KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

If you have visited this blog with any frequency, you may have noticed that we are very passionate about the work we do. Do not get me wrong, it is work and we are in business to sell software, but way beyond that, we really believe in the work that our solution supports.

Being the resident KaiNexus baseball fanatic, I was thrilled when Mark Graban shared the Kaizen Batter with me after meeting Tim Cooper at a conference.

Written by Kade Jansson, read by Mark Graban There is power in “bottom-up” employee improvement, but it doesn’t get widely or easily embraced by organizations, meaning missed opportunities for improvement. That was the topic Mark Graban, our vice president of Improvement & Innovation Services and founder of LeanBlog.org, discussed during a recent KaiNexus webinar, Strength in Numbers: Improving from the Bottom-up, hosted by KaiNexus CEO and co-founder Dr. Greg Jacobson. In today's post, we'll take a look at the high points of that webinar.

Mark Graban interviews Laura Townsend, co-founder and president of the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation about the webinar that she is giving for us, with two healthcare professionals, and August 30. To register, go to http://www.KaiNexus.com/webinars and to learn more about the Foundation and their free guides, visit http://www.louisebatz.org.

Written by Becca Millard, read by Mark Graban A Bowling Chart is a simple, visual way to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or policy deployment objectives, letting you compare your actual metrics to your targets and goals. The term “Bowling Chart” is derived from the chart’s similarity to the appearance of a bowling scorecard, although there’s often 12 months in this type of Bowling Chart instead of ten frames when we’re bowling.

Written by Jake Sussman, read by Mark Graban If you’ve watched our recent webinar Taking Improvement Boards Digital: How Leading Companies are Improving Visual Management, or been reading our posts about the same, you would have heard the term “Kanban board” used. While it’s great to hear that KaiNexus software supports digital Kanban boards, it’s even better if you have a clear understanding what a Kanban board is, and how it can help you on your continuous improvement journey. Here’s the rundown: What is Kanban? We’ve written a longer primer on Kanban here, but the important thing to know is that it is a visual system for monitoring the flow of work from the start, as we build a backlog, move work into in-process (while hopefully limiting WIP), and completing this work. Visualization works so well because our brains interpret visual information far faster than data or text. By reducing complex material down to visual components and putting them together, managers and staff can get an overview of the whole workflow system in seconds rather than the hours it might take to track down information in every area, work through it, and synthesize it down into conclusions that can be shared.

In this episode, Dr. Greg Jacobson and Mark Graban answer questions from our KaiNexus community: 1) After initial Lean and continuous improvement training, what do we do next? What should be the role of leaders? 2) What are some proven strategies to get staff to suggest or come up with projects? 3) When you encounter an environment where the bulk of participants are resistant to tools that formalize the change process...what tips or tricks have you seen work that can be used to get the champions to bring the doubters along? 4) Regarding Continuous Improvement Policy and Procedures - what should be included that assures the effectiveness and sustainability of organization-wide continuous improvement initiatives? 5) Non-profit organizations barely have the resource to invest on lean training. Many who see the importance use their own resources and take their lean journey at their own expense. Any suggestions from the group? 6) How can I demonstrate the benefits of implementing KAINEXUS Process Improvement strategies to improve patient flow through the ED and the rest of the Hospital, so that Hospital Administrators will hear and understand?

A webinar hosted by KaiNexus and presented by Warren Stokes, Director of Process Improvement at HonorHealth, a health system in Arizona. In this webinar, you'll learn: How to leverage the intellectual capital and experience of your frontline employees first To not overcomplicate your Lean improvement with too much of the scientific and not enough of the practical Why it’s important to build trust and support for continuous improvement How Lean best fits into a larger, long-term continuous improvement strategy in a way that avoids succumbing to short-term pressures How leadership and a Lean team can create and empower laser-focused energy,

In talking with business leaders over the years, we have learned that Gemba Walks are a bit like eating better and getting more exercise. Everyone agrees that they are good for you, but many folks do not get around to them. It is not that these leaders are lazy or unmotivated - quite the opposite. They are often busy responding to the crisis of the day and juggling multiple pressing priorities. Gemba Walks get pushed down to the bottom of the list because they are not associated with a deadline or urgent deliverable. But in an ironic twist, one of the best ways to ensure that you have time to visit the Gemba is to spend more time visiting the Gemba.

Mark Graban interviews Warren Stokes to get a preview of his upcoming webinar on August 10: How to Leverage Lean for Long-Term Success (Under Short-Term Pressures) In this webinar, you'll learn: How to leverage the intellectual capital and experience of your frontline employees first To not overcomplicate your Lean improvement with too much of the scientific and not enough of the practical Why it’s important to build trust and support for continuous improvement How Lean best fits into a larger, long-term continuous improvement strategy in a way that avoids succumbing to short-term pressures How leadership and a Lean team can create and empower laser-focused energy