Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership

TPS / Lean Consultant based in NYC https://www.leanblog.org/397 Joining me for Episode #397 is Hide Oba. His father was the late Hajime Oba, famous for his work at Toyota and the TSSC, as Steve Spear and I discussed back in Episode #386. Hide worked with his father at TSSC and also worked with him through the company H&M Operations Management, LLC. He is based in New York City. He says that his mission is to continue spreading his father's wisdom and I appreciate him doing so here with me on the podcast. I asked Hide to summarize his father's life and work and he then talks about some of the unique aspects of his approach. “Going to the shop floor was fun… his hobby.” Hide tells a story about his father telling Bruce Hamilton, “You should do Kaizen, too,” and you can read Bruce's side of the story here. We discuss the balance between asking questions versus pointing people in a direction. Hide says Hajime “never asked people what they should do,” but he asked questions based on his vision. Hajime saw TPS as “management engineering” — being very scientific about creating the right structure that allows you to create a kaizen culture. Hajime was also “careful” about the word “scientific” as it is meant to mean “continuous discovery and learning… understanding why.” Hide says his father was “addicted to learning.” Hajime aimed to always learn from the client. From the new 2nd edition of The Toyota Way (an interview with Jeff Liker about that is coming soon, by the way): “Oba said “TPS is built on the scientific way of thinking… How do I respond to this problem? Not a toolbox. You have to be willing to start small, learn through trial and error.” Hide also talks about how his father visited hospitals in Pittsburgh via Kent Bowen and Paul O'Neill. We also talk about why others have struggled to copy or emulate Toyota. “Stick to Ohno,” says Hide. Solve problems one at at instead of having a big program. He “never asked a company to start by creating a Lean / CI office, sitting and making presentations.” Hajime said the plant manager is the key person, and he would say, “Come with me and let's go through the process together.” Why does the idea of “challenge” not mean “asking people to do things that are impossible?” Why did he “hate giving a format for problem solving?” We discuss all of that and the idea of “respect for people.” Hide says he father taught that we should “respect humanity” — human life is limited and we shouldn't waste it… that's why we do kaizen. He also “saw a lot of waste in his final days” in the hospital. I'm very thankful that Hide can keep his father's work and legacy alive for all of us. 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.    

Consultant, author of a newly-released Lean book Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/396 My guest for Episode #396 is Patrick Adams, the author of the new book (released as a paperback today!), titled Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap: 12 Questions to Understand What's Truly Underneath Your Culture. You can learn more about the book at avoidcontinuousappearance.com.   Patrick is CEO / Executive Lean Coach with his firm Patrick Adams Consulting Services and host of the Lean Solutions Podcast (and he had me as his guest last year). Patrick served in the United States Marine Corps for 8 years before he was injured and medically retired. He received his Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University and also holds a Master of Business Administration. He's also a Six Sigma Black Belt. In today's episode, Patrick talks about how he got introduced to Lean and connections to McDonald's (and the movie “The Founder“). He then talks about his early experiences as a production supervisor in a plastics plant and an auto supplier. We talk about leadership concepts (including servant leadership) that he learned in the military and we learn the story behind the book and why he wrote it.  

Norman passed away on December 10, 2020 http://www.leanblog.org/rememberingnorman I'm republishing a "remastered" and commemorative version of Episode 1 of this podcast series from 2006. I was incredibly saddened yesterday to hear that Norman Bodek passed away this week. Norman was 88. This was announced through an email from Norman's company, PCS Press. Norman Bodek, famed as “the Godfather of Lean”, inducted into Industry Week's and American Manufacturing's Hall of Fame, published over 250 management books, taught at Portland State University, and created the Shingo Prize at Utah State University. He recently wrote “Leader's guide for social responsibility” and this week published CEO Coaching by Kazuyoshi Hisano. We should all be so fortunate as to be as energetic as Norman was in his 80s. He was an enthusiastic teacher and mentor, but he also had a hunger for learning that was impressive and inspiring. He suggested that we do an “audio interview” series… that became this podcast and he was the first guest. He was the second guest… in fact, he appeared 14 times. I’ve written some additional reflections — you can find those, share your own, and find links to all of his past episodes by going to leanblog.org/rememberingnorman Republishing episode 1… remastered a bit. Boy, the audio quality wasn’t as good back in 2006… I enjoyed re-listening to this the other day. I hope you will too.  

Lean practitioner, industrial engineer, and consultant https://www.leanblog.org/395 My guest for Episode #395 is Michael Parent. He is Managing Director of his firm Right Brain Consulting and he is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with the AAA Auto Club Group. Michael has a BS in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from William & Mary. Michael and I are both from the same home town, by the way -- Livonia, Michigan. In today's episode, Michael first shares what he learned working for Bridgestone, a "typical Japanese company, " as he puts it. He learned, among other things, that "culture is everything." We then talk about the LSS project that he led in HR and Talent Acquisition for the AAA Auto Club Group. What was the problem statement? "Time to fill" a position. What was the approach for the project? Who was involved and how? What was Michael's role as a facilitator? What was learned about the current state and variation in the work? How were the results and benefits determined? And, what were his lessons learned from this work?   His case study is available to read through iSixSigma.com.   https://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/case-studies/case-study-streamlining-a-hiring-process/   

Nine short discussions with other podcasters https://www.leanblog.org/394 Today's episode, #394, is a little different. I have nine different guests today... not all at once, but sequentially in today's episode. Many people have started podcasts (or similar projects) during the pandemic. I've started two (Habitual Excellence and My Favorite Mistake) in addition to this series that's about to hit its 15th birthday). Some of my guests today started a podcast during the pandemic... some of them were already going. Most of them are doing podcasts related to Lean (and one is a college buddy who has an HR podcast). We've all been part of a formal networking group recently that we call "Lean Communicators." I have experiences to share with them, but I'm also looking to learn from what they're learning as they get started -- what new ideas or best practices was I missing? I talk with each guest about why they started their podcast or video series, what they've learned, and more. My guests and their projects are (in order of appearance):   Guest Podcast or Project Bella Englebach The Edges of Lean Jon Thurmond  The #HRSocialHour Half Hour Brian Buck People, Purpose and Profits Business Coaching Podcast (and YouTube) Jamie V. Parker Lean Leadership For Ops Managers Brion Hurley Lean Six Sigma Bursts and Lean Six Sigma for Good Deondra Wardelle High Five Fridays (and more to come) Paul Critchley The New England Lean Podcast Sam Morgan 90 Second Purpose and C.I. in 5 (YouTube) Patrick Adams The Lean Solutions Podcast  

Speaker, consultant, and coach in the world of software https://www.leanblog.org/393 Joining me for Episode #393 of the podcast is Woody Zuill, who does "Mob Programming workshops, talks and presentations on agile topics," and "coaches and guides folks interested in creating a wonderful workplace where people can excel in their work, and in their life." I had a chance to meet Woody last year when I saw him speak at an Agile conference and I really enjoyed his perspectives. Woody has also participated quite a bit in a "Lean Consultants Stuck at Home" group that I had organized earlier in the pandemic times. Topics today include "flow" in software development, the difference between "mob programming" and "paired programming," and the "no estimates movement" and why that is important. I hope you'll find this interesting even if you don't work in software.  

Lean consultant and contributor to "Practicing Lean" http://www.leanblog.org/392 Joining me for Episode #392 is Mike Leigh, the President of his firm OpX Solutions, LLC. Mike was one of the contributors, writing a chapter for our anthology book Practicing Lean. Some highlights from Mike's career, from his bio: Began his career as an officer in the US Navy in the late ‘80s, specializing in nuclear propulsion and surface warfare Mike spent 13 years with General Electric and held various leadership and senior management positions at several different manufacturing sites During his last five years with GE, Mike was an internal lean consultant and helped over 25 GE factories/suppliers and hundreds of work teams become more productive, reduce costs, and improve their bottom line Had 45 weeks of training by mentors from Shingijutsu, considered by many as the best Lean consultants in the world Today, we have a wide-ranging conversation, starting off by talking about the need for leaders to "break down barriers" (and to understand what those barriers really are). What lessons did Mike learn about leadership from the Navy? What leadership behaviors are really problematic? And what are the root causes of those behaviors? We talk about all of this and more.   https://vurbl.com/station/5vxV3TPwDGW/ 

Authors and innovators in Lean Software development, Lean thinkers https://www.leanblog.org/391 My guests for Episode #391 are Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck, the authors of books including Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit, Implementing Lean Software Development, and The Lean Mindset: Ask the Right Questions. In the episode, we'll hear their thoughts on Lean as "a way of thinking that values people" and how teamwork, problem solving, and customer focus are integral to Lean -- in software or otherwise. How can we build capabilities for problem solving ("producing people") and how can we "learn how to learn"? Questions, Links, and More How did you first discover Lean? How did you come to see the potential applications to software development? You published Lean Software Development in 2003 -- how do you define that term “Lean” and what does it mean to you? How has your view of Lean evolved over those 17 years? What have you learned about Lean / TPS from visiting Japan? Your 2013 book is called "The Lean Mindset" -- as the subtitle says, asking the right questions is important... why so? How do we know what the right questions are? 2009 -- Leading Lean Software Development -- another provocative subtitle... "results are not the point" -- what do you mean? LeanEssays.com Their website: http://poppendieck.com/ Mary on Twitter

Manager at Raymond Corporation (part of Toyota) Show notes, with transcript and more: https://www.leanblog.org/390 My guest for Episode #390 is Keith Ingels, the TPS (Toyota Production System) Manager for Raymond Corporation -- Raymond is part of Toyota Material Handling North America, which is part of Toyota Industries. Wait, so a Toyota company needs a "TPS Manager?" Yes, when that company was acquired by Toyota, which creates a need to "become more like Toyota" instead of just "being Toyota." What are the differences between TPS and the Raymond Lean Management System, if any, and why does that terminology matter? What is the "adopt and adapt" strategy and why is that so important? I want to thank Raymond Corp. for making Keith available and for sharing the videos and resources that I've linked to below. Also, here is an article that Keith had published recently on shifting to a culture of continuous improvement.

Author, podcaster, and consultant https://www.leanblog.org/389 My guest for Episode #389 is Elisabeth Swan. She is the co-author of The Problem-Solver's Toolkit and co-host of the Just-in-Time Cafe Podcast. As her bio says, she's "been helping people successfully build their problem-solving muscles for over 30 years, and she loves what she does every single day." In the episode, we discuss brainstorming, using an article she wrote for GoLeanSixSigma.com as the starting point: "Green Belts: Group Brainstorming Is a Waste of Time." Why has classic brainstorming proven to be ineffective, especially in the context of Lean, Six Sigma, or process improvement? And how can it be better given the reality of remote teams? The conversation also veers into talking about Elisabeth's history in improv comedy and how lessons from the improv approach influence her to this day. Why does "structure set you free" in improv or Lean Six Sigma? We'll talk about that and more.