The Lean Solutions Podcast

Today is a replay of a conversation I had with Nigel Thurlow,  a leading expert on Lean and Agile approaches. Nigel advises companies on successful transformation strategies and how to achieve effective and lasting change. As the chief agile at Toyota connected, he established the Toyota agile Academy and is also the co-author of The Flow System. In this episode, Nigel and I talk about Agile, how it relates to Lean and the flow from scientific thinking to Agile into the flow system. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Nigel’s background in Lean and Agile The challenges with bringing Agile into Toyota The differences between Japan and the western world with executive leadership The scientific method and why it’s so important The challenges when only dealing with deductive reasoning PDCA and Scrum Agile, what it is and how it differs and relates to Lean How Agile and Lean flow into the flow system About the Guest: Nigel Thurlow is the former Chief of Agile at Toyota, creator of the World Agility Forum award-winning ‘Scrum the Toyota Way’ approach, and the co-creator of The Flow System™. He is also a Forbes top 10 noted author for his work as co-author of the book on The Flow System and is a well-known Keynote Speaker. He also co-authors The Flow Guide. Nigel is an internationally recognized expert in the Toyota Production System and The Toyota Way as well as Lean Thinking, Agile, Scrum, and Complexity concepts. In addition to his work at Toyota in recent years he has also taught and coached at Vodafone, Banco Popular, GE, Bose, 3M, Microsoft, University of North Texas, and to the faculty at MIT. Nigel also presents regularly for The Lean Institute at their events and is considered a leading expert in bridging the Lean and Agile worlds following his pioneering work at Toyota. As a Professional Scrum Trainer, the first one ever in Toyota, and the first to have been certified by both the creators of Scrum, he has trained over 8000 people worldwide as of 2021. Nigel is extensively published online and has co-authored several peer reviewed white papers and journal publications on team science. He acts as an advisor on several boards at the University of North Texas as well as contributing to Chief Executive Magazine. Nigel currently serves as the CEO of The Flow Consortium, and as an interim executive with several high-profile brands advising executive leadership teams on lean and agile strategies in complex business and organizational design environments. Important Links: https://flowguides.org/ https://www.getflowtrained.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Flow-System-Evolution-Thinking-Complexity/dp/1680400584 https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelthurlow/ The Flow System read online for free via UNT - https://library.unt.edu/aquiline-books/flow-058-8/ The Slack community - https://join.slack.com/t/the-flow-system/shared_invite/zt-o6zfwlwx-HkoqExXlmEWSwDaAFXAejA

In this episode, Paul Dunlop and I discuss the importance of daily management systems and structures as well as the digitalization in and of lean management systems.  This is Paul's third time on the show.  What You'll Learn: The importance of Daily management systems and structures Digitization in / of Lean The importance of leader standard work About The Guest: Paul brings with him over 20 years of management and manufacturing experience in a broad range of industries. In his operational management and consultancy roles Paul has led successful Lean implementation and transformations using the principles of the Toyota Production System. Paul’s passion for operational excellence using Lean tools and methodology has helped drive sustained continuous improvement and financial performance at many companies. Paul’s “people centered” approach is to engage the ongoing support and commitment of both shop floor staff and senior management through effective Lean leadership and to facilitate inclusive problem solving cultures. Paul is a team player with an understanding of business priorities and committed to managing high performing teams and delivering projects to meet targets. Demonstrated ability to influence and change workplace cultures and develop capability in employees to implement and sustain continuous improvement methodologies long term. Effective implementation of Lean cultures in both greenfield and established organizations, with a passion for engaging, coaching and developing people at all levels of the organization by utilizing Lean tools and Lean thinking. Paul specializes in: * Lean Enterprise and Strategic Planning * Change management * Grass roots "bottom up" engagement * Coaching and mentoring leaders, enhancing fundamental management skills and lean leadership * Implementation of lean tools and techniques Important Links: https://www.dunlopconsultants.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dunlopconsultants/ Empower & Align Your Teams | TeamAssurance

In this episode, Dr. William Harvey and I discuss the most important skills he was able to transfer from his time in the United States Marine Corps to his corporate career in lean management. We discussed everything from goal setting to leadership skills and kaizen.   What You'll Learn: As it relates to goal setting, what influenced Dr. Harvey at an early age to set challenging personal goals? An important tactic in creating an environment for increased teamwork. Key benefits recognized by observing gemba. Defining Kaizen. The leadership lessons that comes with practicing Kaizen. How to help create an environment of collaboration and the benefits. About the Guest: Dr. William Harvey's leadership journey started in the U.S. Marine Corps. Following military service, William discovered a passion for manufacturing and continuous improvement over the last 14 years. William’s fascination with people development and a chance encounter with Toyota Kata prompted his doctoral dissertation on Toyota Kata’s best practices. William currently works in manufacturing as Plant Manager at Michelman and started his sixth year of teaching business, finance, and marketing at the University of Cincinnati in August 2022. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drwilliamharvey/

In this episode, I was able to catch up with the attendees and speakers of the Michigan Lean Consortium Annual Conference that took place last week in Traverse City, Michigan.  This was an in–person event and the engagement was AMAZING.  Some of the highlights include discussions with keynote speakers Richard Sheridan and Mark Graban, among many other attendees.   Michigan Lean Consortium: http://michiganlean.org/ Richard Sheridan Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menloprez/ https://menloinnovations.com/ Mark Graban Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgraban/ https://www.markgraban.com/ https://www.markgraban.com/podcasts/ Chad Bareither: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-bareither-32712222/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/bareither-group-consulting-llc/ Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center: https://www.the-center.org/  

In this episode, Patrick's guest is George Trachilis, P.Eng. Patrick and George discuss the Harada Method and how it can benefit individuals and organizations.  About the Guest: George Trachilis lives in Canada and consults remotely and throughout the world. He started his career at Motor Coach Industries in 1994 where he received Lean coaching in Just-in-Time manufacturing, and Total Quality Management. Having lead change for over 10 years, he decided to start his own consulting firm in 2003. It grew to become one of Canada’s Fastest Growth Companies by 2006. The government of Canada asked George to create an online course to teach Lean. This course educated over 300 companies. It also became a book OEM Principles of Lean Thinking. By 2011, the course was offered globally and educated 100,000 students from 60 different countries. In 2012, relationships were forged with some of the most recognized names in Lean including Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker, best-selling author of the Toyota Way, and Norman Bodek, known as the Godfather of Lean. He was encouraged by both Jeff and Norm to adopt a much deeper understanding of Lean which stretches back to Japan and the origins of Toyota. George decided to video document his many webinars, two (2) Japan Study Missions, live Harada Method workshops, and many other teachings on the topics. George is now one of the most knowledgeable people on the topic of Lean and more importantly, a practitioner. George’s standard coaching is based on the key books and online courses which he has published. One book and online course, Developing Lean Leaders at All Levels, received the Shingo Research Award in 2016. The second is on self-reliance, Norman Bodek’s Harada Method. He has, as of this year, published as an online course and book, Lean Construction Leaders: A Trade Partner’s Guide to Lean. What You'll Learn: Harada Method background and how George discovered it. How Shohei Ohtani, the best baseball player in the world, used the Harada Method. George's lessons that will stay with him for the rest of his life. How someone can learn the Harada Method for free. What is next for the Harada Method?  What is the vision? https://georgetrachilis.com https://theharadamethod.com/

Katie Anderson is back for another episode where we talk about her chain of learning and the importance of leaders doing the little things.  Katie is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant, author and professional speaker. Katie is best known for her focus on helping individuals and organizations lead with intention. Katie is also the author of “Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn” and wrote the forward for my book. In this episode we talk about being an intentional leader, and creating a structure for your learning and practice. What You’ll Learn This Episode: The importance of going out of your way to help others. Going beyond your job description. Chain of Learning  Katie's 2-year anniversary celebration of her book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn   Katie's learnings and discoveries since writing her book. New things coming in 2023 for Katie. About the Guest: Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant, author and professional speaker.  She has over 20 years of experience in supporting change and improvement in organizations across a range of industries, though her primary focus has been on leading transformational change in healthcare organizations. Katie launched KBJ Anderson Consulting in 2013, to help individuals and organizations gain clarity on their goals, deepen their problem solving skills, and develop more effective leadership habits. Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson/ https://kbjanderson.com/

In this episode, Jonathon Andell and I discuss his involvement with Motorola when Six Sigma was first introduced.  Jonathon was a young engineer at Motorola at that time and shares some great memories about his learnings early on. We also discuss how Lean and Six Sigma has shaped his problem solving approach over the years and he shares his biggest factors impacting effectiveness of lean transformations.   What You'll Learn: Jonathon's experience with Six Sigma at Motorola early on. Lean and Six Sigma's impact on his approach to solving problems. If you could counsel your earlier self in LSS, what advice would you give? What do you consider the biggest factors impacting the effectiveness of Lean transformations? About the Guest: Jonathon Andell is an accomplished operational excellence leader and an exceptional instructor, coach, and mentor in all aspects of lean-six sigma and continuous improvement. Jonathan is a master black belt with a track record of millions of dollars of bottom-line impact across many organizations in multiple industries.  He has served as an operational excellence practitioner across many organizations such as Motorola, Boeing, Verizon, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Bristol Myers Squibb, and now Vistra.  Connect with Jonathon Here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathon-andell/

Dawn Holly Johnson is a returning guest on The Lean Solutions Podcast.  Back in episode 46, we discussed operational excellence and, at that time, Dawn was getting ready to release her book, What CEOs Need to Know: The #1 Reason Startups Fail and All Organizations Underperform.  Well, now that Dawn has released her book, I am excited to catch up and learn how things have been going. What You'll Learn: 1. The reasons that companies struggle with OpEx. 2. What should OpEx leaders do instead? 3. Learn about Dawn's new book, What CEOs Need to Know: The #1 Reason Startups Fail and All Organizations Underperform. And why she wrote it. 4. How can OpEx leaders bring enterprise-wide change? About the Guest:  As an Organizational Engineer with transformational experience in every major industry and in every size company, Dawn has been the catalyst for businesses to realize over $6B in cash flow improvements. She is the CEO of 3D value group and the author of the book, What CEOs Need to Know: The #1 Reason Startups Fail and All Organizations Underperform.  Website: DawnHollyJohnson.com Book: Click Here for Amazon

Due to my travel schedule this week, I wanted to share a throwback to a conversation I had with Paul Akers this past year. Paul is an author, entrepreneur and the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. In this episode, Paul and I go over how Lean can be applied to improve your work environment and why you need to focus on small consistent changes when trying to make improvements. What You’ll Learn This Episode: How Lean helped Paul in Ironman  FastCap and the inspiration behind the company  The importance of listening to customers  Making time to fix what’s bothering you  2 second improvement and why it’s simple  The inspiration behind Paul’s videos  What it takes to be a good leader in an organization with Lean culture  Paul’s advice for someone just starting on their Lean journey About the Guest: Paul Akers is the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. FastCap was started in Paul’s garage in 1997 when he simply “fixed what bugged him” and developed his first product: the Fastcap Cover Cap. From humble beginnings, and no MBA, FastCap has thousands of distributors worldwide in over 40 countries. Paul’s intense curiosity on how things could be improved paved the way for him to become a prolific innovator and today he holds many US and International patents. FastCap launches approximately 20-30 innovative products per year and has won business of the year in 1999 and 2010. In June 2011 Paul won Seattle Business Magazine’s prestigious Business Executive of the Year award. He wrote his first book, 2 Second Lean, about creating a fun, Lean culture, that is now available in 15 languages. In 2015, he wrote his 2nd book, Lean Health, in 2016, he wrote Lean Travel and in 2019, he wrote Lean Life and Banish Sloppiness. In 2016, Paul’s book, 2 Second Lean, was recognized by the Shingo Institute and won the Research and Professional Publication Award. Important Links: https://paulakers.net/books/2-second-lean https://paulakers.net/ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/2-second-lean-play/id1503694993 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leanplay

In this episode, I talked with Jim Huntzinger about the importance of Lean Accounting Management within any organization.  Jim helps listeners dig into their own accounting systems to ensure they are making decisions based on correct costing data.  What You'll Learn: How did you get involved with lean accounting? How did the Lean Accounting Summit come into being? How do lean accounting and process development connect? What work still needs to be accomplished in these areas? What else can process development impact? About the Guest: Jim Huntzinger began his career as a manufacturing engineer with Toyota and then was transplanted to North America to support Toyota.  In 2005, Jim founded Lean Frontiers. He developed and operates the immersive Skillpoint Workshops for Job Instruction and Toyota Kata. He has also authored many books to include, Lean Cost Management and Roots of Lean.  Lean Accounting Summit: https://leanfrontiers.com/2022leanleadershipweek/ Other Lean Frontiers Summits: https://leanfrontiers.com/summits/ Jim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-huntzinger-7001581/