The Lean Solutions Podcast

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Michael Ballé, a business writer, executive coach, organizational researcher and Lean expert with 30 years of experience. In this episode, Michael and I talk about how you can use Lean strategy in your organization and how it can give you an advantage and how Lean can be applied to product development. What You’ll Learn This Episode: How Lean is a strategy How it gives companies a competitive advantage to use Lean as a strategy Michael’s book The Lean Strategy How companies should be interpreting TPS and applying it How Lean applies to product development Lean hypergrowth Successes that the operational excellence community was able to achieve About the Guest: Michael Ballé, PhD., is a business writer, executive coach and organizational researcher. He has studied lean transformations for the past 30 years and helped CEOs to grow their own lean cultures. He is the co-author of the bestselling Goldmine trilogy - The Gold Mine, The Lean Manager, Lead With Respect - The Lean Strategy, The Lean Sensei and Lead With Lean among other titles. His work has been translated in 10 languages and has received four Shingo Research and Publication awards. He is the co-founder of Institute  Lean France and Business Dynamics collection director at L'Harmattan. Important Links: https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Strategy-Competitive-Innovation-Sustainable/dp/1259860426 http://theleanstrategy.com/

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a conference presentation I gave to the Lean Six Sigma World Conference about the importance of keeping it simple and visual when it comes to Lean. In this episode, I talk about the importance of good leadership and how you can do small things to create the right culture within your organization. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Why you need to keep things simple instead of complex The 3 points to keeping it simple The importance of keeping a clear vision of where you are heading Why you need to keep it visual The 3 main points to keeping it visual About the Guest: Patrick Adams is the author of the best selling book “Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.” He is an international speaker, coach, and consultant. Patrick has been delivering bottom-line results through specialized process improvement solutions for over 20 years. He's worked with all types of businesses from private, non-profits, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion dollar corporations. Patrick is a proven leader and highly experienced consultant with specific niche focus on organizational strategy and leadership development which brings a unique human approach to sound team-building practices; creating consensus and enabling empowerment. He motivates, inspires, and drives the right results at all points in business processes. Important Links: https://www.leanandsixsigma.org/Keep-It-Simple https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickadamsii/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/book/

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a presentation I did for the Cincinnati ASQ, a professional association representing Quality professionals in the Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky area, about avoiding the continuous appearance trap. In this episode, I talk about my book and how you and your team can avoid the continuous appearance trap by asking certain questions and changes that will affect your overall organization. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Why leaders need to enable action Why your organization needs a true north and a long term vision Why leaders should be spending time where value-added work is being done How the little things in an organization add up to the big things Why it’s important that an organization's problems be visible About the Guest: Patrick Adams is the author of the best selling book “Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.” He is an international speaker, coach, and consultant. Patrick has been delivering bottom-line results through specialized process improvement solutions for over 20 years. He's worked with all types of businesses from private, non-profits, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion dollar corporations. Patrick is a proven leader and highly experienced consultant with specific niche focus on organizational strategy and leadership development which brings a unique human approach to sound team-building practices; creating consensus and enabling empowerment. He motivates, inspires, and drives the right results at all points in business processes. Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickadamsii/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/book/

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Drew Erdmann who served as the chief operating officer of the state of Missouri from February 2017 to April 2021. Under two governors, he was responsible for leading the management transformation across the state of Missouri's 16 Cabinet departments, which equates to roughly 45,000 employees. In this episode, Drew talks about both private and public sector continuous improvement, his transition between the two and how to bridge the gap between the private sector and the government. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Transitioning from private sector to public sector The approach to introducing operational excellence to the state of Missouri government Drew’s experience with the public sector and executive leadership level The major differences between private and public sector How do we bridge the gap between the private sector techniques and the government Building a network or community that can withstand change Successes that the operational excellence community was able to achieve About the Guest: Drew Erdmann served as the Chief Operating Officer of the State of Missouri from February 2017 to April 2021. Under two governors, he was responsible for leading the management transformation across the State of Missouri’s 16 Cabinet departments and their roughly 45,000 employees. Among these enterprise reforms were establishing Missouri’s first cross-departmental Operational Excellence community and prioritizing leadership development and skill building at all levels. Before his state government service, Drew worked in the private sector for over a decade with the global consultancy McKinsey & Company.  As a partner at McKinsey, he served clients in the aerospace & defense, energy, infrastructure, and government sectors in the United States and overseas. Prior to McKinsey, Drew served across the U.S. federal government in a variety of national security roles with the State Department, the Defense Department in Iraq, and National Security Council at the White House. Drew received an AM and then PhD in history from Harvard University after earning a BA degree from Williams College and a second BA degree from Oxford University. Important Links: https://showmeexcellence.mo.gov/ https://twitter.com/drewerdmann?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-erdmann-aa49567/

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with John Thacker Jr. who has two decades of experience working in supply chain including managing factories, regional distribution centers, tier one automotive equipment, manufacturing, building trades, food, pharma and consumer goods. John is also the co-host of A Quality Podcast. In this episode, John talks about the importance of Operational Excellence and how companies can move toward a more Lean environment that focuses on value and a healthy environment for workers. What You’ll Learn This Episode: How A Quality Podcast started John’s experience with Lean Six Sigma Operational Excellence The benefits of Operational Excellence for companies Understanding what’s valuable Why companies need to focus on workers feeling respected and safe Challenges for companies moving toward Operational Excellence John’s favorite part about helping companies and people improve About the Guest: John Thacker Jr. has two decades of experience working in supply chain, including managing factories, regional distribution centers, Tier 1 automotive, heavy equipment manufacturing, building trades, food, Pharma, and consumer goods. John is also a host of A Quality Podcast alongside Jake Harrell. Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-thacker-leansixsigmablackbelt/ https://www.zoomopex.com/

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a presentation I did for Inforum Affinity Group.  I go over the principles and concepts of Lean and how they can be used today as well as in the future as technology continues to evolve. In this episode I also go over a brief history of Lean manufacturing and how it relates to today. What You’ll Learn This Episode: History of Lean manufacturing How can companies that are trapped in Lean appearance succeed Is Lean outdated and will it be relevant in the future How flexibility is important How can agile be utilized alongside Lean About the Guest: Patrick Adams is the author of the best selling book “Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.” He is an international speaker, coach, and consultant. Patrick has been delivering bottom-line results through specialized process improvement solutions for over 20 years. He's worked with all types of businesses from private, non-profits, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion dollar corporations. Patrick is a proven leader and highly experienced consultant with specific niche focus on organizational strategy and leadership development which brings a unique human approach to sound team-building practices; creating consensus and enabling empowerment. He motivates, inspires, and drives the right results at all points in business processes. Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickadamsii/

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Andy Olrich, a Continuous Improvement and Innovation Leader for the Hunter Water Corporation in Newcastle, Australia. Andy has over 25 years experience in engineering trades, health services, manufacturing, mining, logistics, processes and support. In this episode, Andy and I talk about the importance of leaders committing to standards when training a team and why it’s so important for leaders to not only set clear expectations but to also support and drive change. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Getting your team excited and engaged with Lean The importance of executive leadership supporting the team Andy’s biggest lightbulb moment in his career The importance of committing to standards when it comes to training a team Incorporating Lean practices into your daily life Andy’s advice to anyone passionate about Lean and wanting to become a respected leader About the Guest: Andy Olrich is the Continuous Improvement and Innovation Lead for the Hunter Water Corporation in Newcastle Australia. Andy has over 25 years’ experience in engineering trades, health services, manufacturing, mining, logistics processes and support. Andy holds formal qualifications in Engineering and trades plus LEAN Six Sigma & Agile methodologies. Andy is passionate about developing himself further as a respected Lean leader and enjoys seeing the benefits of teams embracing Continuous Improvement and working together to achieve common and personal goals. Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-olrich/ https://www.facebook.com/andy.olrich?sk=wall&notif_id=1640549102606889&notif_t=wall&ref=notif

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Jake Harrell. Jake is a supply chain enthusiast and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He is also the host of A Quality Podcast and the author of the book Chasing Excellence. In this episode, Jake talks about the importance of being funny and bringing humor into Lean to appeal to a wide array of people. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Jake’s background and how his podcast got started Sparking fun and humor in Lean Using memes for fun when talking about Lean Dealing with negative lash back on social media Why being funny and bringing humor into Lean is important Being young in Lean and keeping up with changes About the Guest: Jake Harrell is a supply chain enthusiast and lean six sigma black belt committed to chasing excellence. He is the host of "A Quality podcast" and a collaborator in "Zoom Operational Excellence", a company founded by John Thacker to Collaborate with the Lean consulting community. By day, I implement new systems in distribution centers around the globe, and by night, I am the funniest lean guy. My purpose is to bring humor/lightheartedness to make the lean space more approachable and attractive. Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeharrellchasingexcellence/ https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Excellence-Jake-Harrell/dp/0578727773 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4iOzsobf99YG1wCxn9r60w/featured

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Karyn Ross, an internationally acclaimed consultant, coach, lean practitioner and author. Karyn is also the founder of the Love and Kindness Project which is a movement spreading kindness from person to person around the world. In this episode, Karyn talks about the movement and why it’s so important to focus on kindness, even in a Lean setting and how you can implement kind leadership everyday. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Why kindness in Lean matters Kind leadership How the Love and Kindness Project started #storiesofkindness - what it is and how it got started Why small acts of kindness are important Who the Love and Kindness Project is for and who can participate How you can practice being kind even if it doesn't come naturally to you About the Guest: Karen is an internationally acclaimed consultant, coach and lean practitioner, and focuses on teaching organizations of all sizes and sectors how to use creativity combined with Toyota Way principles, practices and tools. This powerful combination enables organizations to create better, more effective and efficient ways to work. While many other Lean consultants focus on implementing tools, Karyn teaches teams how to use Practical Creativity™ to continuously strive towards service excellence. Karyn is on a mission to 'Help People Improve the World'. Important Links: https://loveandkindnessproject.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-love-and-kindness-project-foundation/ https://www.amazon.com/Kind-Leader-Practical-Eliminating-Creating/dp/0367693437

Today on the podcast, I’m talking with Alessandro Lasi, whose career includes more than 10 years in continuous improvement leadership positions. Alessandro also earned a master's in industrial engineering and has a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and is also a Kaizen facilitator. In this episode, Alessandro and I talk about the mindset and culture of Lean and Continuous Improvement including different tactics and techniques to support the continuous improvement culture. What You’ll Learn This Episode: Alessandro’s background in Lean The importance of failure and learning from failure Psychological safety within Lean culture Why you need to focus on process and purpose in Lean to get results What’s needed to get continuous improvement to the next level Getting to the sweet spot in Lean Why it’s difficult for organizations to nurture CI culture Why psychological safety is so important About the Guest: Alessandro’s career includes more than ten years in continuous improvement leadership positions in FMCG, Mechanical and Machinery, Services and Retail industries at top-tier global corporations –including, but not limited to, Hertz Corporation, SCA/Essity, and Leonardo. Known for his daring vision and tireless energy, Alessandro has been helping improve processes and drive company growth for the past five years at his current employer, a multinational company active in the Mechanical and Machinery business. He joined the company in 2016, with a mission to create and apply a new pan-European Continuous Improvement approach. After such a successful endeavor, Alessandro advanced through positions of increased authority and decision-making to his current position as a Global Director Continuous Improvement. His unique ability to establish rapport with a variety of professionals, engage people across functions and offer innovative solutions for short-term and long-term process setbacks, has allowed the Company, to not only reduce its costs, but to significantly improve processes in the Manufacturing and Supply chain, and Global Aftermarket and Service divisions in a very short time. Alessandro developed and implemented a unique Global Business System (XPS) for Service and Aftermarket currently used in 30+ countries, and he successfully managed 40+ strategic business transformation improvement projects with multimillion budgets on four continents in only three years, including various restructuring and growth initiatives. For his excellent results, he was declared the 2020 Global Continuous Improvement Gold Award Winner, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion for Europe at his current employer in 2021. He is currently leading Continuous Improvement for Global Aftermarket and Service Business Unit at his current employer, driving the strategic transformation to double global revenue in 2025. Alessandro earned a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pisa, and he holds a Lean Sigma Black Belt Certification since 2015, and a Kaizen Facilitator Certification since 2017. He is married and lives with his wife and two children in Switzerland Important Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessandrolasi/?originalSubdomain=ch