Lean Blog Interviews

Episode #250... a big round number. 250 podcasts in just under 10 years. Thanks again to Norman Bodek (my first guest and frequent guest) for the idea back in 2006.My goal with the podcasts has always been to showcase my guests. Occasionally, I take the stage or share the stage with audio of me. Today is one of those episodes.Earlier in May, I had the chance to co-present a webinar with Dr. Jack Billi from the University of Michigan (archived here). The webinar was hosted by the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, which is being spun off by the American Medical Association.Before the formal webinar, Jack and I recorded some informal Q&A with the host, Stephen Davidow. This audio, shared with the permission of the PCPI also includes the Q&A that was done after the webinar presentation. I hope you enjoy our discussion about how we each got started with Lean in healthcare and more.

My guest for episode #249 of the podcast is Steve Leuschel, author of the book Lean Culture Change: Using a Daily Management System. You might remember a post from January that included an excerpt from his book on "huddles." In this episode, we discuss topics including his greatest influences, the lessons he learned from Rodger Lewis (a former Toyota general manager), "mutual trust," PDCA cycles, daily huddles, and more. What's the potential of a Lean management system and why is it difficult to get organizations and leaders to embrace a holistic system like that?

Joining me for episode #248 of the podcast is Drew Locher, an author, consultant, speaker, and, also like me, a faculty member for the Lean Enterprise Institute and the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. You can read his bio via his consulting website, Change Management Associates. Drew's books include Value Stream Mapping for Lean Development: A How-To Guide for Streamlining Time to Market, Lean Office and Service Simplified: The Definitive How-To Guide, and Unleashing the Power of 3P: The Key to Breakthrough Improvement. He also, most recently, released a second edition of The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Office and Services, a recipient of the Shingo Research Award. You can also read his two guest posts that I've published on this blog. In this episode, we talk about his books, how Lean is about more than just tools, and the need to focus on "the critical few things" instead of falling victim to a "scattershot" approach to reducing waste. "We learn more by doing than talking about

My guest for episode #247 is James Chisholm, a principal and co-founder of the Toronto-based ExperiencePoint. James is a pioneer in the design of online game-based learning, and has authored numerous leadership simulations in use by over 100,000 executives and managers worldwide. I fell in love with their "Lakeview" hospital change management simulation a few years back when I first got to try it and I've been very happy to learn from James and to partner with ExperiencePoint. James speaks and writes widely on the subject of games, learning and change. He co-authored chapters in the "Handbook of Experiential Learning" and in the Center for Creative Leadership's Fieldbook, "Experience-Driven Leader Development: Strategies, Tools, and Practices" (both published by Pfieffer). Read his full bio: (PDF). In this episode, we discuss topics including why change management is such an important issue for him and organizations, the role of simulations and experience-based learning, how "leadership is a process," and how

Episode #246 is my second episode in recognition of Patient Safety Awareness Week. My guest is Steve Montague, who talked about Lean and Crew Resource Management with me in episode #195 in 2014. He's a retired Navy fighter pilot, a commercial pilot, and a consultant for hospitals and health systems... and a fellow Texan and a near-neighbor of mine. See his full bio here. Today, we're talking about a number of topics, including patient safety and checklists... what's the difference between good checklist systems and bad (and what are the parallels to Lean done well and Lean done badly). We talk about a number of articles and recent events about how NHS employees are afraid to speak up, an Iowa hospital that had four wrong site surgeries in 40 days, and the recent NEJM brouhaha.

See http://www.leanblog.org/245 Today is the first of two episodes that I'll post here during Patient Safety Awareness Week. I agree with the National Patient Safety Foundation that every day should be patient safety day. I'm sure my guest for episode #245 would agree with that. He is Tom Evans, MD, FAAFP, the President and CEO of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative. I've know Dr. Evans for many years, but was prompted to do the podcast by this editorial he wrote in the Des Moines Register: "Iowa hospitals succeed at keeping patients safe." In this episode, we talk about the progress being made in Iowa hospitals, what they are doing, and the lessons learned.

See http://www.leanblog.org/244 Joining me again for Episode #244 is Dan Markovitz (@DanMarkovitz on Twitter). Today's episode is part 2 of our discussion about his most recent book Building the Fit Organization: Six Core Principles for Making Your Company Stronger, Faster, and More Competitive, a recipient of the Shingo Research Award. You can hear Part 1 in Episode #241.

My guest for Episode #243, Michael Bungay Stanier, takes us a bit outside of the Lean realm... but that's good. Our topic today, which ties in very nicely to Lean and Kaizen (as you'll hear in our conversation) is coaching. His most recent book is titled The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever and it's available today. It's a very practical book that's full of tips and seven key questions that you can use as a coach. Michael is "founder and Senior Partner of Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations do less Good Work and more Great Work."

Episode #242 is unique in that it's a collection of audio clips from videos that Joe Swartz and I shot in late 2014 at his health system, Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis. In the videos, a number of nurses and leaders talk about continuous improvement in a way that's fun, wise, and inspirational. As we did last year, Joe and I are hosting a learning event at his system called "Kaizen Live!" where you have a chance to see and hear what a culture of continuous improvement is really like. We hope you'll join us April 5 & 6 for the main experience (where we'll be out visiting departments instead of spending all of our time in a conference center) and we have some optional classes on April 4. We hope you enjoy the stories and reflections here in the podcast.

Joining me for Episode #241 is a returning guest and friend of mine, Dan Markovitz (@DanMarkovitz on Twitter). He was a guest on Episodes #135 (talking about A Factory of One) and #52 (talking more generally about office Lean). He has also written a number of guest posts here. Oh, and he has his own blog. Today we're talking about his most recent book Building the Fit Organization: Six Core Principles for Making Your Company Stronger, Faster, and More Competitive, which, like his first book, is a recipient of the Shingo Research and Publication Award. Congrats!

My guest for episode #240 is somebody I've wanted to interview for a long time, Leah Binder, the president and CEO of Leapfrog Group, "a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America's health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded." In this episode, Leah talks about the story behind Leapfrog Group, the scale of the patient safety problem in America, some efforts of Leapfrog Group to grade hospitals, the connections between Lean and patient safety, and other topics. 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 employees' interest in mind, like manufacturers, help put positive pressure on healthcare to improve?

Joining me for Episode #239 is Pascal Dennis, somebody I really respect and have learned a lot from over the years... I'd call him "sensei" gladly (although he and I agree that's not a term one should bestow upon themselves... see his blog post). I'm very happy to have him as a guest again for what is just his second time (I thought it had been more frequent). In Episode 96, we talked about his book The Remedy. Today, we are talking about the new third edition of his book Lean Production Simplified.

Episode #238 is a conversation with somebody I've wanted to talk with for a long time, Kevin Cahill. He is the executive director of the W. Edwards Deming Institute. He's also a grandson of Dr. Deming! Kevin played an instrumental role in getting NBC to publicly release the 1980 documentary, "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" that featured Dr. Deming (see my blog posts about it). We talk about that in the podcast, along with his other recollections of Dr. Deming and how he watched the original NBC airing with him. We also discuss his reflections on learning the Deming philosophy and his attempts to utilize the ideas in his career (and how challenging that can be when it flies in the face of the prevailing business culture). It was a really fun discussion and I hope you enjoy it. If you have follow up questions for Kevin, please post a comment, as I'm sure we can do another podcast in the near future.

Episode #237 is, like the last episode, a bit different... but in a different way. My guest is my friend Paul Akers, author of the new book Lean Health. Paul was previously a guest for Episode 133, where he talked about his book 2 Second Lean and also for Episode 122. Today, we're talking about his new book, just released. What's different about this podcast is that I attempted to broadcast it live via YouTube. We eventually got there, but not until after some errors I made (and reflected upon here). What appears here is an edited audio-only version of our conversation, which includes some questions from live viewers. Paul has put a lot of time and money into this book. You can buy it on Amazon or download a FREE version as a PDF or audiobook via his webpage.

For episode #236, things are a little different than usual. Today, I wanted to share a video discussion between my friends Ted Stiles and John Toussaint, MD. Ted is a partner with the recruiting firm Stiles & Associates. John, of course, is the president of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value and has been a frequent guest in my podcast series. John's most recent book is Management on the Mend. For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/236.

For the episode and more details, visit http://www.leanblog.org/audio235. If you've been a listener of my LeanBlog Podcast series, you might know that I normally record conversations and then publish them into the podcast feed. Today, I'm going to do my first live broadcast of a podcast discussion via the "Blab.im" streaming platform. My guest is Sam MacPherson and we are talking about Lean leadership, including his lessons learned from his time as a Green Beret. Topics Include: Differences between Special Forces (The Green Berets) and the rest of the military Similarities between “The Green Beret Way” and The Toyota Way - shockingly similar Command and Control vs. Leadership "Commander's Intent" Misconceptions regarding military leadership and industry leadership Lean transformation - you current leadership style and skills wont cut it!

Today's guest is Mitch Cahn, president of Unionwear, a manufacturer of hats, bags, and apparel in Newark, NJ. I first learned about Mitch and his company because of a display they had at the Northeast LEAN Conference, which I blogged about here. What caught my eye was their display of politician hats they produce, including the famous red "Make America Great Again" hat that Donald Trump wears. Beyond the surface of those hats is a fascinating story about competing instead of making excuses. As Mitch explains in the podcast, Unionwear has been very successful even though he's producing in one of the highest-cost parts of the world. Unionwear has had to compete against imports from China and lower-wage southern states in the U.S. Starting in 2007, Lean has been a major part of their strategy for improving productivity, reducing cost, and being fast to market. Whether you work in healthcare or manufacturing, I think you'll love the story behind Mitch, his company, and his employees. For a link to this episode, r

Today's guest is Katie Anderson, and we're talking about her experiences living in Tokyo for 18 months and what she's learning about Lean culture, Japanese culture, and how those aren't always one and the same. I first met Katie through the Healthcare Value Network and our participation in that collaborative. She's an experienced Lean healthcare practitioner, coach, consultant, having worked for Stanford Children's Hospital and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation before starting her own consulting practice. Katie has been generously sharing her experiences in Japan and her reflections on her blog, which I highly recommend. You can also find her on Twitter and LinkedIn. For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/233. Podcasts are sponsored by KaiNexus and their software that helps spread continuous improvement -- Learn more at http://www.KaiNexus.com

Today's podcast, #232, is presented with a heavy heart, after the recent passing of my friend Dr. Michel Téatrault, the CEO of St. Boniface General Hospital and a great Lean leader. He was a friend to many in the Healthcare Value Network and the broader Lean healthcare community. As I was remembering Michel, it occurred to me that I had recorded a podcast with him, back in 2010, as part of a series that I was doing for the Healthcare Value Network. I never shared that audio as part of my main podcast series, so I'm doing so today. In the episode, we talk about "Lean from the CEO perspective." I hope Michel's words and experiences at St. Boniface continue to help and inspire people. For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/232.

Today's guest is Eric Dickson,MD, MHCM, FACEP, the president and CEO of UMass Medical Center. Episode #231 of the podcast is a little different than the usual. Normally, I record a podcast interview via Skype or a phone call. Today's podcast is a recording of an interview that I did on stage at the 2015 Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit, as part of the CEO panel I was moderating. Eric was one of three CEOs who did a 10-minute interview with me, then we had them take questions as a panel group. The audio quality isn't as good as normal, so there's a transcript of the conversation below. Eric tells what I think is an important story about why UMass Medical Center used Lean and Kaizen as an important strategy for the challenges and crisis they faced at the time. For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/231.