us try to figure out how to work in this pandemic-tinted world, lean practice suggests a few practical approaches. In this special edition of WLEI, the podcast of the Lean Enterprise Institute LEI’s Josh Howell, Matt Savas, and Masia Goodman talk about how the design of the upcoming Virtual Lean Learning Experience taps into lean ways of learning and leverages the latest learning technologies.
You can download a transcript by copying the following URL into your browser: https://www.lean.org/Search/Documents/594.pdf
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Aug 23, 2020
Tapping Technology to Boost the Power of Lean: A Talk with Jeff Liker and Jim Morgan
Industry 4.0 is not a disruptive force that makes TPS irrelevant, but rather can be an enabler that builds on lean culture and thinking. What principles should lean companies prioritize as they introduce digital tools into their work? Lean thinkers Jeff Liker and Jim Morgan start with the basics of people, processes, and purpose. Listen in to their thoughts as they discuss the TPS-Industry 4.0 mashup with Host Tom Ehrenfeld in this latest episode of WLEI.
You can read and download a complete transcript of the conversation
Copy and past this link: https://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=5333
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Jul 26, 2020
Tailoring a Path to Lean Transformation
Over the past five years, the Lean Global Network’s Lean Healthcare Initiative has carried out extensive research in eight hospitals across five countries, and recently published the white paper, "5 Guiding Principles to Transform Healthcare." In this podcast, LEI Senior Coach and white paper co-author Alice Lee shares insights into the research conducted by this group of “tailors” (individuals who saw patterns and helped identify how to apply them). She expands on the five guiding principles they developed and explains how these insights were gleaned from healthcare organizations. The principles provide guidance for any chief architect in any organization looking for traction with their lean work.
* You can download a free copy of the paper here.
* Download a transcript of the conversation here.
Learn from top healthcare leaders who are transforming their organizations through lean thinking and practice, including,
* Lisa Yerian, MD, Chief Improvement Officer at the Cle…
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Jun 21, 2020
How to Develop Emotional Agility At Work: A Conversation with Susan David
Regardless of how well you track tangible metrics in your workplace, neglecting underlying emotions has enduring costs, says Susan David, author of the best-selling book Emotional Agility. Many performance gaps are partly caused by human factors—underlying conditions that don’t necessarily show up on Pareto charts, yet have as much relevance and bearing on business outcomes as other common gaps that are identified as problems to address. Join this WLEI podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the need to acknowledge and “manage” emotions as a means of developing broader agility for your work team.
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May 24, 2020
How Will Lean Shape the Post-Covid World?
"What will the world look like when Covid-19 recedes, and what role will Lean play? According to Lean Pioneer Dan Jones, Lean can play a key role in shaping the emerging economy in numerous ways—not simply boosting performance of legacy assets of mass production, but also helping to scale up new technologies much faster through several generations with user feedback. “Most significantly, it can mobilize the creative contribution of everyone, including users, to develop very different and sustainable systems for the future.”
Tune in to this conversation between Dan and WLEI Podcast Host Tom Ehrenfeld for an engaging conversation into the potential role of Lean as we move into and beyond this current age.
Download a transcript of the interview here. And check out this Lean Post adapted from Dan’s talk."
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Apr 26, 2020
Practicing Steady Work for Lean Value with Karen Gaudet
"What is the role of a lean leader, and what is the humbling daily work that goes into this task? How can one humbly assume the very ambitious role of leading others in earnest lean practice? And how does one prepare for heroic actions by creating a steady cadence of productive daily habits? These are the types of questions explored by Karen Gaudet in her new LEI book titled Steady Work. Tune in to her podcast with Tom Ehrenfeld here."
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Mar 22, 2020
Preventing Problems by Thinking Upstream: A Talk with Author Dan Heath
“We should shift more of our energies upstream personally, organizationally, nationally, and globally. We can and we should stop dealing with the symptoms of problems again and again, and start fixing them." So writes author Dan Heath in his terrific new book Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, which has just been published.
This conversation between LEI editor Tom Ehrenfeld and Dan explores the practical applications of the upstream mindset, and; given the timing, explores how upstream thinking is all the more relevant in our current pandemic. Please listen in, and stay tuned until the final minutes of this podcast: Dan makes a special offer to all you listeners!
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Mar 15, 2020
Why You Need A Product Focus for Enterprise Transformation
In his talk from the 2018 Designing the Future summit, Rivian COO and LEI Senior Advisor Jim Morgan discusses how Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) serves as an enterprise activity that can engage the entire organization and improve operations and growth. LPPD's principles and practices will result in better products, argues Morgan, who shares the following key ideas:
*People first
*Understand—then execute
*Design new value streams
*Create a framework of success
*Constantly learn and improve
*Establish an effective management system
Tune in here to listen to the full podcast of his presentation about creating a shared future. And download a transcript of this talk here.
Read more from Jim by checking his previous articles:
Creating New Value and A Lesson in Fundamentals
Are You Building High-Performing Teams?
Product Focus=Customer Focus
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
TPS 2.0?
Also check out his book Designing the Future
Finally, learn more about the 20…
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Mar 8, 2020
Lean in the Time of Coronavirus
In times of crisis, lean offers a stable approach to healthy work. Furthermore, as Jim Womack notes in this podcast with Tom Ehrenfeld, foundational lean practices such as just-in-time supply chains are not—and have never been—liabilities in a time such as today’s coronavirus outbreak. Misguided stories about the woes of JIT are as misguided today as they were when they appeared during avian flu, SARS, and other legitimate medical events that required large supplies of emergency goods. Womack also talks about the lessons to be found in Karen Gaudet’s book Steady Work as they relate to having a stable work environment that enables people to not think about the work—but to already have that mindfulness built in, so they can simply serve other humans in the moment, at a time of great need.
Listen to this conversation on the LEI podcast here.
Related articles/content:
* Jim Womack’s 2006 essay Just In Time, Just In Case and Just Plain Wrong.
* Jim Womack’s 2006 essay F…
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Mar 1, 2020
On the Job with Tom Root, Managing Partner of Zingerman's Mail Order
Spoiler alert! The food you just ate is not fresh. It was "sourced" longer ago than you'd imagine. And since that time, it's been handled in batch after batch. The same can be said for many lean transformations - one batch of improvement activity after another. Zingerman's Mail Order has been reducing batch sizes for 15 years, acting as a sort of "model line" for the entire food industry. Tom Root and Josh Howell discuss ZMO's lean transformation and their many lessons learned, searching for useful takeaways for you the listener.
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Feb 16, 2020
Designing the Future: A WLEI Podcast with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and COO Jim Morgan
If you do not yet know the company Rivian you will undoubtedly know it very soon. In 2019 Rivian made waves in the auto industry by announcing two “electric adventure vehicles”, the R1T – an electric pickup truck - and the R1S - an electric SUV. Both vehicles are expected to launch in the United States later this year and globally in 2021. Rivian is also developing a fleet of electric delivery vans to fulfill a 100,000-unit order placed by Amazon. In the last twelve months the electric vehicle company has raised 3 billion dollars. Listen in to hear how R.J. and Jim are bringing this vision to life. Reference links:
* Podcast teaser video
* Rivian.com
* Episode One: The Climb | Adventurous Forever | Rivian
* Elon Musk’s New Nemesis: Rivian Founder R.J. Scaringe Has a $3 Billion War Chest And Tesla In His Headlights
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Feb 9, 2020
What’s the Problem: Andrew Lingel Discusses Transforming a Family Business through Knowledge, Grit, and Outrage
Andrew Lingel, President of United Plastic Fabricating, discusses leading lean transformation of a family business through knowledge, grit, and outrage.
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Feb 2, 2020
On the Job with Ron Kelner, President and COO of the Deublin Company
Ron describes the Deublin Company's business system built with lean thinking that puts human development at the center
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Jan 26, 2020
Coachable: A Model Story, Coaching Work Improvement
January 27, 2020
Featuring: Deborah McGee and Bryant Sanders
As this series continues to explore the implications and dynamic of “coaching” in a business environment, Bryant Sanders models the mindset and techniques for coaching work improvement to develop people. Bryant draws on 26 years Toyota experience to facilitate his coaching techniques with a team in the field leading to a dramatic improvement in the work. He walks us through the story from deciding where to focus, to earning the team’s trust, facilitating reflection solidifying the what and the why and then leveraging one another’s strengths to upskill the team and eliminate difficulty and waste in the work. An excellent study in masterful coaching on the floor where the work happens.
We invite your thoughts and experiences about coaching and being coached: email your stories! pod@lean.org
Related Articles/ content:
· The Hard Work of Making Hard Work Easier (article)
· Job Breakdown…
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Jan 20, 2020
CEO Transition – an obstacle or an opportunity?
Too often, a change in executive leadership can bring a lean transformation to a grinding halt. But that has not been the case at Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC).
Within two years of the start of their lean journey, LCHC CEO Lori Abrams Berry announced her intention to retire. The immediate reaction from the LCHC community was concern that her departure would impact the progress made on advancing lean thinking and practice with improved outcomes and engagement of its team members. Instead, the impending CEO transition was embraced as a challenge, a gap to tackle. Learn how LCHC approached this executive leadership transition to ensure the continuity of their lean transformation.
* John Shook’s favorite conference keynote of all time
* Using lean thinking to improve hypertension in a community health centre
* Ep. 9 Leadership, Building Consensus, and Embracing Culture with Dr. Kiame Mahaniah and John Shook
* Lean Summit 2020
* Surviving CEO Change, Evolving Through Cul…
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Jan 13, 2020
My Personal Turning Point: Reflecting on a Decade as a Lean Coach
Josh Howell shares his decade-end reflections, focusing on why he left Starbucks in 2013. His reasons may surprise you. He also interrogates the question, “If a company discontinues a formal lean initiative, or lean program, or lean team, does that mean its lean implementation has failed?”
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Jan 6, 2020
What’s the problem: A conversation with Pat Greco on transforming education through rapid problem solving
Pat Greco In 2011, Dr. Pat Greco began as the superintendent of the Menomonee Falls School District in Wisconsin. She faced no shortage of problems: a suspension rate seven times higher than the state average, performance gaps across income and race, cost overruns, and a failure to meet performance goals defined under the No Child Left Behind Act among others. Not to mention a new administration was upending collective bargaining for public sector employees instilling fear within the teachers she was setting out to lead. By the end of her tenure she had led the school district to rank as one of the country’s best. She did so primarily through PDCA cycles in the classroom between teachers and students, as well as between management and the board of education.
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Dec 23, 2019
Coachable: Creating the Environment for Effective Coaching
December 23, 2019
Featuring: Deborah McGee and Jeff Smith
As this series continues to explore the implications and dynamic of “coaching” in a business environment, Jeff Smith reveals the importance of the learning environment for impactful coaching. Jeff draws on 22 years experience within the Toyota Production System and recalls his coaching experience at New United Motor, and later as a coach in many organizations. We talk about coaching in the front office as well as shop floor, engaging with problems using A3 thinking, and mechanisms to signal abnormal conditions inherently perfect for effective coaching moments.
We invite your thoughts and experiences about coaching and being coached: email your stories! pod@lean.org
Related Articles/ content:
* Learning to Help Anna Elevate Her Game(article)
* Toyotas Secret: The A3 Report (article)
* Lessons from NUMMI (podcast)
* Kaizen Express (book)
* Managing to Learn (book)
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Dec 16, 2019
Dying for a Paycheck? Must work be toxic for employees, and how can a more sustainable approach emerge?
In his new book Dying for A Paycheck, Stanford University Graduate School of Business Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that there is an overwhelmingly compelling case to be made that the workplace profoundly affects human health and wellbeing, and that these psychosocial stressors have gotten worse in recent years. His book vividly details how the costs are enormous to both individuals and to companies and to society. He believes that If we're going to address this, we need to see the problem and its enormous scope. In this podcast Pfeffer shares thoughts with LEI editor Tom Ehrenfeld on potential countermeasures to this problem.
Some key points:
Good work starts with good job design. “The companies that are really going to solve the problem of unsafe work, just as they've done for physical safety, have to begin by thinking about every aspect of the job and job design. And that's where I think there is a great deal of compatibility between the principles of Lean and what I'm talki…
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Dec 9, 2019
On the Job: A conversation with Dr. Lynn Kelley about sustaining change at Union Pacific
Dr. Lynn Kelley was hired by Union Pacific to lead the introduction of the “UP Way” company-wide. The UP Way at that time consisted of a select few lean practices that the company had decided were foundational for their operations. In this conversation, Dr. Kelley shares how her Ph.D in Research and Evaluations informed the unique approach taken for the implementation of the UP Way.
The "Playbook" of Sustaining Change on the Lean Post
CI Sustainment: A Hiding Place for Complexity on the Lean Post
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Dec 1, 2019
What’s the Problem: A conversation with Matt Lovejoy on how LEI is trying to create more lean thinkers coming out of university
How do we create more Lean Thinkers? That is the problem we address in today’s podcast with Matt Lovejoy, Chairman of Lovejoy Industries and LEI board member. Matt - along with former LEI executive, John O’Donnell – is spearheading a new initiative: the James P Womack Scholarship and Philanthropy Fund.
The fund provides scholarships to students to fund hands-on problem-solving experience at charity organizations under the guidance of an LEI coach. The fund’s first partnership is with Oakland University in Michigan. Two of its star students, Monisha Vasudeva and Sagar Bajaj, are learning and doing kaizen at Humble Design, a charity that ‘furnishes homes for families transitioning from homelessness.’
The problem they’re helping Humble Design solve is capacity. Currently, Humble Design is able to furnish homes for 3 families every week, but there is demand for 30. That’s a gap of 27 families they can help transition from homelessness every week. There are few more import…
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Nov 24, 2019
Coachable: Insights and approaches to situational leadership
Join my conversation with Art Smalley as he walks us through two models for situational leadership and coaching. Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson’s examination of leadership (and coaching) styles relative to learner (and performer’s) behavior, from the book Management of Organizational Behavior, and The Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition.
Art adds context and color by weaving in stories from parenthood, his years of experience at Toyota, and relates the content to his work with Four Types of Problems. Together, we explore the thresholds of performers at all levels as a way to help assess and engage the right coaching approach for the situation.
Please join our conversation by emailing your thoughts and questions to pod@lean.org
Related Articles/ content:
* Four Types of Problems (book)
* Four Types of Problems (webinar)
* Management of Organizational Behavior (book)
* Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition (Wikipedia)
* Art’s website
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Nov 18, 2019
Lean Accounting Panel Discussion with Art Byrne, Jean Cunningham, Jim Huntzinger, Nick Katko, and Mike DeLuca
Many lean thinkers find the traditional accounting reporting completely out of alignment with the new lean management system. Part of PDCA is checking outcomes to help identify next steps, but if the financial language of business is not reliable to provide good information for evaluation and decision making, sustainment of good experiments is at risk. Is there a better way? Yes, according to the five panelists on this week’s podcast.
Additional Articles:
* How lean accounting promotes lean in the organization
* Profit and Cost At Toyota
* Cost Saving is Tired--Value Creation is Hot!
* Real Number book
* The Value Add Accountant book
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Nov 10, 2019
What’s the Problem: An interview with medical oncologist and CEO of Instituto de Oncologia do Vale (IOV), Dr. Fred, on reducing the cancer burden
Dr. Carlos Frederico Pinto (aka ‘Dr. Fred’) is a medical oncologist and CEO of Instituto de Oncologia do Vale (IOV), one of Brazil’s top oncology clinics. There are few problems more important than the one Dr. Fred and IOV are trying to solve: reducing the cancer burden.
In the podcast, Dr. Fred explains how he’s led IOV through lean transformation in service to solving this problem. He details three distinct stages of transformation: 1) improving patient care flow and quality; 2) building a management system to enable growth; 3) developing leaders in preparation for succession.
Dr. Fred also shares how oncology built in him a resilience to failure, and in turn, how that resilience has served him in leading transformation.
Read more about Dr. Fred and IOV, head over to Planet Lean for case studies and interviews.
Dr. Fred will speak at the Lean Summit in Carlsbad, California next April 6-7. To learn more and register, click here.
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Nov 3, 2019
On the Job: Discovering Strategy by Doing the WORK, a conversation with Dave Brunt, CEO of the Lean Enterprise Academy in the UK
In a conversation across the Atlantic LEI’s president, Josh Howell, talks to the Lean Enterprise Academy’s CEO, Dave Brunt, about the strategic value of executives doing the value-creating work of their organization. Dave shares what happened when a team member left LEA and he became responsible for picking, packing, and shipping to customers books about lean thinking.
Additional Resources:
* Lean Solutions book
* Creating Lean Dealers workbook
* Learning to See workbook
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Oct 28, 2019
Coachable: Two Conversations Built on Trust, Inspiration, Experimentation and Transformation.
Meet two influential voices in my own coaching practice: Paul Serafino who first engaged me in a coaching way in the business environment, opening my eyes and heart to growth and development. And Jason Berkman, a leader who I was fortunate enough to coach and learn with in LEI’s co-learning program. In two candid conversations, we explore the differences between coaching, managing, leading and training, the importance of trust and motivations, and how a coaching relationship emerges.
We further explore the value of failure, the role of emotions, pushing through our thresholds and making the decision to transform, because “the challenge you’ve been asking for your whole life is finally here.” Please join our conversation by emailing your thoughts and questions to pod@lean.org
Related Articles:
* 5 Ways My Thinking Changed With the Help of a Lean Coach
* A bold lean experiment in one of our kitchens
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Oct 21, 2019
Building A Fearless Organization: An interview with Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson
How can one create a safe workplace where all employees are encouraged and expected to take ownership of their work? How can one build simple mechanisms to enable individuals to ask healthy questions and challenge each other? Harvard Business School Professor Amy C. Edmondson discusses these questions and more with LEI's Tom Ehrenfeld in a conversation triggered by her recent book The Fearless Organization.
Additional Resources:
* The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson
* How Teaming Produces Execution-as-Learning By Amy C. Edmondson
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Oct 13, 2019
What’s the Problem: An Interview with GE Appliances' Rich Calvaruso on Solving Problems through Improving the Work
Rich Calvaruso of GE Appliances, a Haier Company, sits down with Matt Savas to talk about problem-solving. How does GE Appliances develop people through problem-solving? And how has the company's emphasis on hands-on problem-solving impacted its culture.
For more, check out our website.
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Oct 7, 2019
On the Job: One Pathologist's Path an interview with Dr. Lisa Yerian of the Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Lisa Yerian of the Cleveland Clinic sits down with Josh Howell, LEI President & Executive Team Leader, to talk about the spread of lean thinking at her organization. Among other things, they explore the sequence of learning between defining purpose, discovering problem-solving at the gemba, and developing lean leadership capabilities.
Additional Articles:
* Cleveland Clinic’s Prescription for Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement By: Lisa Yerian
* How Are You Supporting Your Own Lean Transformation? By: Lisa Yerian
* Stop Asking Your Leaders to "Support" Your Lean Transformation By: Lisa Yerian
* Tiered Teams Solve Problems In Real Time: How a team of teams can address problems as they emerge
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Feb 8, 2019
What Cannot Be Grown Must be Mined - What is Lean in Mining with Laura Mottola and Mark Reich
"If it cannot be grown, then it must be mined."
Practically everything around you exists because of mining. From phones, to computers, to cars, to glasses, to your belt buckle, they all are made from mined resources.
Laura Mottola has taken lean thinking underground, literally. Learn what lean in mining looks like, what it takes to engage those doing the work, and what is next for this ever evolving industry.
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Jan 21, 2019
Alan Mulally, former Ford and Boeing CEO sits down with Jim Morgan to discuss Leadership, Designing the Future Special
“It seemed nothing short of a miracle could save Ford Motor Company in the mid 2000s. Ford didn’t receive a miracle, but it did get something just as valuable: Alan Mulally.” (Daniel Miller, The Motley Fool, May 2015)
In this podcast, Alan shares:
* His view on the CEO’s role in a successful transformation.
* What “people first” leadership means to him and how his basic values and love for people guide his decision making.
* What he learned about innovation and customer focus from his lawn mowing business.
* How his early experiences with lean and Toyota shaped his views on leadership and the importance of an effective management system.
* How he has continuously improved and evolved his Working Together Management System for over 40 years, starting with aircraft development, then transformations of global organizations, and finally how it influences his work today with Google, Mayo Clinic, and Carbon 3D.
To learn more go to lean.org
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Dec 21, 2018
Four Types of Problems, author Art Smalley digs in on problem solving
Author Art Smalley joins Chet Marchwinski to discuss problem solving and his new book Four Types of Problems from reactive trouble shooting to creative innovation.
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Nov 26, 2018
Designing the Future Jim Morgan Talks Passion with 2015 Ford Mustang Chief Engineer, Dave Pericak - A WLEI Special
In this special edition series, Designing the Future. Jim Morgan talks with Dave Pericak, the Chief Engineer of the 2015 Ford Mustang.
Pericak was featured in A Faster Horse, a documentary exploring the ins and outs of designing world's most popular sports car.
Morgan is the author of the new book, Designing the Future and has spent over 30 years in industry as a product development leader including serving as a global engineering director at Ford Motor Company during the product-led revitalization under CEO Alan Mulally.
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Nov 5, 2018
Leadership at the Gemba with Scott Heydon and John Shook
Former Starbucks Executive and Senior Coach at LEI Scott Heydon, joined author and LEI Chairman John Shook for a last minute learning session at the Lean Coaching Summit.
The response was so positive we've adapted it to be a podcast.
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Aug 14, 2018
Closing the Learning Gap with Steven Spear
Today's podcast features a conversation about closing learning gaps between LEI's CEO Eric Beuhrens and Steve Spear. Steve is author of a few works key to understanding lean. There’s “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Producing System” and “Learning to Lead at Toyota,” both in Harvard Business Review and his book The High Velocity Edge.
As you’ll hear, Steve’s work really focuses on how Toyota as one of a few real exceptional organizations competes on the basis of a management system that optimizes on the speed, quality, and breadth of problem solving talent. He coaches these capabilities into organizations ranging from hospitals, industrial companies to the US Navy through his company HVE LLC, and teaches about them at MIT where he’s a senior lecturer.
In this conversation chapters from his book The High Velocity Edge were mentioned. To read a pdf of those chapters go to: https://www.lean.org/downloads/The-High-Velocity-Edge-Chpt-1-4and5.pdf
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Jul 18, 2018
Port to Plate, Lean Changes the Restaurant Industry with Legal Sea Foods' Executive Chef Rich Vellante
Can the restaurant industry change they way they've worked for decades? Legal Sea Foods has been on their lean journey for a few years and lean has influenced everything from the second that fish is caught right up until their guest has left the restaurant.
Legal Sea Foods' Executive Chef, Richard Vellante sat down with LEI's Senior Coach, Josh Howell to talk about some of the changes and experiments that have taken place at several of Legal Sea Food's locations.
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Jun 12, 2018
Leadership, Building Consensus, and Embracing Culture with Dr. Kiame Mahaniah and John Shook
Two things to think about. Challenges and Culture.
Challenges shape who we are. I think we can all look at who we are and remember a few key challenges we’ve faced and how they have changed us and the way we view things. It certainly helps shape us as leaders.
Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, CEO of the Lynn Community Health Clinic.
Born in the Congo, raised in Switzerland, educated in the US, Kiame faced remarkable challenges, was immersed in multiple cultures, and has come out of all as a remarkable, yet humble leader that is focused on building consensus instead of being a top down iron fisted CEO.
Dr. Mahaniah was kind enough to sit down with LEI’s Chairman, John Shook to talk about growing up in different cultures, from the Congonese to the Quakers, and how he became a CEO in an organization trying to become lean, and helped keep that movement going. Which is something that typically ends lean’s progress in an organization.
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May 22, 2018
Mindfulness and Leading with Respect with Mike Orzen and John Shook
Author and and LEI faculty member Mike Orzen discuss connecting with people through leading with respect with John Shook.
The conversation primarily focuses on what mindfulness is and how it fits in with lean thinking and practice. Mike also gives some great tips on staying focused when you catch yourself getting distracted.
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May 8, 2018
Is Lean Thinking Japanese Culture? Jim Womack and Matt Savas Discuss What They Saw While Touring Toyota in Japan
Jim Womack interviews Matt Savas about a recent trip to Toyota Motor Kyushu, Japan.
Matt and Jim share their observations on how Toyota has countermeasured their aging workforce by being clever and not replacing resect with robots.
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Apr 23, 2018
Fighting Poverty with Lean Product/Process Development at MIT D-Lab
D-Lab at MIT is using LPPD thinking to help solve problems in the developing world, and are truly making the world a better place for all those involved.
Today Kendra Leith, Associate Director for Research, at D-Lab joined LEI’s Communication’s director to share more about how D-Lab works and some of the great projects they are working on.
To learn more about D-Lab at MIT and the great projects they are working on visit d-lab.mit.edu.
To hear from Kendra Leith in person join us this June 19-20 at the Designing the Future Summit in Traverse City, Michigan. There you’ll not only hear Kendra but you’ll also hear from the chief engineers of the 2015 Ford Mustang, 2019 Toyota Avalon, as well as how lean product and process development applies Software development, energy creation, healthcare and more.
To learn more about this event go to lean.org/designfuture2018
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Apr 10, 2018
The Lean Farm and Sharing Your Gift Live from the 2018 Lean Transformation Summit
Live from the 2018 Lean Transformation Summit in Nashville, Jim Womack interviews Ben Hartman, author of the Lean Farm, Joel Daly General Manager Veada Industries, and Aluminum Trailer CEO/Owner Steve Brenneman.
You’ll hear how lean thinking was shared from one person to another in very different industries, and the amazing changes that took place.
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Mar 28, 2018
Tracey and Ernie Richardson with John Shook Live at the Lean Transformation Summit
Tracey and Ernie Richardson, authors of the Toyota Engagement Equation join John Shook on the main stage at the Lean Transformation Summit in Nashville.
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Mar 22, 2018
Amazon and Buffet Tackle the Healthcare Tapeworm with Eric Buehrens and Chet Marchwinski
A few weeks ago Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announced that they are forming their own company to combat the costs and issues with healthcare in the US.
Eric Buehrens sat down with LEI's Communications Director, Chet Marchwinski to discuss this new organization, and talk about some of the challenges they may face and offering some advice.
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Mar 14, 2018
Shook & Womack discuss the creation of the books Learning to See and Managing to Learn
20 years ago the book Learning to See was published, bringing with it the concept of Value Stream Mapping. Now 20 years later the book is still a best seller and Value Stream Mapping is the cornerstone of lean thinking. Jim Womack, the publisher of the book sits down with John Shook one of the book's authors to talk about what it took to make such a pioneering publication.
John and Jim also discuss the book Managing to Learn which explored A3 creation and coaching.
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Mar 14, 2018
Lean and Tesla with John Shook and Jim Womack
Lean thought leaders Jim Womack and John Shook discuss Tesla.
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