The Lean Solutions Podcast

What You’ll Learn: In this episode, hosts Catherine McDonald and Andy Olrich discuss how prioritizing the wrong work can hamper growth and stifle development within organizations.    By embracing a culture of continuous improvement, regularly reassessing priorities, and leveraging Lean Six Sigma tools, teams can navigate away from misaligned tasks and toward impactful endeavors, ensuring both organizational success and individual fulfillment.   About the Guest:  Emma Bint is the Managing Director of High CI Ltd. Graduating with a Master of Laws degree, and two post graduate certificates in leadership, Emma went on to certify as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and found her passion for Continuous Improvement. For the last 12 years, she has had extensive CI experience working in the service side of Lean such as customer service, sales, after sales, administration, operations, finance, logistics and shared services. Emma has worked for global oganizations, leading her own team of CI, OpEx and RPA specialists, but also used her CI skills to help develop leadership teams, transform processes, and create functional CI strategies for growth and culture change. Her experience has culminated in setting up a new company which provides professional continuous improvement solutions known as High CI Ltd.   Links: Click Here For Emma Bint’s LinkedIn Click Here For Emma Bint’s YouTube Channel Click Here For Emma Bint’s Website ⁠⁠Click Here For Catherine McDonald’s LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠  

Andy Olrich, an expert in Lean and improvement cultures, and Patrick Adams discuss the importance of continuous learning in Lean methodologies and the upcoming Lean Solutions Summit. They highlight team-building excursions, discounted pricing for groups, and various activities aimed at promoting positive change and improvement. The summit offers TED-like presentations, workshops, and fun activities to foster camaraderie among attendees.

What You’ll Learn: In this episode, hosts Catherine McDonald and Patrick Adams discuss the importance of strategic influence in Lean adoption, highlighting the need to show rather than tell, celebrate small victories, involve people in decision-making, and connect the dots between actions and outcomes.   By engaging employees and demonstrating the impact of changes at personal, team, and organizational levels, leaders can foster a culture of continuous improvement and drive sustainable change.  About the Guest:  Catherine McDonald is a Lean and Leadership Coach with MCD Consulting, her own business since 2018. She specializes in Lean deployment across various non-manufacturing sectors, employing a strategic, enthusiastic, and empathetic approach. Using collaborative methods, Catherine guides individuals and organizations from short-term reactive working to long-term strategic thinking. Patrick Adams is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant and professional speaker. He is best known for his unique human approach to sound team building practices, creating consensus and enabling empowerment. 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-profit, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion-dollar corporations. Patrick is an Author of the best selling book, Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.  Links: ⁠⁠Click Here For Catherine McDonald’s LinkedIn⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams’ LinkedIn⁠   For Feedback, Email jr.adams@findleansolutions.com  

What You’ll Learn: In this episode, hosts Catherine McDonald and Shayne Daughenbaugh discuss process management as it emerges as a pivotal mechanism for organizational efficiency.   Unlike mere process mapping or SOP creation, it involves continual optimization aligned with overarching goals. Effective leadership, systematic frameworks, and technological integration are key drivers, while challenges such as employee engagement and communication clarity must be navigated for successful implementation. About the Guest:  Matt Spears is a business improvement professional with a passion for leading change and transforming the way value is created. Because customer value is created through business processes, Matt was necessarily drawn to the world of process management. Matt currently serves as a Senior Solutions Engineer for Nintex – a leading process management and automation software company. In his current role, Matt has the privilege of helping organizations achieve operational excellence through business process management.  Links: Click Here For Catherine McDonald’s LinkedIn⁠  ⁠Click Here For Shayne Daughenbaugh’s LinkedIn Click Here For Matt Spear’s Website Click Here For Matt Spear’s LinkedIn

What You’ll Learn: In this episode, hosts Andy Olrich and Patrick Adams discuss the difficulty of navigating through a crisis of market competition and organizational chaos. Through the transformative power of Toyota Kata in Lean methodology, we can embrace a culture of scientific thinking and coaching. Learning to empower our teams, transcend conventional practices, and unlock new realms of success gives us a path to success through continuous improvement. About the Guest:  Tilo Schwarz supports organizations and managers in successfully leading change and empowering their teams for improvement, adaptiveness, and superior results. He was a plant manager at a renowned German power-tool manufacturer, where he and his management team started practicing Toyota Kata as part of Mike Rother's groundbreaking research in 2007. By doing so, Tilo and his team established continuous improvement as a daily working routine throughout all processes and areas of the plant. That led to winning the A. T. Kearny manufacturing competition "Factory of the Year" and a WHU/INSEAD Industrial Excellence Award. Tilo is co-founder of the Campus for Leaders at the University of Applied Science Ansbach and the author of several books on coaching and Toyota Kata. Links: ⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams LinkedIn⁠ Click Here For Tilo’s Book: “Giving Wings to Her Team” Click Here For More Information On Tilo Schwarz⁠⁠Click Here For The Lean Solutions Summit⁠

Internationally recognized leadership coach Katie Anderson and host Andy Olrich discuss the transformative Chain of Learning workshops, emphasizing deep self-reflection, effective leadership dynamics, intentional communication, and global connectivity. They explore the value of purpose, collaboration, and continuous learning in personal and professional growth.

What You’ll Learn: In this two-parted episode, host Andy Olrich delves into Katie Anderson’s transformative Chain of Learning workshops in Australia. Tune in as they explore attendee expectations, workshop insights, captivating leadership themes, and profound reflections. About the Guest:  Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership consultant, coach, professional speaker, and learning enthusiast, dedicated to helping purpose-driven leaders create cultures of learning and accelerate individual and organizational impact.  A skilled change agent and coach, Katie has supported tens of thousands of leaders across a range of industries to create organizational learning cultures that foster innovation, engagement, and continuous improvement. A popular keynote speaker, she is the author of the bestselling book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn, which has received multiple international awards, including the Shingo Publication Award, and has been translated into over eight languages. Katie is also the host of the transformational leadership podcast Chain of Learning. Katie holds a BA with honors from Stanford University and was a Fulbright Scholar in Australia, where she received her Master’s degree in public health. She has lived in seven countries, and regularly leads executive study trips to Japan for leaders looking to deepen their knowledge of people-centered leadership, operational excellence, and Japanese culture. Links: ⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠ ⁠⁠Click Here to Learn More About Katie Anderson⁠ Click Here For Chain Of Learning Episode 12: "Beyond Appearances: Building Real Continuous Improvement with Patrick Adams" Click Here For The Lean Solutions Summit

Steve Ansuini, owner of C4ED, discusses the choreography of productivity with Kanban in manufacturing, emphasizing cultural change and early wins. They explore Kanban's visual control in inventory management and driving efficiency through leadership. The podcast showcases how Kanban can be applied in various settings for optimal efficiency and savings.

Retired Army veteran Phil Ranck discusses common mistakes young leaders make, emphasizing the importance of embracing errors for growth. He shares insights on process improvement, personal development, and mentoring strategies, highlighting the shift from blame to mentorship in leadership. Also, he explores the benefits of military training for career transition and success.

What You’ll Learn: In this episode, hosts Patrick Adams and Andy Olrich discuss coaching and personal growth, highlighting the importance of iterations and experimentation in learning, emphasizing the need to focus on others rather than oneself in coaching practices.  Everyone, regardless of position or expertise, shares common struggles and the importance of normalizing vulnerability and seeking support within professional communities is essential to success. About the Guest:   Sam Morgan is a self-proclaimed “confident learner.” After spending the past five years of work in the continuous improvement space he landed at KataCon, a conference for continuous improvement professionals who practice the Toyota Kata. There he had a powerful moment realizing where his true passion lies: transforming people through coaching. Ever since then he has been on a mission to help folks illuminate who they really are, what they were created to do, and give them the confidence to live it out through the powerful practice of daily coaching. Sam helps change the lives of people through the process of uncovering their PURPOSE, helping them understand the PATTERN of the Improvement Kata, tied together through the PRACTICE of daily coaching cycles. Sam takes joy in seeing his clients move from fearful to fearless; from insecure to confident. He resonates deeply with the quote from Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.” Links: ⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adam’s LinkedIn⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Click Here for Sam Morgan’s LinkedIn⁠⁠ Click Here for Sam Morgan’s Website