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The Edges of Lean explores topics in continuous improvement (lean thinking, creative problem solving, six sigma) that get overlooked. Meet the people practicing lean in odd places or with different twists, always with a focus on respect for people and continuous learning.
Episodes
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Innovation is the key driver of continued organizational success. In this episode, Dr. Heather Johnson joins me to discuss radical innovation and its connection to lean innovation. Dr. Johnson is an expert on innovation, and her insights will help all organizations looking to improve their innovation process.
HEATHER JOHNSON
Dr. Heather Johnson is a scientist, an engineer, and a radical innovation scholar-practitioner with a doctoral degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She also has a master’s in quality management with a focus in engineering & technology from Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Heather Johnson is a certified quality auditor (CQA), quality management systems expert with over 30 years of experience, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with ISO expertise. She has extensive work experience living and working internationally in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
CONNECT WITH HEATHER
Website: http://www.montroseconsulting.net/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Heather’s career background
- Defining Radical Innovation and Lean Innovation
- The importance of knowledge retention, and what to do when your knowledge has left your organization
- How companies need to innovate
- How Heather helps other leaders innovate
- The innovation process that makes the team work faster and efficiently
- The importance of having a great leader
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Radical innovation is a term used to describe a game-changing idea or product that drastically improves upon existing technology or solutions. Radical innovations are typically characterized by their ability to create new markets or significantly disrupt existing ones.
- Lean innovation is about innovating with limited finance, resources, and assets. Lean innovation is not just a money thing; it's about using less people and fewer assets, whether they are tangible or intangible assets. Lean innovation also includes using less time to bring an innovation to customers.
- Knowledge is a valuable asset for any individual and organization. It allows us to make better decisions, solve problems more effectively, and create new opportunities. Knowledge retention is the process of keeping this valuable asset up-to-date and readily available.
- No organization or person has all the knowledge needed for radical innovation Partnering across internal and external organizational boundaries is essential.
- A leader with a growth mindset understands that intelligence and ability are not fixed traits. They recognize that everyone has the potential to grow and develop their skills. This enables them to create an environment where employees feel supported and motivated to learn and develop. As a result, employees are more engaged and productive, and the organization can achieve its goals.
Memorable Quotes From Heather Johnson
‘’Don't get hung up on figuring out everything and knowing where you need to be. Go along for the ride. Go be adventurous, go explore, explore things outside of the box. You may have studied one thing in college, challenge yourself to look at something else that you never thought of going into. And it will broaden your horizon and it will change the game for you.”
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Did you know that 25 to 40 percent of the people you meet are introverts? Jenny Toh joins me today to talk about coaching introverts, how to coach if you are introvert, why managers need coaching and the future of coaching.
Jenny is an expert in coaching introverts and extroverts and helping her clients to find their voice. She believes that empathy is key when coaching introverts, as it helps them to understand that their experiences are valid. It's also important for managers to give feedback that is tailored to the individual’s introversion or extroversion style.
JENNY TOH
Jenny is passionate about helping introverted women find the right balance between the marketplace and the home front. She is also a strong proponent of mental fitness for her clients to achieve their highest level of success with sustained happiness.
CONNECT WITH JENNY
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-toh-cpc-acc/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Understanding the definition of Introvert
- The difference between Introvert and extrovert
- How Jenny adapts coaching
- How empathy is crucial for her coaching style
- What drew her into coaching from being a lawyer
- The importance of defining our version of success as a woman
- How coaching mostly happen outside of the workplace
- Why managers should have a coach
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- An introvert is a person who draws energy from time alone. Introverts feel comfortable focusing on their inner thoughts and ideas, rather than what's happening externally. They enjoy spending time with just one or two people, rather than large groups or crowds.
- When a coach demonstrates empathy, they are signaling to the introvert that they are safe, they are understood, and that their feelings matter. This creates a foundation of trust and mutual respect that is essential for effective coaching.
- Coaching allows managers to understand the perspectives of their employees, empathize with them, and develop a more effective leadership style that takes into account the needs of the team.
- Coaching is a process that enables managers to have continuous improvement in their leadership style. Coaching managers may involve giving feedback to managers about their performance and then providing them with guidance on how to improve.
Memorable Quotes From Jenny Toh
‘’Purpose is important. It sounds cliche, but for a young person, the world is your oyster, and so many things are out there so you may not know your purpose right away. So start exploring, be open about it. But at the same time, identify what your values are, and what your strengths are and that's the starting point. “
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Join us as Samuel Gregory explains when an agile approach is needed and what's really behind the word.
Samuel Gregory is the founder of Jupiter and the Giraffe, a website design consultancy as well as hosting the weekly That Tech Show Podcast. During his time Samuel has helped world-class tech companies like Netflix and Corning as well as Conde Nast build engaging and experiential websites, working as both an engineer, leveraging his experience coding since the early 2000s as well as a technical program manager and a project manager.
Using his experience and appreciation for creativity gathered during his time at Framestore, Samuel has also consulted with UI designers and user experience designers on many digital products. With this experience, Samuel has seen many of the ups and downs that can happen on website projects from both the technical side and the business side. He uses this knowledge, along with his ability to communicate complex, technical ideas into more accessible language teaching what he believes is expected in modern website development. This streamlined approach helps to keep both clients and teammates working effectively together
Website : https://www.thefullstackagency.xyz/
Book: https://www.thefullstackagency.xyz/books/lingo-agile-book
Key Topics in this podcast:
● Samuel’s career background
● How he came up with the name of his company
● What is Agile and its connection to Lean?
● Simplifying the term “Agile”
● Why some people dislike Agile
● The history of the connection of Agile and lean
● How Agile originated from Lean
● Interactivty of websites and Its benefits for companies
● What needs to change in education to help industry to focus on learning and not just delivering
● Samuel’s advice for the young people who just started out their career
● Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their
customers faster and with fewer headaches.
● An agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments. Requirements, plans, and results are evaluated
continuously so teams have a natural mechanism for responding to change quickly.
● Scrum is a framework that helps teams work together. Much like a rugby team (where it gets its name) training for the big game, scrum encourages teams to learn through experiences, self-organize while working on a problem, and reflect on their wins and losses to continuously improve.
● Kanban is a popular framework used to implement agile and DevOps software development. It requires real-time
communication of capacity and full transparency of work.
‘’Whenever you encounter something, whenever you see something new, don't just observe it, and let it fly by. Go down that rabbit hole! I am encouraging you to follow your nose.”
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
If you want to be an effective leader, then character is key. Skills and knowledge are necessary, but self-knowledge and clarity on core values are what separate the great leaders from the rest of the pack. Brad Smith joined me to talk about how constant self-improvement of our own character can help us help other leaders to have a better leadership style.
BRAD SMITH
Stellar Insight founder, Brad Smith has spent over 20 years helping companies pursue growth and excellence through coaching, consulting, facilitation, and strategic planning.
CONNECT WITH BRAD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-smith-7458858/
Website : https://www.stellarinsightinc.com/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Brad’s career background
- How he got into strategic planning and what he’s learned from it
- What are the limitations of leaders today and how to overcome them?
- The importance your personal time horizon
- How you can be more intuitive?
- Defining character
- Brad’s advice for leaders
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- In order to be repeatedly successful in business, you must constantly improve yourself.
- It is important for leaders to ask the people who work for them what their motivations are; by understanding an employee, you can help them grow their leadership skills.
- The length of a personal time horizon can determine what leadership position someone is able to fill.
- Meditation is about watching your thoughts instead of acting. This can help you be more intuitive and listen to your own thinking better.
- People's characters are not always fixed, and people change throughout their lives.
- It is important for you to know your rely on your values.
- Self-awareness is important for leaders since it allows them to be aware of their own emotions as well as other people's.
Memorable Quotes From Brad Smith
‘’You can be repeatedly successful, but you have to be self aware. You have to be situation aware, and you continually have to improve who you are”
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Many small businesses are franchises. What is franchising, and how can lean thinking improve franchised businesses? Or Steve Taylor and I delve into the franchise world in this episode of the The Edges of Lean.
STEVE TAYLOR
Steve Taylor has an extensive background working in large businesses and small, in both sales and operations roles. In addition, he has owned and been partners in several business ventures and is passionate about spreading the "gospel of small business". He lives in Northern California with his wife and three children.
CONNECT WITH STEVE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/psteventaylor/
Website: https://www.thefranchiseconsultingcompany.com/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Steve’s career background
- What is franchising?
- What are the benefits or advantages of franchising over starting from scratch?
- Understanding the importance of standards in the franchising industry
- How to resolve the problem of misalignment of standards franchisors. franchisees and employees
- How are lean principles applicable in terms of building quality and standard procedures in franchises
- What are the unexpected issues in franchise leadership - and how to resolve them?
- Understanding the difference between leadership and management
- What are the factors contribute to being a successful franchisee?
- What is a multinational franchising and how does it work?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Franchisees usually pay the franchisor for permission to use their brand and a particular area, with McDonald's being an example of this model.
- The franchisee gets a proven business model, and the franchiser can learn from the success.
- It is important to have standards and compare what actually happens with the standards - you can't improve if you do not know what needs improvement!
- A franchisor and franchisee must be able to communicate consistently with one another.
- Understanding management versus leadership is a struggle for many. Successful franchisees must be good at self-evaluation and reflection and understanding what defines each.
- The reason why multinational companies license their brands is because franchising laws are different in other countries.
Memorable Quotes from Steve Taylor
- ‘’Be gracious with people, be forgiving and understanding.You have two ears and one mouth; listen twice as much as you talks and you'll be fine."
- "Find your superpower and double down.”
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
The need for change is an inevitable part of life today and change demands leadership. Art Bierschbach joins me today; he's been working on leading change his whole career! We'll discuss diverse types of leadership and what they mean when it comes time to lead change of every kind – whether in environment, culture, or a physical change.
A successful leader can't just hope that things will go smoothly; there must be planning, and leaders must set direction.
ART BIERSHBACH
Art is the Principal Consultant with BtenConsulting, LLC. Art’s passion is to help companies achieve better business results by improving a company’s leadership, helping a company grow their top line with new products and services, and improve processes. Art is an international business coach and consultant in the areas of leadership, management, marketing, sales, operations, and finance.
CONNECT WITH ART
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artbierschbach/
Website: https://btenconsulting.com/ , YourBusinessWingman.com
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Art’s career background
- The importance of training leaders
- Understanding the difference between leaders and managers
- How leaders must value and engage with their people
- The importance of coaching leaders so they can lead their teams effectively
- Art’s advice for people who resist change
- Art’s advice for leaders on how to succeed when leading change
- What are the distinct roles of a leader when change is happening ?
- What are the changes Art would want to implement in the U.S if he were to be given the opportunity?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The leader needs to be willing to listen and take risks on workers' suggestions for continuous improvement to flourish.
- Leaders must value their people to be successful.
- If the owner can't do everything, it's better to hire people who are self-starters.
- If a large change is made by the top leaders, it must be communicated and clear to everyone for the plan to work.
- A leader should remove obstacles and motivate the team, who will take over once that's achieved.
- When a person performs an action, they should evaluate what happened, to learn and make better decisions in the future.
Memorable Quote From Art Bierschbach
‘’ Find a great mentor: when you first get commissioned, one of the first things you're told, is go find some crusty old sergeant, follow them around for a couple of years, figure out what works, and what you can learn there. And they'll give you great lessons, they'll give you leadership lessons, they'll give you lessons about life.”
Wednesday Mar 02, 2022
Wednesday Mar 02, 2022
Collaborative leadership is the key to success for organizations struggling with siloed decision-making and collaboration. Teri Beckman joins me, discussing how an absence of common goals can lead companies down a path from which they may never recover. Why does having a shared goal play such an important role in a company's successes? Listen in to our conversation to learn about what it really means when we say "We're all on board!"
TERI BECKMAN
Teri is CEO of HIGOl: “We help purpose-driven CEOs align their people, boards, and financial resources to increase revenue and community impact”
CONNECT WITH TERI
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teribeckman/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/teribeckman
Website: https://higo.co/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Teri’s career and company HiGOI background
- Where does Lean originate from?
- Lean Refugee explained
- Siloed leadership in organizations
- What is leadership collaboration all about?
- Why is giving up control and authority the scariest thing?
- How to handle employees who are not performing well: What is the process?
- How to engage volunteers in a collaborative leadership perspective?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Employees are less likely to feel like their voice is heard if they can't participate in discussions about what needs improvement.
- A company should have a way for employees to voice their opinions.
- Executive teams can have siloed leadership that cuts off the potential for the company.
- Collaborative leadership is where the team works together to achieve common goals.
- The leader needs to be willing to trust and develop different kinds of relationships with their direct reports.
- If we don't teach our young adults how to work together, the future won't be good.
- To gain strategic insights from executives, you must be vulnerable and get them in on the process.
Memorable Quotes From Teri Beckman
- ‘’ Take the time to get to know yourself on a deeper level. And that means maybe some time off from the computer off of your devices. So that, you know, you can know yourself on a deeper level and begin to trust yourself.”
- “You have everything you need to have success in life; to have joy, happiness, you really do. The messaging that there's something wrong with us that we have to fix, that we have to make a certain amount of money by a certain point, that we have to get married by a certain time. Those are all artificial constructs”
Thursday Feb 24, 2022
Thursday Feb 24, 2022
Continuous Improvement and Telling the Truth About Yourself with Arnoud Herremans
Telling the truth is important. But what happens when telling the truth about what you are feeling isn’t comfortable, or you're concerned about how it will impact other people? !
Arnoud Herremans reached out to me after he attended a webinar I gave - and he shared a brilliant insight that I want you all to hear. Arnoud will uncover why is it important to tell the truth about yourself, so listen in and learn more about it
ARNOUD HERREMANS
Dr. Arnoud Herremans is a psychologist by training and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and he is experienced in pharmaceutical research as a researcher and manager, he is also a founder and CEO of Y47 provides a service to introduce processes that continuously improve workflow and bring Innovation Excellence to Life Science and Chemical organizations where research is an important part of daily life. The center of Arnoud’s service is Lean Thinking. builds a mindset in every employee to clearly identify problems in their work processes. By creating awareness, it is possible to learn how to analyze and improve these processes in a way that is rather “not telling what to do'' but teaching how to identify and change unproductive habits and procedures
CONNECT WITH ARNOUD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnoudherremans/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/arnoudherremans
Website: https://y47.eu/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Arnoud’s journey and career background
- Understanding the brain’s reactions to to new or threatening ideas
- Importance of being honest about yourself
- The “fight or flight” reaction explained
- Reasons why we feel uneasy or uncomfortable in a meeting or a particular situation
- How do we balance working formally (setting aside emotions) and being authentic?
- Difference and similarities between product development and operations
- Learning cadence explained
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- It is imperative that we normalize the conversation about what it means to disagree with other people. We need more open discussions, less shame, and guilt
- We all have a natural response to certain situations: the way we feel and think about things is determined by the environment in which they occur, and our own past history.
- When we speak up about what's in our minds and tell the truth, we actually create a psychologically safe environment for others.
- We feel uncomfortable when what happens is different than what we expected, and that is normal
- Telling the truth and speaking up are two important keys to resolving issues for both parties.
- We have a tendency to get frustrated about our reactions at work, but it is important for us not to be reactive.
Memorable Quotes From Arnoud Herremans
‘’ You have to find your own voice, who you are as a person: in your work, in what you do. Because if you know that, and there's only one person that can be that is best at doing that, and that's YOU, yourself, you're the best person at being you. And trying to find that and living to that and constantly reflecting on is "This, is this really me?' "is this is what I enjoy?" is where quality is. Build on that!”"
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Wednesday Feb 02, 2022
Linguistic barriers are common in any business, but they can be especially challenging when you're working with different languages. Today I will speak to Bruno Pešec about the importance of plain language and applying lean ideas across an organization whether your team speaks English (or lean!) or not!
BRUNO PESEC
Bruno Pešec helps business leaders innovate profitably, leveraging his broad experience from different industries – including defense, manufacturing, education, and financial services.
He is an active member in the global startup community, co-founder of Norwegian Lean Startup Circle, and Founder of Institute Norway. Bruno is the co-creator of Playing Lean, an award-winning board game for teaching entrepreneurship and innovation.
CONNECT WITH BRUNO PESEC
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pesec/
Twitter: brunopesec
Website: pesec.no/
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Bruno’s journey and career background
- How does he bring lean ideas and thinking to Toyota Production System
- Understanding language barrier
- Importance of using plain language
- How does using jargon create an entry barrier?
- How he applied his experience and expertise to help his clients
- What are the biggest challenges in his field?
- Importance of vertical slice in organization
- What is “Playing Lean” all about
- Bruno’s upcoming book
- Advice to young people
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Bruno found his passion in Toyota Production System, but he wanted to bring lean thinking and principles into the company. Unfortunately for him, it was hard because of language barriers
- Plain language makes it easier for anyone, even those who don't know the technical jargon associated with certain topics.
- When you use jargon words, it creates an entry barrier because these special terms are only understood by those in the industry. This makes talking like this sound exclusive and elitist. That doesn't align with being inclusive for everyone else who wants to learn!
- Bruno's knowledge and experience as an expert in his field are put to use for the benefit of clients, with whom he helps share his lean or innovative ideas with others.
- Playing Lean is an excellent game to create an understanding of lean startup
Memorable Quotes From Bruno Pesec
‘’ First, is understanding that everybody learns differently, including you, as a young person. So some things that worked for others might not work for you. And second, learning how to learn is one of the most scalable skills, the earlier in life, you learn that the more reward you will get out of it. “
Wednesday Jan 26, 2022
Wednesday Jan 26, 2022
Collaboration is an essential part of any successful organization, but how do you find individuals that have natural communications and collaboration skills? Join me as I talk with Mark Herschberg about lean thinking and why universities aren't doing enough in this area! We will also discuss his book “The Career Tool Kit: Essential For Success That No One Taught You” which provides valuable insights on gaining knowledge from collaborative efforts. Mark has been teaching at MIT for 20 years. In addition, he's built multiple startup companies as a CTO.
Mark Herschberg
Mark is the author of The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia. He helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, dubbed MIT’s “career success accelerator,” where he teaches annually. At MIT, he received a B.S. in physics, a B.S. in electrical engineering & computer science, and an M.Eng. in electrical engineering & computer science, focusing on cryptography. At Harvard Business School, Mark helped create a platform used to teach finance at prominent business schools. He also works with many non-profits, including Techie Youth and Plant A Million Corals. He was one of the top-ranked ballroom dancers in the country and now lives in New York City, where
He is known for his social gatherings, including his annual Halloween party, as well as his diverse cufflink collection.
CONNECT WITH MARK
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hershey
Website:https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com/
Where to purchase “The Career Tool Kit: Essential For Success That No One Taught You” https://www.amazon.com/Career-Toolkit-Essential-Skills-Success/dp/0960100709
Key Topics in this podcast:
- Mark’s career background
- Importance of Upskilling
- “Agile” explained
- How to develop collaboration skills
- Advantages of upskilling your team
- How to engage your team in learning new skills openly
- Mark’s mobile app built for his book and future plans
- Agile techniques: application for better collaboration
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Mark is not an average software engineer--he knows how important it is to keep up with new skills and knowledge, which makes him a great leader.
- Miscommunication leads to a breakdown of successful teamwork, and this can only be solved by collaboration.
- Developing "soft" knowledge and skills are important to help drive company success, especially for leadership roles.
- The higher education system must focus on teaching leadership, teaching how to learn, and teaching real management skills to prepare students for the workplace.
- Collaboration is a valuable tool that can be used to help teams succeed. It's easy and quick for anyone, even those without any previous experience in this field of work or leadership roles
- Mark's book, "The Career Tool Kit: Essential For Success That No One Taught You" is a useful guide for any team or leader looking to achieve success through collaboration.
Words of wisdom with Mark Herschberg
“That rectangle analogy is recognizing we have long sides and short sides. Yes, keep developing the long sides. That's your expertise. But don't ignore those short sides. Because as you develop them, you will become so much more effective. And that can be whether it's a particular skill that we've talked about, like communication or leadership, it could just be known in another area. “