Lean Blog Interviews

http://www.leanblog.org/369Joining me again for Episode #369 of the podcast is Dr. Rachel Mandel, a self-described "healthcare whisperer" and Washington D.C.-based consultant for healthcare organizations. She has her own practice and also works as a Senior Healthcare Advisor for Operational Performance Solutions, Inc. She was a guest recently for Episode #367, but we had recorded that before the pandemic. So, we decided to do another episode, this time as a live YouTube stream, to talk about issues of the moment, and the future, related to Lean and Covid-19 -- leadership, respect, and safety among other themes. Again, she is a physician (OB-GYN) and previously served as the Vice President of Medical Affairs for a health system in Maryland. Read her full bio here.

http://leanblog.org/368 My guest for Episode #368 is somebody I've met fairly recently through his excellent posts on LinkedIn, Steve Feltovich. He is the president of SJF Consulting, Inc. and he previously had a long career in the automotive industry, in particular collision and repair. Steve learned about Dr. Deming's approach and also learned the Toyota Production System from Toyota and Toyota University, so he has an interesting perspective that I really appreciate. I hope you enjoy the discussion! 

http://www.leanblog.org/367 Joining me for Episode #367 of the podcast is Dr. Rachel Mandel, a self-described "healthcare whisperer" and Washington D.C.-based consultant for healthcare organizations. She has her own practice and also works as a Senior Healthcare Advisor for Operational Performance Solutions, Inc. She is, of course, a physician (OB-GYN) and previously served as the Vice President of Medical Affairs for a health system in Maryland. Read her full bio here. We recorded this podcast in late February 2020, so much has changed since then. We'll be doing a follow up podcast next week where we'll discuss some of the leadership (and organizational) challenges that health systems face now during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, we'll talk about her experiences with Lean and how she is an advocate for this methodology, especially around the important issues of safety and quality. 

http://www.leanblog.org/366 My guest for Episode #366 is Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative. We talk about “reshoring,” in general, and why that's such an important issue in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.Harry definitely falls into the category of guests where I wonder, “Why haven't I had this person on the show before?” Harry and his work have been on my radar for a long time. I appreciate the mission and I wish more companies would consider the “Total Cost” (and old Dr. Deming concept) when making manufacturing site location and sourcing decisions instead of focusing only on “unit cost” or “landed cost” (which includes freight and taxes).“The mission of the Reshoring Initiative® is to bring good, well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States by assisting companies to more accurately assess their total cost of offshoring, and shift collective thinking from offshoring is cheaper to local reduces the total cost of ownership. “Harry was inducted into the Industry Week

Mark Graban interviews Dan Markovitz about his new book. http://www.leanblog.org/365 Joining me again for Episode #365 is Dan Markovitz, now a five-time guest (but he doesn't get a special jacket like SNL).The reason for getting together was to chat about his latest book, "The Conclusion Trap: Four Steps to Better Decisions," now available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats.Why do people jump to conclusions (or solutions), often looking to “shiny new technology, reorganizations, or spending more money” as Dan asks? Why is it better to spend more time on a good problem statement? What's the difference between data and facts? When should we ask questions and when is it OK to make suggestions? When is it OK to “just do it” and when do we need to be more rigorous in setting up our experiments?Dan and I are good friends, so the conversation veers into a breakdown of the show “Bar Rescue” and the problem-solving and leadership methods illustrated there. This is almost an episode of “Lean Whiskey” but

 Joining me for Episode #364 is a returning guest, Mitch Cahn, the president of Unionwear, a Newark-based company. Back in Episode #234, we talked about how Lean manufacturing has helped them be competitive in the labor-intensive apparel industry, sewing goods in a union shop. Today (in an episode that is also a video podcast), Mitch tells us how, a month ago, orders for political campaign hats and items evaporated as the Democratic presidential field consolidated. So, Unionwear needed to pivot and they started calling hospitals to find out how they might be able to help by making personal protective equipment (PPE) to help in the Covid-19 crisis. In the episode, you'll hear about the creation (and continued refinement) of face shields and gowns. These items were made using materials that they normally used for hats, backpacks, and plastic binders. Mitch also talks about how they've had to adapt their factory for social distancing and how some employees are sewing at home (and what they need to do to support

http://www.leanblog.org/363For Episode #363, I'm joined by Crystal Davis as we discuss:What are you seeing in terms of how Covid-19 is disrupting businesses?How do we move from crisis mode, to survival mode, to recovery mode?Why do we need courageous leadership during these challenging times?This is also the first video podcast that I've done in a while. See the show notes page for the video: HTTP://www.leanblog.org/363We share a background as industrial engineers who started our Lean careers at General Motors, and we both moved on to do work with other types of businesses.Crystal has many roles today: The Lean Coach, Inc. - Founder, CEO, Principal Lean Practitioner; DisruptHER Coach; Managing Partner at MPlus Her website is http://theleancoachinc.com/. I hope you enjoy the conversation! 

http://www.leanblog.org/362 My guest for Episode #362 is Adam Lawrence, managing partner with Process Improvement Partners LLC. He's an industrial engineer who had a long career working with TQM, Six Sigma, and Lean at Thomasvile Furniture and other Armstrong World Industries companies. Today, we'll talk about setting kaizen events up for success with effective charter documents and team selection. What's the role of leadership? Adam will also talk about the "wheel of sustainability" (scroll down for an image and a PDF that he provided). Adam will also mention a free virtual workshop that he's doing on Monday, April 6th. It was supposed to be done in person at a conference... but given the current circumstances, he's trying to make lemons into lemonade and I appreciate that he's offering up that opportunity for folks. 

http://www.leanblog.org/361 Episode #361 of the podcast is admittedly not about Lean, but it's an important topic that I think needs to be shared in these times. I'm sharing audio that came from a KaiNexus webinar yesterday that we called "Ask Docs Anything" and the topic was, of course, coronavirus and Covid-19. We put out a call for questions and got more than 100 questions for our customers and our community. For the webinar, we focused the questions mainly on personal health and things you can (or must) do to protect your families and others in society. If you'd rather read synopsis answers to the questions, you can do so here. The video of the session is also embedded in that page, or it's also available through YouTube. You can also find more links to resources, articles, and information through this page. 

 http://www.leanblog.org/360Returning for Episode #360 of the podcast is Leah Binder, the president and CEO of Leapfrog Group. We last talked four years ago in Episode #240 about the patient safety crisis and efforts to improve. Today, we'll talk about hospitals' preparation for the Covid-19 / Coronavirus threat. Read her statement on this topic and stay tuned for announcements about free webinars and resources that Leapfrog Group will be providing.We'll also discuss safety (and the lack of reporting and data) in the outpatient (ambulatory) surgery setting -- where 60% of procedures are done today in the U.S. We'll also talk about the progress that's been made in the last four years on the patient safety front, in general. Please check out Leapfrog Group and their Hospital Safety Score website. How does your hospital measure up? How do the hospitals in your community compare? What can hospitals be doing to close their gaps so they get an "A"? How can large businesses who pay for healthcare and have their empl

 My guest for Episode #359 of the podcast is Prof. Dr. Alfred Angerer, joining me from Switzerland to talk about Lean healthcare. I had a chance to visit a hospital with Alfred, in Switzerland, late last year, as we discussed in this episode of his podcast (which we recorded together in his office). In today's episode, he joins me via the internet and we'll talk about his path into studying, teaching, and consulting on Lean healthcare. We'll chat about what's different (and what's similar) in Swiss healthcare and we'll touch on his books and articles in the conversation. 

 http://www.leanblog.org/358 Returning to the podcast for Episode #358 is Steve Spear, a senior lecturer at MIT and author of the book The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational Excellence to Beat the Competition. He's also the founder and co-creator of a software company and product called See to Solve. He's also the author of two outstanding Harvard Business Review articles: “Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System" and "Fixing Healthcare from the Inside, Today," both of which we'll discuss today. One of the themes for this episode is the evolution of knowledge. What does that mean for a company and what does that mean for an esteemed researcher and professor like Steve? Steve has a BS in economics from Princeton University, an MA in management and an MS in mechanical engineering from MIT, and a PhD from Harvard Business School. He was previously a guest in episodes #58, 87, and 262. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! 

http://leanblog.org/357Joining me today for episode #357 is Michael Conroy, M.D., the Chief Medical Officer of Sutter Medical Group in northern California.Mike was previously the Medical Director of the Lean Promotion Office for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and he was in that role when we first met about a decade ago. We collaborated on some Lean workshop training material for him to deliver to other physicians, through my role at Catalysis at the time.In today's episode, we'll talk about how he was first exposed to Lean, we'll take a few metaphorical elevator rides to talk about how Lean benefits patients and physicians, and shifting from Lean as tools or events to being a way of thinking and a common operating system for an organization.Mike is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians. After medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, he did his residency at Virginia Mason Medical Center where he worked with Dr. Gary Kaplan, a well-

http://www.leanblog.org/356 My guest for episode #356 of the podcast is Amy C. Edmondson, PhD, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. She is the author of three books on teaming and her most recent book is the topic of conversation today: The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. In the episode, we explore the incredibly important concept of "psychological safety," which means, as Edmondson defines it: "...a climate in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves." This is necessary for Kaizen (continuous improvement) and it's also a huge contributor to people being able to speak up about patient safety risks (or other problems in the workplace). One thing I love about her book is that she doesn't just diagnose the problem (that fear of speaking up is bad), but she also lays out a plan for how leaders can create a more psychologically-safe environment and culture. From her bio: "E

Http://www.leanblog.org/355 So, an engineer, an architect, and a nurse walk into a hospital... no, that's not a setup for the punchline to a joke. Today, in episode #355 of the podcast, I'm sharing three short conversations with three people who have very different backgrounds, but they still all ended up working to improve healthcare. We have a Toyota-trained engineer (Isaac Mitchell), who transitioned (like me) from manufacturing to healthcare. We are also joined by an architect (Laura Silvoy) who got a master's degree in health systems engineering and helps an architecture firm in the improvement and design of healthcare facilities. And, we have a business student (Darrin Judkins) who then got a nursing degree and, after years of providing patient care at the bedside, also got into Lean and healthcare improvement. We all know each other through our involvement in the Society for Health Systems (a part of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers) and the annual Healthcare Systems Process Improvem

http://www.leanblog.org/354 Joining me for episode #354 of the podcast is Kim Hollon, the CEO and President of Signature Healthcare, based in Brockton, Massachusetts. I first met Kim about a decade ago and, as we discover during the podcast discussion, one of my Lean healthcare clients in Dallas was later an important influence in Kim's discovery and embrace of Lean. What prompted the podcast interview was Kim's recent article titled "The Health Care Leader's Role in Safety," which I blogged about not long ago. So, in this episode, we talk about the article, his personal history with Lean, and much more. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast!

Links and full transcript: http://www.leanblog.org/353My guest for Episode #353 of the podcast is somebody whose work I've appreciated for a long time -- Quint Studer. I was first introduced to his book Hardwiring Excellence back in 2005 and I've been following his work (and reading his books) ever since.Today, we'll talk about "hardwiring" and other concepts from his first book. We will also explore his latest book, The Busy Leader's Handbook: How To Lead People and Places That Thrive, a book intended for leaders in all industries. 

http://www.leanblog.org/352 Joining me for Episode #352 of the podcast is Frederick Southwick, M.D. He is a Professor of Medicine and is also Director of Patient Care Quality and Safety in the Division of Hospitalist Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Fred is the author of many books including Critically Ill: A 5-Point Plan to Cure Healthcare Delivery. In the podcast, Fred will talk about why he shifted from infectious diseases to focusing on hospital medicine and healthcare improvement. This was driven partially by two very personal episodes with problems in the healthcare system that his then-wife and he both suffered from. Fred was appointed as a Harvard University Advanced Leadership fellow, where he studied business and public health. Fred was exposed to Lean through MIT Prof. Steven Spear and they have published an article together, where they call for "all academic physicians caring for patients to focus on systems and quality improvement." In the episode, Fred reflects on how he per

http://www.leanblog.org/351 Joining me for Episode #351 of the podcast are my friends Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart, co-founders of the company Dojo & Co.They're the authors of the new book (to be released on November 19) called Creating Your Dojo: Upskill Your Organization for Digital Evolution. A "dojo" is a learning environment -- whether that's for the martial arts or if it's a "safety dojo" in a Toyota factory. Today, we talk about what it means to create an "immersive learning environment" in a workplace, such as a software company or a product development group within a larger company -- the goal is more effective learning, progress, and adoption of new methods or products. It's interesting to think about how one might use a "dojo" in the context of Lean design or improvement efforts in a hopsital or other settings. Joel, Dion, and I have collaborated before on a few events, including our Learning Symposium where we visited Toyota and Garrison Brothers Distillery last year. 

http://www.leanblog.org/350 Our guest today is Tim Turner, who joined us previously in 2010 for episode #90. Tim was the lead author for a book called One Team on All Levels that was about the Toyota plant and its people in Kentucky. Tim was involved in the ramp up of Kentucky Lexus production and then left Toyota after 22 years. He was at another manufacturing company and now works as a consultant, so it's interesting to hear about all of those different experiences.