Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership – Details, episodes & analysis

My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are two of three co-authors of the upcoming book “Leading Excellence: 5 Hats of the Adaptive Leader” - Brad Jeavons and Stephen Dargan.

Episode page with video, transcript, and more

Stephen Dargan

A diverse and inclusive, customer-centric, driven transformational leader with 20+ years of leadership experience spanning Australia and Europe. Stephen is a Shingo Institute Alumni, Shingo Facilitator and Examiner. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Brad Jeavons

Brad Jeavons is a senior leadership coach focused on helping improve themselves and their organisations to create a better future economically, socially and environmentally for future generations. He is host of the Enterprise Excellence Podcast and Community and author of the book Agile Sales: Delivering Customer Journeys of Value and Delight. Brad was a guest back in episode 416, June 2021.

In this episode, Brade and Steve share insights into the key concepts of adaptive leadership, including the importance of understanding individual team members, cultivating psychological safety, and the five essential leadership hats: Inspire, Train, Support, Coach, and Direct. Brad and Stephen also discuss real-life applications, the significance of leadership shadow, and the critical role of serving the growth of others to drive organizational excellence.

• What are some factors contributing to low employee engagement?
• Can you elaborate on the concept of the leadership shadow and its impact?
• What behaviors help cultivate psychological safety and engagement?
• What does it mean to be a leader who serves, and why is it important?
• How can leaders develop the ability to be adaptive or situational?
• What are the five hats referenced in the subtitle of your book?
• Why is controlling emotions crucial for leaders, and how can they improve this skill?

The podcast is brought to you by Stiles Associates, the premier executive search firm specializing in the placement of Lean Transformation executives. With a track record of success spanning over 30 years, it's been the trusted partner for the manufacturing, private equity, and healthcare sectors. Learn more.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis, authors of the new book Flow Engineering: From Value Stream Mapping to Effective Action.

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Steve Pereira has spent over two decades improving workflow across various organizations. His experience spans tech support, IT management, platform and infrastructure engineering, product management, and serving as a founding CTO for an enterprise SaaS company. Currently, he is the CEO of Visible Consulting, COO of the Value Stream Management Consortium, and co-founder of the Flow Collective.

Andrew Davis is the Chief Product Officer at AutoRABIT and the author of "Mastering Salesforce DevOps." With a background as a Salesforce architect, developer, and product leader, Andrew focuses on the human side of software development. He spent 15 years as a Buddhist monk, teaching meditation and personal transformation, and now studies the intersection of business, technology, and psychology through systems thinking.

In this episode, we discuss the principles of flow engineering, the importance of psychological safety in process improvement, and their experiences in writing the book. We also dive into their personal journeys, inspirations from industry giants like Deming and Goldratt, and the challenges and lessons learned in collaborative work. Stay tuned for a deep, insightful conversation on enhancing workflows and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Can you discuss the relationship between making mistakes and learning from a Buddhist perspective, Andrew?
• Why do you resonate with figures like Deming, Goldratt, and Ackoff in your improvement work, Steve?
• How did you two end up collaborating on the book?
• Did you apply flow engineering concepts to the development and writing of the book together?
• How did the process of writing the book evolve over time?
• What lessons did you learn about collaboration and flow from writing this book?
• How does psychological safety impact value stream mapping and flow engineering?
• How do you involve workers in process design to avoid negative perceptions of imposed processes?
• What challenges did you face in maintaining a regular cadence of work while writing the book?

The podcast is brought to you by Stiles Associates, the premier executive search firm specializing in the placement of Lean Transformation executives. With a track record of success spanning over 30 years, it's been the trusted partner for the manufacturing, private equity, and healthcare sectors. Learn more.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

My guest for Episode #506 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Tim Hobbs, the founder and president of Hobbs Technical Consulting. He is an author and an in-demand international keynote speaker, trainer and business consultant. He is currently working in the semiconductor industry as a director of digital transformation. 

Episode page with video, transcript, and more

Tim served nine years in the U.S. Navy, managing and maintaining advanced electronic navigational, alarm, combat, telecommunication and power systems. After his military service, he worked for Intel Corporation for 14 years. 

He received a B.S. in business information systems and an M.B.A. in technology management and earned his Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt Certification.

Tim authored the book The Anatomy of Problem-Solving.

He'll also be one of the featured keynote speakers at the 40th anniversary of the AME International Conference (the Association for Manufacturing Excellence), being held in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 28 – October 31, 2024.

Enter a contest to win a free book and online course from Tim!

In this episode, Tim shares insights from his extensive career in the semiconductor industry, his journey through the US Navy, and his expertise in problem-solving. We discuss Tim's background, including his roles in digital transformation and Lean Six Sigma, and delve into his philosophy on critical thinking and structured problem-solving methods. Tim also previews his upcoming keynote at the conference, highlighting the importance of leveraging problem-solving for career success and organizational improvement. The conversation touches on his book, “The Anatomy of Problem Solving,” and an exciting book giveaway contest for our listeners. Tune in to gain valuable insights into effective problem-solving and strategic career advancement from an industry expert.

• Tell us about the start of your lean journey?
• Preview of your keynote talk?
• How do you combine frameworks and methodologies with critical thinking in problem-solving?
• Can you elaborate on organizational and political problem solving?
• Tell us about your online training program?
• What method are you using for problem-solving, and how did you develop it?
• What is the story behind your book, “The Anatomy of Problem Solving”?
• What approach do you recommend for dealing with team dynamics in problem solving?
• How do you position problem solving for upward mobility in a career?
• Can you explain the PIE (Performance, Image, Exposure) framework and its importance in career advancement?
• What strategies do you suggest for engaging with potential sponsors?
• How do you handle the human element in problem-solving, especially when dealing with different personalities?
• Tim's online training program

The podcast is brought to you by Stiles Associates, the premier executive search firm specializing in the placement of Lean Transformation executives. With a track record of success spanning over 30 years, it's been the trusted partner for the manufacturing, private equity, and healthcare sectors. Learn more.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/427 

My guest for Episode #427 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is a returning guest, Karyn Ross. She was previously a guest in Episodes 266 and 411. She was also my guest for Episode #3 of My Favorite Mistake.

Karyn has a new book called The Kind Leader: A Practical Guide to Eliminating Fear, Creating Trust, and Leading with Kindness. Scroll down for a 20% coupon you can use if you buy through the publisher. You can also enter to win a copy.

Today, we talk the book and more, with topics and questions including:

• How do you define kindness?
• NPR story on the kindest family
• How do we help people understand that kindness is not a sign of weakness? 
• My Favorite Mistake (out Thursday) Moses Harris interview Episode #110
• How much unkind behavior is driven by people being scared? "Vicious circle of fear"
• "Collaboration, cooperation and kindness" chapter heading -- reminds me of how Dr. Deming used to rail against competition -- and I think that's especially true when talking about internal competition
• Systemic root causes of fear and unkind behavior -- Kind leaders can affect the system...
• Kindness and respect? Connections to Lean in the book
• A time when someone was kind to you at work?
• Recent KaiNexus webinar on psychological safety... also proven to drive results
  • Workshop with Jessica House on the topic
• Blaming instinct...What do you mean by "always assume positive intent"? - examples?
• Negativity bias
• "Prefectionism isn't Kind" online workshop with Amy Mervak
  • Morning session
  • Afternoon session
• Little Kind Words Talk Show -- lessons learned from that?
• Doing live streaming -- "practice accepting what is"
• We're always learning... what have you learned about kindness since the book was published?
• "Pop up kindness stand"? -- WSJ article

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

CEO of Growing Champions, LLC

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/426

My guest for Episode #426 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is John Gallagher, Founder and CEO of Growing Champions, LLC, an Executive Coach, Mentor, and Consultant. John was with Simpler Consulting for over a decade after being an operations manager and a division president for two different companies.

He's also the host of a new podcast called The Uncommon Leader. I'll be John's guest in an episode to be released on October 19th.

Today, we talk about topics and questions including:

• Where did you first get exposed to Lean?
• Why were you skeptical about Lean at first?
• Came from MRP batch & queue world
• Rapid Improvement Event or Rapid Planning Event?
• His first sensei, the late Bill Moffitt
• “Comfort the afflicted or afflict the comforted?”
• Who were some of your key mentors?
• Lean Thinking was a key book, the first book he read on Lean
• Being an operations manager vs. a division president… what did you learn from those roles?
• Applying Lean to residential real estate sales
• Healthcare? Patients aren't cars?? Addressing that? Cookbook medicine?
• “Unique care delivered in a standard way”
• Tell us about the podcast…  inspired by Tony Dungy's book
• Who have been some of your guests? — Including Paul De Chant
• Who are some of the “uncommon leaders” you have worked for, worked with, or coached? What made them uncommon?
• Posts I was reminded of
  • Lenny Walls, my trainer
  • Central Intelligence post
  • Sushi incrementalism post
• Coaching work? Lean coach to exec coach?

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

Show notes, links, and video: https://www.markgraban.com/425

My guest for Episode #425 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Katie Anderson, who is joining us for the seventh time as a guest.

Katie is, of course, the author of the book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning. It has now been out over a year as eBook and paperback, and the audiobook is now available.

Today, we sketched out a few topics for a fun conversation. First, we talk about “breaking the telling habit” (get Katie's free guide). When do leaders have to “tell”? Does it get annoying when you only ask questions?

You'll also hear about how Katie “pulled the andon cord” (virtually) when she had a concern about the sound of me typing some notes. So, we'll talk about countermeasures and such related to that, and you'll hear our problem solving minds at work.

Katie then shares a story about the use of “Process Behavior Charts” at a non-profit organization. I share a story about seeing what appeared to be a “signal” in the listener metrics for the My Favorite Mistake podcast, so we again chat about problem solving and causal analysis.

We also talk the “Leading to Learn Accelerator” program that she's running soon.

And I tell an awful joke about asking questions. I'm sorry.

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/424

My guest for Episode #424 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Balaji Reddie, the founder of The Deming Forum of India.

An engineer by trade, Balaji was exposed to W. Edwards Deming's ideas through his father, then became highly interested in the Deming Philosophy after a chance introduction to the founder of the British Deming Association, Dr. Henry R. Neave, who became Balaji's mentor.

As it says in his bio:

“Balaji's contributions have been featured in textbooks and coursework on Quality and the Deming Philosophy. He holds a Degree in Electrical Engineering from COEP (the Government College of Engineering in Pune), and a Master of Science in Quality Management from BITS (Birla Institute of Technology & Science).”

Topics and questions:

• Tell us more about your professional background
• In his factory, had a “quality section” but not department – what's the difference?
• 1991 was a key year for India – opened up outside investment and foreign products
• Xerox 5-day Leadership for Quality course
• Wanted to know where this all began, learned of Deming & Juran
• What was your first exposure to Dr. Deming and/or his work?
• His father went to Japan in 1964
• “Juran had answers, Deming asked questions”
• Recommends Managerial Breakthrough from 1964
• 14 points were for an American audience, the Japanese didn't have them
• Red Bead Experiment – Deming used in 1940s to teach sampling
• “Respect for people” – Deming was talking about this a long time back
• Tutored under Henry Neave – tell us about him — The Deming Dimension book
• “The guru is the person who shows us the way… asks questions but maybe doesn't give the answers” 
• The Deming Forum of India – 1999 founding
• Unique properties or qualities of Indian companies?

I hope you enjoy the conversation. We managed to have a lot of laughs, even though we're talking about serious topics.

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

My guest for Episode #423 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Laura Kriska, a Cross-Cultural Consultant and the author of the book The Business of We: The Proven Three-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace.

Notes: https://www.leanblog.org/423

She was previously my guest on Episode 61 of the “My Favorite Mistake” podcast.

Laura was previously the author of the book The Accidental Office Lady: An American Woman in Corporate Japan, a book about her time as the first American woman to work for Honda in Tokyo, Japan. We talk about those experiences and so much more today.

Topics and questions:

• How did you get to become the first American woman to work at Honda HQ in Japan? 
• What was it like working in the Ohio factory? 
  • Quality Circles
  • Kaizen — We can always do things better
• What was an “office lady”?
• Adjustments to the Japanese working culture?
• You initiated a Quality Circle around the uniform for office ladies, tell us about that…
• “Let's Abolish Women's Uniforms”
  • Use of data?
  • Being careful with assumptions
  • Studied it for a year
  • What was the outcome?
• You describe Cultural laziness (now, “corporate carelessness”) – what do you mean by that? Can this apply to somebody who is new to a company culture, too??

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

Author of Disruption Proof and The Lean Entrepreneur

My guest for Episode #422 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Brant Cooper, appearing for the third time and the first time solo. Brant previously appeared, alongside Patrick Vlaskovits, in Episodes 99 and 162.

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/422

Brant is the author of the upcoming book, Disruption Proof: Empower People, Create Value, Drive Change, due out in late October, but is available for pre-order now.

Brant is The New York Times bestselling author of the book The Lean Entrepreneur (now in a 2nd Edition) and he's CEO and founder of the firm Moves the Needle.

He is also organizing a virtual summit — the Endless Disruption Summit — on Sept 30.

Topics and questions:

• “One thing in life is certain: Disruption is the new norm.” — Why is that increasingly so?
• How can a company become disruption proof?
• What's a good example of an Industrial Age company that has transformed to thrive in the Digital Age?
• Lessons from the pandemic?
  • Working from home and now what?
• Empathy and restaurant signs
  • The entire world is understaffed?
  • The hospital sign about your energy and the workplace
• The 5Es: Empathy, Exploration, Evidence, Equillibrium, and Ethics
• His experiences in healthcare — cancer
  • The people are amazing
  • Ransomware attack affected his radiation care

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

We've been on hiatus over the summer here, so I've taken a look back at some of the older episodes from the podcast archives, while being on a bit of a hiatus from recording new episodes. New episodes will be coming again in September

Today we're looking back at the episode that I did with John Shook.

It was Episode #56, released in January 2009.

I hope you enjoy our discussion -- I think it's just as relevant today as it was then even though his book Managing to Learn has been available for more than a decade (it was new when we did this episode).

I had a chance to talk with John a few months back and I'm hoping to do a new episode with him sometime soon.

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.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network.