Podcasts about pdca

What You'll Learn in This Episode:In this episode, Patrick Adams welcomes back Beth Carrington to explore the difference between simply executing action plans and developing true scientific thinking through Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata.Beth shares her journey from the automotive industry into Lean transformation work and explains how discovering Toyota Kata fundamentally changed her approach to leadership and continuous improvement. The conversation breaks down why organizations often over-rely on rigid action plans and how experimentation creates better long-term learning and adaptability.You'll learn how leaders can use simple coaching routines, PDCA cycles, and reflection questions to help teams think more scientifically, solve problems more effectively, and stay focused on outcomes rather than just completing tasks. Beth also explains why AI and emerging technologies make experimentation and scientific thinking even more important in today's business environment.If you've ever struggled with teams becoming too task-focused or wondered how to build a stronger culture of learning and experimentation, this episode provides practical tools and frameworks to help you get started.Key Takeaways:Action plans alone can limit learning and adaptabilityScientific thinking is built through experimentation, reflection, and coachingPsychological safety is essential for teams to admit uncertainty and learnAI and emerging technologies increase the need for experimental thinking and continuous learningLinks:Kata Matters WebsiteBeth Carrington LinkedInLean Solutions Summit Lean Solutions Website

What if the problem isn't your strategy, your people, or your tools, but the lens you're looking through? In this first conversation with Andrew Stotz, quality educator Balaji Reddie explains why so many organizations chase Deming's 14 Points and prizes but miss the philosophy underneath. He also gets into what changes once you start seeing your organization as one connected system. There are a few surprises along the way, like why his employees actually celebrated the day he got rid of performance appraisals. 0:00:01.9 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz and I'll be your host as we continue our journey into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today I'm here with featured guest Balaji Reddie, who is an educator and trainer in teaching of Dr. Deming and quality management generally. Now the topic for today is a deeper perspective of the teachings of Dr. Deming. Balaji, how are you?   0:00:29.6 Balaji Reddie: I am fine. It's wonderful to see you this morning. I have been looking forward to this for quite some time now.   0:00:37.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. In fact, we've been talking back and forth in the past and then we had a meeting recently to get going on this because you've got so much to share. And one of the things I just said is a deeper perspective on the teachings of Dr. Deming. Maybe you could just give a little background of yourself for those people that have never heard of your journey. Maybe tell us a little bit about your journey, the Deming journey, as well as what you're doing now.   0:01:02.2 Balaji Reddie: All right. So I am an electrical engineer by profession and my first job which I got was in a lamp, a bulb manufacturing company which made automotive lamps. And that's where I chose to be in the quality department because I was being shunted around in all the different departments and the owner of the company asked me, "Where would you like to be?" and I said, "Quality." I don't know, when I look back why I chose. I think it appealed to me as an engineer and also the fact that I wanted to be a manager. It combined engineering and something to do with managing people. I don't want to sound dramatic, but I don't think I chose quality, I think quality chose me. But what I did after that was conscious. I did a postgraduate diploma in quality management, the first structured course in the country, and then went on to a Master of Science in quality management here in India.   0:02:00.2 Balaji Reddie: So that's been my journey here as far as working. I worked a lot. I used to teach part-time, but I made this switch 20 years ago to be an educator primarily and decided to put all my focus into creating the next gen of managers. At the same time, during the bit of a free time that I have, I do consult, but that's not the core profession of mine. So, yes, I'm an educator and a trainer. You can say that. I teach quality management, anything to do with operations, supply chain, et cetera, but there's always been a Deming slant to it. Along with that, I've also liked to... Because I went into the works of Dr. Juran, I got a good chance to meet with him and be in touch with him. It was only the last six years of his life, but I think he had very little time to give me, but he gave me time. So I have a good perspective of both these gentlemen. And if you know quality, they're the pioneers.   0:03:01.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And I'm curious, when you first started out with the degrees and the, as you mentioned, getting a diploma and then a master's, was Deming front and center in there or was that a secondary thing? What was it like in the beginning?   0:03:19.6 Balaji Reddie: Oh, my entire focus was actually Deming. I needed to be qualified in that. I wanted to qualify myself in quality, that's what I meant here, because there was no... I was looking for a structured course on the subject. You had these training programs, certificate courses, but this one caught my attention when they said we have a diploma in quality. And part of the course was we had to, there was a project like a dissertation, and we had to show how we implemented this in our companies where we were working. And for those who were not working, they were provided companies where you go and actually implement these. So it was a win-win. So the company gained and you gained. That's how it was. That's what I liked about that course. Same with the masters. It was a complete two-year course. This was a year-and-a-half or three semesters. That was more elaborate, the masters. So, yeah.   0:04:18.0 Andrew Stotz: And what is the state of Deming and the teachings of Dr. Deming in India? We know that many companies in India have implemented the teachings of Deming over the years. But of course, there's a lot of people that just know nothing. I'm just curious, what is the state right now as far as the teachings of Dr. Deming?   0:04:40.3 Balaji Reddie: Oh, I'd like to... Just a slight correction there. We have the highest number of Deming Prize winners, but that does not necessarily mean that they're implementing the teachings of Dr. Deming. In fact, many of them after having got the prize... I worked in a company, we were suppliers to one of them. And when they came to do a vendor assessment to our factory, obviously there's a lot of buzz. Everyone in the company, they called me the Deming man. They used to call me that. And so when these guys came down and they were talking and when they gave their business card which had the Deming Prize logo, so they said, "Oh, we have... You know, Balaji is here and he's our Deming man." So who's he and what is this? And so they came and met me and they said that, "We got the Deming Prize." I said, "Excellent." But I said, "Just because you got the Deming Prize, I mean, have you worked on the Deming philosophy?" "Isn't this the same?" And I said, "No." And I, of course, joked with them, and they said, "So how do we learn?" And I said, "Pay me." [laughter] Anyway, yeah, then we got talking and they realized that there was such a big gap in what they were doing. For instance, when I spoke to them about performance appraisals and having quotas and things like that, they were like, "What?"   0:06:04.9 Andrew Stotz: Interesting. And when we talk about the Deming Prize, when I asked you that, we're talking about the Deming Prize which is offered by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers through their Deming Prize Committee. This isn't something done through the Deming Institute.   0:06:12.3 Balaji Reddie: No.   0:06:19.7 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Okay. And do people study Deming there in India anymore or is it fading out or...   0:06:26.7 Balaji Reddie: Well, yeah, that's what I said, they do know. The good part is that because of the fact that the Deming Prize winners are there, at least they know about Dr. Deming. And then they're curious to know, "Oh, what did he teach?" Because again, they've been given that perspective that he taught, well, wrongly, PDCA, and he focused on the 14 points. And then when they read the 14 points and then they get... Because when you read it just without understanding, you can actually... It can put off certain people. You may get a little repulsed and say, "Oh, my God, what's he saying?" But then there are certain people who get intrigued and say, "Wait a minute. This is challenging. He's saying that we need not have quotas? Then how are you going to get work done?" And that's where the questioning begins. And there have been normally these trends where some companies where they called me over, I shall not name one of them, one of the students I was teaching in class and I was talking about the 14 points, and then she comes up to me and she says, "I've spoken about you to my father, and he's working in this company, and they're going for the Deming Prize. He wants to meet you." And then she brings him to the college the next morning and then we had a lovely discussion. And he said, "We've been discussing the 14 points." And I said, "You know what? You're putting the cart before the horse. You need to discuss profound knowledge first." So he said, "I'll put you in touch with my HR, the human resource." And then that lady got in touch with me, then we had a good chat and I explained to her and she understood very quickly. Incidentally, Andrew, that's something very amazing, when I speak about these things to the HR people, they take to it like a fish takes to water. They say, "You're right. What can we do about appraisals? Appraisals are wrong." But they also know they're shackled. They do not have the authority to break and come out of it. There have been some cases where they've been bold enough, but many of them... That's one of the things I've seen over these last 20 years that I've been teaching, that everybody principally agrees, but they also say that we're bound by it.   0:08:37.6 Andrew Stotz: That reminds me when I attended my first seminar when I was 24, and I was very intimidated by all the people in the room. I was just fresh out of university, working at Pepsi in Los Angeles. I flew into Washington, D.C., and so I sat right in the front row and I just decided I'm not gonna look at anybody behind me because they're all bigwig executives. But then when I heard Deming really show no mercy and really be tough to them, I was like, "Wow, wow, this is interesting." And he was getting to the... As a factory supervisor, which is what I was at Pepsi, I could just see he was getting to the heart of the matter. And so, yeah, a lot of things are very obvious to people in the factory, but then it's the leadership that is an issue. I'm curious when we think about... Let's imagine that someone listening to this has never heard of Dr. Deming and it's their first time, they stumbled upon this, they're hearing you speak. They're gonna ask the question, "Why does this matter? What benefit do I get from this?" How would you describe that to someone who knows nothing about Dr. Deming and his teachings?   0:09:59.3 Balaji Reddie: Oh, well, when you start getting aware of what this man had to say, let me tell you, when you start actually getting to it, you'll find that what you've been missing all this time in life. And then when you actually get to implement this, it'll be way, way better than where you are right now, sometimes totally in a very, very different direction. And you begin to realize that you had an illusion of knowledge, that you thought you were correct, and then suddenly a new perspective comes in. Just to make a point here, I don't want to be boastful about this, but I'm really proud to say this, that in all the companies that I worked, I removed performance appraisal. None of the companies I worked in had performance appraisal. And the day we removed it in one of the companies, there were actually celebrations.   [laughter]   0:10:56.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Which for many people listening that don't know anything about the teachings of Dr. Deming may think, "That's crazy, because I thought that we run business through performance appraisals, KPIs, and the like." One of the ways I was thinking when you were just speaking was it's a little bit like Deming's... You're a fish, and Dr. Deming is a guy that's gonna come up and tell you, "Oh, by the way, you're surrounded by water." And you're like, "Wait, what do you mean? What's water?" And then all of a sudden he brings this awareness like, "What am I swimming in? I am swimming in something, and it's called water." And it's like everything that's going on, the concept of how we learn, the concept of variation, the concept of psychology, it's like all of these are foundational things that we've been swimming in, but we really haven't been paying attention to. And I think he woke me up to a lot of that. So what should we talk about today? What do you got on your mind?   0:11:55.7 Balaji Reddie: Well, I presume that the audience would be someone who's read about Deming, or if they have not read, I can go it either way.   0:12:05.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I mean, I would say just let's go into what your learnings are and what you want to teach us today and share with us, and then people can follow along.   0:12:17.4 Balaji Reddie: All right. So let's begin with what he meant by Profound Knowledge, because that was something he put together only towards the end of his life. I'm reminded of a few things that led to me thinking about these things. One of the very first books that was written on him was by Mary Walton, The Deming Management Method. And with due respect, she was an excellent journalist, and so she followed him around. Everyone was intrigued to know who this man is because he had just gained popularity. If Japan Can... Why Can't We? And so she wrote this book, I think as early as '84, if I'm not mistaken. And she followed him around for almost three years before she actually published the book. So she attended four-day seminars, and she's trying to understand what this man was. So the biography bit of it was very nice. But if you go there in the preface and in one of the chapters, there's a very interesting conversation where she says, "I asked Deming that why don't you set up a body, an organization? Why are you doing this all alone?" And he didn't say a word to her, and he just mentioned to her, "I'm good." So I believe he was still looking for the answers to offer something to the world. He had it all in uncoordinated stuff here and there, but that came much later, I think in 1989, when he finally put it all together and called it Profound Knowledge. Because that was when a year, a month or so before he passed away, he set up the Deming Institute. I think he thought he was ready now to leave behind a legacy that others could build upon, right?   0:14:08.0 Balaji Reddie: And so that he called it... Again, I'm looking for the missing link here—. Apparently, when he wrote it, as he called it deep knowledge, but it was someone who gave him the word profound, and that's how the name stuck. So I'm still trying to find out who did that. I saw this in one of the letters to Henry Neave, where he was writing to all of his colleagues, he called them, and taking feedback from them. And in that, he said that, "I profess this is deep, this is wide." And somebody said, "It's profound." I forget. I really want to find out who it is. I asked Bill Scherkenbach, and he said, no, it wasn't him. Henry, of course, no. I asked Bill Latzko, and he said, "No way. I never said that." So I really don't know who said it, but he christened it "profound." And we all know now, it sounded very pompous to begin with when you hear profound, and then you say, "Wait a minute." When you start getting into it, you say, "He's right. There's no other word to describe this. It is profound." So what exactly is Profound Knowledge? Now, it's a different way of looking at things around you. And especially he designed this or created this for man-made systems, organizations that you and I work in, helping us to look at things differently, right? And that's why he said it's a different lens. And when you see things differently, you ask different questions, right? When you ask different questions, you get different answers. When you get different answers, you draw different conclusions. When you draw different conclusions, you take different decisions. And when you take different decisions, that's when you get different results. It's insanity to expect different results by asking the same questions every single time. All right.   0:15:53.8 Balaji Reddie: Now, what exactly is, again, what do you mean by this whole thing, the lens? He brought together four seemingly disconnected sciences, right? He never invented any single one of them, but he saw the interconnections. All right. And the four sciences, he felt that if you had good knowledge, working knowledge of these four sciences, you need not be an expert in them, just enough for you to understand what's going on around you. All right? And in no order of importance, he had his title for each of those sciences. One was he called it appreciation for a system, which I would like to say very simply is connectedness, right? Because when people say systems thinking, okay, then you have the systems thinking experts who jumped into the picture. And I think they were caught napping. To be quite honest, Andrew, I think the people from the world of management were suddenly caught napping, and the experts were completely caught napping because they realized they'd missed the bus. Here's this man who caught everything together and put it into place, right? And so when they were... When they said systems thinking, so the systems experts came in and started trying to find out, "Oh, but he missed out on this, and he's confusing this with that." That's where it is. Dr. Deming knew where to start. All right? He said, "Yes, of course, it's all about systems, appreciation for a system, the fact that nothing exists in isolation." So I would like to say connectedness. Everything's connected to everything. When you start having that systemic approach, you realize you're not dealing with events, you're dealing with eventualities, and that there are always a huge myriad of inputs that create the outputs that you see in front of your eyes, right? And there's so many other attributes that they're separated in time and space, et cetera. We can talk for this forever. But the short word here is connectedness. Second...   0:17:56.1 Andrew Stotz: And I would say that the systems experts retreated soon after because they're nowhere to be found when we look at it these days, because everything's divide and conquer.   0:18:07.6 Balaji Reddie: Yes. Yeah, because there were people like Russell Ackoff, Stafford Beer was mentioned many times, and then their books. Now, I went on to read their books and I found, yes, they were going deep, but Dr. Deming knew where to draw the line and said, "That's it. Please don't go beyond this," and it depends on where you are, what you want to study. So draw your line around that and say that's it. And I think that thinking came from the next science which I'm talking about, which is understanding of variation, right? Now, although we say understanding of variation and people talk about the control chart, I think that's just the manifestation. If you look at the philosophy behind it, what Walter Shewhart actually was trying to do was to draw a line between when to act on the process and when to leave it alone, right? He came out with... He demarcated, and that's where it turned into the control chart with data. But broadly, Deming started applying this everywhere, right? He said that there are some things which are in my control and some things out of my control, and so he drew a line. And same with systems thinking, that how big and how deep should I go? And that's why he said every system must have an aim. Without an aim... So the aim and the purpose decide where you're gonna stop. You can't just keep on saying, "Oh, yeah, finally, okay, the whole world is a system." Fine, great, I get that. But I'm trying to study this, okay? My company, my organization, this process, these people. So you draw the line and say, "This is my purpose, so let me restrict." Again, I repeat, he knew where to stop. People tend to go overboard. And so he always said, "Begin with the aim, begin with the purpose." The purpose is the reason the system exists, and the aim is the direction in which you're headed. So you keep going there, keep revisiting that to let yourself remind yourself that I need to stop right here. Okay, and that's it. When I come to it later, because he said... Coming to the third part of Profound Knowledge, where he said you must have a theory of knowledge.   0:20:13.4 Balaji Reddie: Now, when people hear the word theory they get very put off. At least in my country, the broad doctrine is that theory is the opposite of practice. And so they think that theory belongs to the books and theory belongs at home. And when you come into the company, we all believe in being practical, right? And as you go through what Dr. Deming had to say about theory, you realize theory is a guide to better practice. And all the great practitioners are actually theorists. It's just that they don't know it, and we need to remind them. I've had enough of experience on this in my own company. And I remember when I turned on the light bulb for one of the very, very senior people in my company, he went completely quiet. He did not say anything, but I loved the way he reacted or responded to this when he started doing things very differently after the interaction that we had once. So that's with theory of knowledge. And...   0:21:19.9 Andrew Stotz: And would you say that theory of knowledge, would you correct my description of it, which is that you need to have a method of... You need to understand how you acquire knowledge?   0:21:40.1 Balaji Reddie: Yeah.   0:21:40.2 Andrew Stotz: And you gotta figure out, because acquiring knowledge, for instance, as an individual, we can play around lots of different ideas and experiments and stuff like that, but acquiring knowledge within an organization is a much harder thing. And so first is the idea that there's a level of rigor that you need in an organization to make knowledge stick.   0:22:06.9 Balaji Reddie: I think it's more about awareness. When you become aware of how you're converting information into knowledge. When you... He makes you aware of that, right? Dr. Deming gets you aware, he makes aware, "Okay, okay, wait, what's happening here?" Now, that method and all turned out to be the Plan-Do-Study-Act, whatever you call it. But he helped you understand how you're doing this, right? And you become cognizant. You get your cognitive behavior, you get very aware of things happening around you, right? You start asking the question, "Why? Why is this happening?" And then you get to the bottom of it. "Oh, when I do this, I get this." And that's when it becomes powerful for you. And then you also, "When I do this, I do not get this." And the more the theory fails, the more powerful it gets for you, because you know where it fails. So that's the awareness thing. So connectedness, being aware of the fact that it's beyond just numbers. It's about where, the variation bit, the third bit is about awareness, like I said, about learning, and the fourth, of course, about people. And he said here that all of us are born with a learning system, right? Each one of us has a learning system, a system of learning, but every single one of us has a different system of learning. We learn differently, and we learn at different speeds, at different paces, right? And so understanding the learning process of a person and then putting that person on the right job, right? He said you have to stop that person from working, and that's where joy in work comes in. People enjoy their work. I think the bottom line there is empathy when you start understanding why people do what they do, whether it's your people in the company, the customers, your suppliers, the entire system. So he says the learning process of every person needs to be understood. You want to control the market, you need to understand what makes the customer tick. You want to keep the suppliers with you, you want to understand what makes the suppliers tick, right? And what makes them tick.   0:24:23.3 Balaji Reddie: So that's the fourth part, which I would put as the word empathy. Trying to empathize. So putting this all together, he said that's what he called as Profound. So if you look at it in a broad sense, connectedness and empathy are very philosophical, and the variation and theory are very scientific. So he wanted us to be scientific and philosophical simultaneously. It's not either-or, it's and. And that's difficult to do, right? You have the big divide. You have a set of people who say, "Oh, I believe only in data. Show me the data, show me the results." And then there's a whole other set of people who says, "You gotta feel. You gotta feel for the company. Motivate." Yeah, but neither is wrong, but neither is complete. And this is complete. So this is where I found that I think we could begin, that we need to look at all these four sciences together. And of course, then came the 14 points which he laid out for us. Now, these 14 points, now if you look at them, because I just discussed the four... Of course, I've not gone into depth of each of the sciences, but I think good enough to understand what we are trying to deal with here, then you'd see that the 14 points are actually 14 consequences of this way of thinking. That you don't try to do the 14 points. When you start thinking this way, you end up with the 14 points, right? And there are some things which need to be done, right, and we need to start somewhere with this. And one of the main things that he always said is that people need to be educated about this, that people need to learn about this. And so education and training is important even when it comes to profound knowledge. And he said someone has to take the lead, all right? Someone has to get things done. And so that was his point number 14, that create a critical mass of people in the company that understand, believe, and will work towards these 14 points, right? So I'm gonna begin right there.   0:26:43.1 Andrew Stotz: I was just thinking about his saying, "One need not be an expert in any one point, [chuckle] any one of these areas." With the System of Profound Knowledge, the more I've studied it recently, which I've been working on a project recently where I had to go back to the System of Profound Knowledge, you really see that he's trying to provide a coherent, holistic system.   0:27:16.1 Balaji Reddie: Yes. I call it as a theory of leadership and management.   0:27:23.6 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And then you start to realize that if you can understand these four things, which isn't that... It doesn't have to be that complex, it can be pretty amazing. And I know one part of my business is investing, which I do on behalf of my clients. And one of the things that makes me stand out as unique is that I don't get distracted by the random variation in the markets. And so that doesn't mean that I'm gonna get it right all the time, but what it means is that my mind is much more clear when I understand. And as I tell people about variation, I say, if you think about just your birth, the beginning of your life is a random event. You had no influence over that, who you were born of. And therefore we at least know that randomness plays one role in your life. But when you start exploring the possibility that randomness is all around you just like water, it just wakes you up and you start to realize, "Aha, I've been reacting to things," and punishing and rewarding and all of that stuff that's happening in companies. And what I'm really doing is I'm just chasing my tail. Or as Dr. Deming would say, putting out a fire. A man could run... A manager could run... Could put out fires their whole career and never improve the system.   0:29:02.8 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. A lot of activity, no work.   0:29:04.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah.   0:29:06.2 Balaji Reddie: Okay. Incidentally, when you said about investing, one of my students who did something fascinating, I've yet to get to the bottom of it, I never sat down and asked him how he did it, but he used control charts for the stock market. And one day he explained to me, he was trying to rather, because I never... I'm not into all of that investing. That's done by my wife. I just sign the papers and she puts it in. So I... I mean, I might as well be shown the Constitution and say, "Okay, this is what it is," you know? But yeah, so he... I remember sharing with him and he said, "Can I use this for stock market?" I said, "Look, son, I don't know how this works, but I presume what you can do is this. If you had yesterday's Sensex numbers and you have today's, then you can draw a control chart for the differences, you know? And then you get an upper limit and a lower limit. And then if today's closing is so much, it can rise up to the upper control limit, that is the difference. You can add the difference to today's closing and say it can rise to so much, it can fall by so much, and likewise to the lower control limit." And then his eyes just lit up and he said, "I know what to do." And that was it. And I didn't meet him for a week. And a week later, I meet him and he says, "I want to show you something." And he opened his laptop and there were control charts all over the place and I just couldn't figure out, "So what was all this?" And then he said, "I've been following these. There are some blue chip companies and there are some..." I don't know, I don't understand these things much, but he said that, "I'm drawing a control chart for these and so I know that when it crosses the upper control limits, that's the max I can get for the share, so I sell."   0:30:55.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. I mean, the hard part... The stock market is purely random most of the time and it's a challenge. But one of the things... I gave a speech to my investors and I did control charts and I did it as a way of helping them understand the markets.   0:31:04.2 Balaji Reddie: Okay.   0:31:12.7 Andrew Stotz: To predict the markets is hard.   0:31:15.7 Balaji Reddie: It's hard.   0:31:16.4 Andrew Stotz: But the control chart allows us to kind of.. It allows us to understand that most of the variation is just normal ups and downs.   0:31:24.8 Balaji Reddie: Yes.   0:31:26.5 Andrew Stotz: And so don't freak out about it. That's the first thing that really helps me. So that area of variation I find very fascinating.   0:31:34.7 Balaji Reddie: Very fascinating. I used it for COVID data, by the way. And there was a lot of criticism about that, but I knew I was going in the right direction because I was plotting the charts for the percentage positive and not the number of cases that were being tested positive every day. And so if the percentage positive lay within limits, then we were safe. I mean, everyone wants a zero, I get that. But I'm just saying here, having said that we're collecting the data and we are turning out so much of positive every day, then it should lie within certain controllable or predictable limits. And when it crosses the limit is when we get a little worried. And that's what I used this for initially. I remember it was Lloyd Provost who stood by me, whereas the other practitioners were saying, "No, you cannot use control chart for COVID and for data and for epidemic and pandemic." Whereas Deming himself used it for an epidemic of cholera somewhere. I read it in his work and where he used the c-chart and he saw that areas where the points were outside limits and then they tested the water and well, well, whatever it was, it turned out to be that he found the special cause and blah, blah, blah. So that's what gave me the idea of using the control chart for COVID and it was quite fascinating.   0:32:56.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Yeah, unfortunately there wasn't a lot of independent thinking during that time.   0:33:02.5 Balaji Reddie: Yeah. [laughter]   0:33:03.0 Andrew Stotz: Real serious groupthink at that time. So I had my experience in my PhD research and my job as an analyst all my life where... And I teach my students believe nothing, believe no one, demand evidence. And so I'm constantly digging and that's just the heart of being an analyst. But when I go back... I want to go back to when I was starting at Pepsi. The reason why my boss recommended me to go to the Deming seminar was simple because I knew how to work a computer. And that was 1989 when I went to work at Pepsi. And what I had, all of these loaders that were loading up trucks with Pepsi each night. We would load about 80, 90 trucks each night. And in the heat of the summer, we would work till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, but generally we would finish at 11:00 or midnight. But they were just... I would go to the drivers in the morning and then the drivers would come back in the afternoon and complain that the product that they needed was not on the truck. And there was just... And I went to the loaders, they go, "I put it on the truck. I don't know what you're talking about." And so there was this battle between the night loaders and the truck drivers. And so what I just did originally was I just started... I did inspection. The first thing I did is I said, "Look, before you close the doors on the trucks at night, I just want to count myself to understand what's happening here." And then I started keeping a record of that and I put that in Excel, it was Lotus 1-2-3 at the time, and then I put up charts of each person's error rate each night. And so we had a long chart. And I never actually even told them what I was doing, I just put up on the wall. And then they started looking at it over time and talking about it and then asking me questions. And it wasn't for the purpose of blaming, it was the purpose of just understanding.   0:35:01.2 Andrew Stotz: But then what we really started to see was that some people were much more accurate than others. And then we started to ask the question, "Well, how are they doing it?" And then they explained how they kept records of what they were doing and all that. And so we started to see that we could improve this. And we started to improve those numbers quite dramatically until we got to the point where I told the loaders when they were done that they were to lock the trucks and seal them and the drivers were not allowed to open them. They had to take them as is. And when everybody realized we really have to build from the beginning that this is loaded right, then we started to have massive efficiency. In the number of... Let's say you have 50 or 100 truck drivers that come in at 5:00 in the morning. It could take you till 9:00 AM to get them out the door if they've got problems and they're checking their trucks and all that. But if you've got it set right and you've done it right, we were able to rush people through the door and the drivers would get out to the LA freeways much earlier and that makes a difference for the whole day. So that was my first experience with it all. And then my boss just said, "Well, seems like you know about statistical quality control." I said, "I have no idea. I have no idea what that is." But he said, "You should go to Washington, D.C. And study with Dr. Deming." And that's my little story.   0:36:20.4 Balaji Reddie: Oh, wow. Okay.   0:36:21.6 Andrew Stotz: So how would we... What's the best way to wrap this up and think about what somebody who doesn't really necessarily have experience with the System of Profound Knowledge, you've given them some good overview. What would you like them to take away from this?   0:36:39.2 Balaji Reddie: Well, if you have now come to know about what this is, I think you could go to the W. Edwards Deming Institute website and you could subscribe and start looking into the learning pathways, systems thinking, there are a lot of catalogs available there and they've done a great job of putting things together. So they could do that reading, of course, you need to start reading, but the danger in reading Dr. Deming's work is it could put you off sometimes. And I would recommend a good place to start reading and understanding the Deming philosophy would be Henry Neve's book, The Deming Dimension. It's a very good start, one of the best introductions. You could always build upon that. So along with having Out of the Crisis, The New Economics, and Essential Deming, which was put together by Joyce Orsini, these are the three essential Deming books which contain papers, his own works, and then use Deming Dimension as a guide, so to say. You could read the books together and you could read profound knowledge to begin with. And once you get a good idea about what there is, then the question comes is where do we start? And that's where I just ended by saying that we start at point number 14 about creating a critical mass and take on leadership, right? So somebody has to take the lead. So what we could do is, I think the next time we meet, we could begin with that, how do we start? So we'll talk about the principles of leadership that W. Edwards Deming spoke of and what did he expect the leaders to do once you've decided or you've started seeing things differently and you say, "No, I need to do something about this. I need to start somewhere." And so we'll start with the principles of leadership. That's the way I look at it.   0:38:44.5 Andrew Stotz: Fantastic. Well, I look forward to our next conversation, how we can start to think about how we take this information and make a better world and make a better company, feel better. And so from everybody at the Deming Institute, I want to thank you again for this discussion. And for listeners, remember to go to deming.org and jump into DemingNext to continue your journey.   0:39:09.7 Balaji Reddie: Yes.   0:39:11.1 Andrew Stotz: It's an exciting tool. And this is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming, and that is: "People are entitled to joy in work."

Kaizen neden başarısız olur? Kaynak yok duvarı, farklı öncelikler duvarı, sonuca olan güvensizlik duvarı. Bu engelleri bilen biri varsa o da Can Sezen.Schneider Electric'te 16 yıllık deneyimiyle Türkiye'den Avrupa fabrikalarına kaizen kültürünü yayan Can Bey ile sürekli iyileştirmenin hem teknik hem insani boyutunu konuştuk.Bu bölümde:Kaizen neden toplantı odalarında değil, sahada yapılmalı?Try-Storming nedir? Japon sensei'den öğrenilen "dokun, dene, yanıl" yöntemi"Best" ve "optimum" kelimelerini neden yasaklamalısınız?%60 verimli makineye operatör eklemek neden kaizen ruhuna aykırı?Yapay zeka kaizen süreçlerinin neresine giriyor?PDCA döngüsünde neden sadece "Plan" çalışıyor?Haftalık Bültenimize abone olun:https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2008516/179312918006859175/share00:00 Giriş ve Podcast Amacı00:54 Can Sezen Kimdir? Globalde İyileştirme Kültürü01:54 Görünmeyen Duvarlar: Meşguliyet Tuzağı ve Kaizen'in Önündeki Engeller06:28 Planların %86'sı Neden Çöpe Gidiyor? İcra (Execution) Sorunu07:53 Değişim Yönetimi: Süreci Durdurmak ve Bir Adım Geriye Çekilmek11:56 Brainstorming Yerine Try-Storming: Karton Kutularla Gemba'da İyileştirme17:54 "Best" ve "Optimum" Yok, "Better" Var: Manisa Fabrikası Örneği20:36 Konfor Alanı Tuzağı: Post-it Kaizen Eleştirisi & Try-storming30:31 Yapay Zeka (AI) ve Kaizen Entegrasyonu: Gemini ve Klink AI ile Görselleştirme33:35 Yapay Zeka ile Ambar Yerleşimi, Zaman Etüdü ve FMEA Süreçleri40:38 Kapanış: Bir Adım Geriye Atmanın İleriye Götüren Gücü

Michael interviews Anthony Collins, founder of Work Better Studio, about applying lean thinking and the service-profit chain in hospitality and service businesses by focusing on processes and resources rather than blaming people.Collins shares his path from graphic design to founding DirectSki.com, acquiring Ski Beat, and becoming group CEO of Topflight Travel Group, then leaving to advise companies on productivity, quality, and process improvement.He explains lean's roots in postwar Japanese quality-first principles and describes using Enterprise Ireland training and Toyota-led practical problem-solving to build capability before crises like COVID.A key case study shows how small chalet maintenance issues hurt both staff workload and NPS, leading to a preventative maintenance program, revised seasonal hiring, fewer management layers, and improved autonomy.The conversation covers PDCA, frontline observation, controlled tension, recruitment and training (one-point lessons), and why AI can optimize the wrong work and reinforce silos without system thinking.Connect with Anthony:https://www.linkedin.com/in/antocollins/https://www.workbetter.studio/Connect with the podcastJoin the Hospitality Mavericks newsletterTune in via your favourite podcast platform - here More episodes for you to check out here A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.Head to their website to sign up.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In this episode of Quality Hub, Xavier Francis sits down with Core Business Solutions VP of Consulting and Development, Suzanne Strausser, to unpack the real purpose of ISO 9001 and why it remains such a valuable framework for organizations of all sizes. Together, they explore how ISO 9001 helps businesses create consistent, repeatable processes, and others, and build a quality management system that supports continual improvement rather than just compliance. Suzanne also breaks down key concepts like PDCA, risk-based thinking, common misconceptions about certification, and the measurable benefits companies can expect when ISO 9001 is implemented effectively, making this a practical and approachable conversation for anyone new to the standard or considering certification.   Helpful Resources: How is ISO 9001 Implemented?:  https://www.thecoresolution.com/how-is-iso-9001-implemented For All Things ISO 9001:2015: https://www.thecoresolution.com/iso-9001-2015 Contact us at 866.354.0300 or email us at info@thecoresolution.com A Plethora of Articles: https://www.thecoresolution.com/free-learning-resources ISO 9001 Consulting: https://www.thecoresolution.com/iso-consulting

#マーケティング #PDCAとOODA #両利きの経営マーケティングレター配信中。音声配信の内容がいいなと思っていただいた方には、レターもきっとおもしろく読めると思います。ぜひ登録してみてください！ https://tsubasatada.theletter.jp

This week’s guest is Ashley Herd. Ron and Ashley discussed Ashley’s Pause, Consider, Act Framework, the concept of a career quilt, micromanagement, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:  Ashley’s background (3:36) Her favorite quote (5:08) About the Pause Consider Act framework (9:53) Why “Pause” is the most difficult (13:04) The PDCA framework (15:04) What a “career quilt” is (15:42) Her advice for young professionals (18:15) Ashley’s thoughts on micromanagement (20:49) About her “Great Minds Overthink Alike” sign (25:19) Ashley’s final words of wisdom (26:56) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Ashley’s Website The Manager Method Book Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? What are your thoughts on the Pause, Consider, Act Framework?

BONUS: Katie Anderson, Toyota's Real Secret Isn't the Tools — It's the Attitude Towards Learning That Changes Everything Katie Anderson joins us to explore the real engine behind Toyota's legendary success — and it's not what most people think. Drawing from her years living in Japan and her close relationship with 40-year Toyota veteran Isao Yoshino, Katie reveals why tools alone will never create lasting transformation. We explore the Doer Trap, the Telling Habit, and why hansei (deep reflection) is the most productive practice leaders keep skipping. The Only Secret to Toyota "The only secret to Toyota is its attitude towards learning. We don't even notice, and we take it for granted."   Katie moved to Japan over 11 years ago as a continuous improvement practitioner and got to know Isao Yoshino, a Toyota leader with 40 years of experience. After repeatedly asking him what made Toyota so successful, he finally offered an almost offhand answer: "The only secret to Toyota is its attitude towards learning." The deeper insight? Even inside Toyota, they barely noticed it — it was so embedded in how they worked that they took it for granted. Katie explains that most organizations copy the visible tools — the kanban boards, the value streams, the process maps — but miss the invisible layer underneath: people development. Without that foundation of learning, tools lead to project-based improvements that never sustain. The secret sauce is the quality of how organizations develop people to learn, contribute, problem-solve, and innovate. That system of people development underlies the system of process improvement, and without it, organizations stay stuck in what Katie calls "constant whack-a-mole" — fixing the same problems year after year. The Doer Trap and the Five Archetypes "The doer trap is when we're stepping in and doing things, or owning things that aren't ours to own."   Katie identifies five archetypes of the Doer Trap that leaders and change agents fall into. The Hero is the firefighter who jumps from crisis to crisis — it feels good to save the day. The Rescuer can't stand watching people struggle, so they give answers too early, robbing others of the chance to develop their own thinking. The Magician works behind the scenes, subtly shaping outcomes without others' input. The Pair of Hands just jumps in and gets it done because "it's faster." And the Surrogate Leader fills a leadership vacuum that isn't theirs to fill — so when they move on, everything fades away. Each archetype feels productive in the moment but prevents the organization from building real capability. The shift Katie advocates is from command-based leadership to influence-based leadership: still setting direction, but creating the conditions for others to find the way there. Break the Telling Habit "The telling habit is when we're giving our answer instead of holding space for someone else to develop their answer."   Closely linked to the Doer Trap, the Telling Habit is about how leaders — and change agents — default to providing their own ideas, suggestions, and solutions instead of creating space for others to think. Katie sees this show up even in well-intentioned coaches and consultants. The antidote aligns with what David Marquet calls intent-based leadership: instead of telling people what to do, you validate their thinking and ask questions when you spot gaps. Katie frames good leadership through three responsibilities drawn from Mr. Yoshino's example: set the direction (what goal needs to be achieved), provide support (create the capability and conditions for people to succeed), and develop yourself (because if you can't see the system, you can't help others see it either). Learning as Sustainable Competitive Advantage "We need to set up experiments. And experiments are fundamentally based on an attitude towards learning."   Katie argues that as complexity increases, no single leader can hold all the answers. Organizations need to harness what you might call the collective brain — the hive mind of the team — and that requires an experimental mindset. This connects directly to Jeffrey Liker's concept of organizations as socio-technical systems: it's never just the technical processes that matter, but how people interact, influence each other, and navigate the formal and informal structures that actually get things done. Katie's advice to change leaders: develop your own systems thinking skills first. Help leaders see what's really driving behavior — reward structures, people development gaps, the difference between compliance and genuine capability. Everything starts with you. Hansei — Reflection as the Most Productive Practice "The study and adjust part of the cycle is where the learning happens. But we keep cutting it because the doing part feels more productive."   Hansei — Japanese for deep self-reflection — goes far beyond the typical retrospective. Where most teams do a surface-level "what worked, what didn't, let's move on," hansei asks: what did we expect to happen? What were our assumptions? What behaviors drove the outcome? Katie points out that Toyota schedules reflection time deliberately — both large-scale and small-scale — and sticks to it. That discipline is part of their attitude towards learning. She advocates reframing the PDSA cycle as Study-Adjust-Plan-Do, because the reflection should come first, not as an afterthought. At Toyota, PDCA operates at every level: micro-kaizen on the factory floor daily, A3 reports for structured problem-solving, and Hoshin Kanri for annual and five-year strategy deployment. The mindset of experimentation, paired with disciplined reflection, is what makes continuous improvement actually continuous.   About Katie Anderson   Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, award-winning author, and leadership consultant who helps organizations achieve extraordinary results through continuous learning. She partners with executives and change leaders to build learning cultures, strengthen leadership capability, and drive sustainable success by aligning purpose, developing people, and fostering curiosity, courage, and meaningful transformation.   You can link with Katie Anderson on LinkedIn and visit her website at kbjanderson.com. Listen to her podcast, Chain of Learning.

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Po zmianach NIS 2 i nowej ustawie o Krajowym Systemie Cyberbezpieczeństwa (KSC) kilkadziesiąt tysięcy firm w Polsce będzie MUSIAŁA wdrożyć systemy bezpieczeństwa informacji. A inżynierowie jakości mają idealnie przygotowany fundament do tego. Dowiesz się: Co zmienił NIS 2 w Polsce i dla kogo Dlaczego ISO 27001 to naturalny krok dla jakościowców Strukturalne podobieństwa 9001 i 27001 (PDCA, normy, procesy) Jak przejść z jakości do bezpieczeństwa informacji Gigantyczne perspektywy zarobkowe (kilkadziesiąt tysięcy firm) Możliwości pracy zdalnie w całej Europie ROZDZIAŁY: 0:00 Wstęp - Dlaczego teraz o bezpieczeństwie informacji? 1:27 Kim jest Daniel Lampard - Ekspert ISO 27001 2:22 Co to NIS 2? Co zmienił w Polsce? 5:14 Ile firm będzie musiało wdrożyć systemy? 7:03 Którzy będą podlegać bezpośrednio, którzy pośrednio? 12:11 Struktura ISO 27001 vs ISO 9001 (spójność) 17:33 Dlaczego jakościowcy będą idealni na to stanowisko 21:26 Co uczyć się w pierwszej kolejności? 24:27 Możliwości rozwoju i zarobków KLUCZOWE INFORMACJE NIS 2 = nowa dyrektywa unijska o bezpieczeństwie KSC = polska implementacja (podpisana przez prezydenta) Ile firm? 15-20 tysięcy podmiotów będzie wprost zobowiązanych Do 50 tysięcy firm łącznie (w łańcuchu dostaw) Sektory najpierw dotknięte: Automotive (komponenty elektroniczne, oprogramowanie) Spożywczość (przetwórnie, dystrybucja) Energia, transport, urządzenia medyczne Elektronika przemysłowa ISO 27001 + ISO 9001 + ISO 14001 = mega atrakcyjny kandydat na rynku DLACZEGO JAKOŚCIOWCY SĄ IDEALNI? Już znają: Podejście PDCA Strukturę norm (punkty 4-10 są identyczne) Zarządzanie ryzykiem Pisanie procedur i instrukcji Audyty wewnętrzne Przeglądy zarządzania Zarządzanie niezgodnościami To wszystko jest w ISO 27001 - tylko inny kontekst ZAROBKI Teraz: kilka tysięcy PLN za 9001 Dodaj 14001: kwota idzie w górę Dodaj 27001: atrakcyjne stawki Pracując zdalnie dla firm europejskich: znacznie więcej SZKOLENIA W SZKOLE JAKOŚCI Pełnomocnik ISO 27001 z rozszerzeniem KSC i NIS2 ISO 9001 (pełnomocnik) ISO 14001 (pełnomocnik)

In this episode of Industry Iowa, Steven C. Wilson sits down with Ann Buck, Continuous Improvement Manager at Helena Industries in Des Moines, to explore their evolving TWI journey and how they are intentionally blending Job Instruction, Job Relations, and robust work standards with Kata-based scientific thinking. Rather than treating improvement as a “flavor of the month,” Helena is building capability at the front line—using PDCA, real-time feedback, and a culture of learning to drive sustainable results without blame. Ann shares how their journey began with Kata to develop scientific thinkers, only to uncover gaps in training consistency and standards. That discovery led them deeper into TWI, where they learned the power of clear standards, effective trainer routines, and leadership behaviors that reinforce trust and accountability.

ISO 9001 PO LUDZKU - Jak naprawdę rozumieć tę normę? Podcast Szkoła Jakości #188 Witaj w 188. odcinku podcastu Szkoła Jakości!

What You'll Learn in This EpisodeIn this episode, hosts Catherine McDonald and Shayne Daughenbaugh discuss what coaching in the workplace really means. Why it's far more than a buzzword. The conversation breaks down the difference between coaching, training, and mentoring, and explains how coaching serves as a powerful leadership approach for developing people, building trust, and sustaining continuous improvement.They emphasize how coaching shows up in day-to-day work through huddles, Gemba walks, and one-on-ones, and how lean tools like PDCA naturally support a coaching mindset. Key TakeawaysCoaching is a leadership approach, not an event.Coaching is different from training and mentoring.Every day work creates coaching opportunities.LinksLean Solutions 2026 SummitLean Solutions Website⁠⁠Click Here For Shayne Daughenbaugh's LinkedIn⁠⁠Click Here For Catherine McDonald's LinkedIn⁠⁠

目標 生活面 ウエスト：68~69cm 体脂肪率：13.5%~15.0%をウロチョロ 音楽活動 総売り上げ：2812円（再集計中） 曲数：4 フォロワー：27人 耳コピ始めてみた 古山目標の進捗 体重 11/13時点で77.5kg ↑ 10/4時点で78.8kg ↑ 8/2の時点で80.9kg 　↑ 6/7時点で80.6kg ↑ 4/5時点で82.5kg 小説 まったく書けてません！ ゲーム出まくってる話 ポケモンza ゼルダ無双 エアライダー

AI has the power to scale innovation at breakneck speed—but without a steering wheel, it can scale risk just as fast. Enter ISO/IEC 42001:2023, the world's first international standard for Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS). As organizations move from AI experimentation to full-scale production, this standard provides the essential framework for deploying AI that is not only powerful but also responsible, secure, and ethical.In this episode, we simplify the complexities of AI governance. We explore how to manage unique AI risks like algorithmic bias, model drift, and opaque decision-making using the proven "Plan-Do-Check-Act" (PDCA) approach. Whether you are a business leader, a developer, or a compliance officer, learn how to turn high-level ethics into operational reality.

Por que alguns escritórios crescem e outros vivem apagando incêndio?Neste episódio do Lawyer to Lawyer, Julia Resende (CEO da Freelaw) conversa com Letícia Nunes, gerente jurídica na MRV Engenharia, sobre como aplicar lições de 12 anos no corporativo para transformar a gestão dos escritórios de advocacia.Letícia Nunes é gerente jurídica na MRV Engenharia há mais de 4 anos, onde lidera uma equipe de 20 profissionais do direito focada em direito do trabalho, imobiliário e do consumidor. É graduada em Direito pela UFMG, especialista em Direito Civil pela PUC-Minas e em Gestão Jurídica pelo IBMEC. Também é mentora na Elementora, ajudando advogados a identificarem propósito e estruturar negócios jurídicos através da gestão.Neste episódio, Letícia compartilha:✓ Por que não existe gestão de processos sem gestão de pessoas✓ Os sinais de que seu escritório precisa de uma gestão mais eficiente✓ Como fazer um mapeamento de processos na prática (com a equipe)✓ A importância da visão financeira para gerar valor ao cliente✓ Rituais de comunicação que criam cultura de melhoria contínua✓ O primeiro passo para sair da desordem e ter uma visão gerencialTIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Introdução e trajetória da Letícia no corporativo e visão de gestão10:26 - Falta de divisão de funções: o principal gargalo dos escritórios22:31 - Sinais de que seu escritório precisa de melhor gestão35:51 - Como mapear processos na prática (PDCA e ferramentas)46:00 - Rituais de comunicação e gestão de equipe de 20 pessoas56:58 - Conselho final: Estudar além do direito e gerenciar seu tempo-----Lawyer to Lawyer, as melhores práticas de gestão, inovação e tecnologia na advocacia, todas as quartas-feiras.Inscreva-se na newsletter Direito ao Ponto - https://freelaw.beehiiv.com/Acompanhe a Freelaw:Instagram - @freelaw.work-----

Klinisch Relevant ist Dein Wissenspartner für das Gesundheitswesen. Drei mal pro Woche, nämlich dienstags, donnerstags und samstags, versorgen wir Dich mit unserem Podcast und liefern Dir Fachwissen für Deine klinische Praxis. Weitere Infos findest Du unter https://klinisch-relevant.de

一年又快到尾聲，你的人生夢想已經完成多少了？或者，你總是思索著：「究竟什麼時候我才可以勇敢追夢呢？」 這集節目，我們特別邀請到「小資教主」Dr. Selina來分享她如何重新詮釋管理學的「PDCA循環」，以及如何運用「核心＋衛星」的資產配置法幫助小資族擺脫窮忙困境，拿回自己的人生選擇權。 主持人：吳韻儀 來賓：福州外語外貿學院副教授 楊倩琳 製作團隊：張雅媛、劉駿逸 ＊立即了解2026天下經濟論壇：https://hi.cw.com.tw/u/jw7y9eg/ ＊推薦好書《啟動致富原力》：https://bit.ly/3YkVAay ＊領取書摘：https://bit.ly/3ZL0mxk ＊意見信箱：bill@cw.com.tw -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

In the final installment of our three-part series with manufacturing leader Sivaram Jambunathan, we dive into what may be the most pivotal element of successful workflow learning: measurement. Hosted by Con Gottfredson, this episode unpacks how Siv and his team transformed their manufacturing organization by building a clear, practical, and deeply disciplined measurement strategy—one that protected organizational will, aligned stakeholders, and proved real value every step of the way. Siv shares how his team forecasted impact before implementing a single change, identified the highest-value opportunities, and used the PDCA cycle to stay adaptive when real-world conditions shifted. From reducing time to proficiency, to calculating cost-to-competence, to building cultural habits of learning application and knowledge-sharing, Siv offers an honest, insightful look at what it takes to measure workflow learning in a way that actually matters. If you're responsible for learning, performance, or transformation in any industry, especially one where precision and speed are non-negotiable, this conversation is a must-listen. Tune in to hear how small, systematic steps can lift an entire organization, one plant at a time.   Have questions about this content or another resource on the site? Let us know! Use this form to let us know you're interested in scheduling a call with a member of the team. We're always happy to discuss your current, future, or aspirational initiatives in real-time. For more 5 Moments of Need resources, visit our website, join the conversation, download our ebook, and subscribe to this podcast so as not to miss a single episode. Copyright © 2025 by APPLY Synergies, LLC | All Rights Reserved. 

Existe uma coisa que diferencia os bons líderes, os bons profissionais de quem só é sortudo ou muito esforçado, né?E aí... já ouviu falar em “MÉTODO”? Sim, essa palavrinha que parece saída de um manual antigo de autoajuda, mas que na verdade pode ser a linha tênue entre ser um líder excepcional ou apenas mais um na multidão. A realidade é que muitos se perdem na execução cega de tarefas, seguindo o famoso "atirar para todo lado".Calma, não é a sinopse de um filme de ação, mas o retrato do dia a dia de quem não tem método. Resultado? Um esforço sobre-humano que mais parece roteiro para esgotamento, não para sucesso. Vamos ao que interessa: o método não é só um conjunto de passos; é a espinha dorsal dos grandes líderes. Dominar o PDCA ou qualquer outro método antes de tentar adaptá-lo é como aprender a regra do jogo antes de tentar trapacear. E aí, você tem jogado com as regras claras ou tem sido mais um amador na arte de liderar? A ironia disso tudo é que muitos desses “métodos modernos” não passam de um PDCA com um pouco mais de tempero, ou deveria dizer, um PDCA gourmet? Pense grande, comece com o básico, domine o método e depois faça as adaptações necessárias. E lembre-se, não é só de inovação que vive um líder, mas de aplicar princípios sólidos que resistem ao teste do tempo.⏳E antes que eu me esqueça: hoje à noite tem live! Vamos falar sobre criatividade e aprendizado, porque até para ser criativo, acredite, existe método!

Tomar decisões certas no presente sem comprometer o futuro é um dos maiores desafios da liderança. E é aqui que o pensamento sistêmico e o método PDCA entram como aliados estratégicos.No novo episódio do Mereo Talks, recebemos Elton Marques, Especialista em Gestão na EQI Investimentos, para falar sobre como líderes podem aplicar esses conceitos de forma prática, transformando a gestão em um processo contínuo de aprendizado, consistência e resultados sustentáveis.Ao longo da conversa, exploramos:O que significa pensar de forma sistêmica e como isso muda a qualidade das decisões.Como aplicar o PDCA além da teoria, com exemplos reais do dia a dia.Estratégias para equilibrar pressão por resultados imediatos e visão de longo prazo.Caminhos para transformar o pensamento sistêmico e o PDCA em hábitos culturais, e não apenas discursos de liderança.

In this special episode of The Diving Pod, we welcome PDCA Member Aaron Hintz, who is leading a groundbreaking initiative — the first-ever official PDCA Diving Ratings & Rankings. This marks a historic moment for the sport, as diving finally joins the ranks of other collegiate and Olympic sports with a structured, data-driven ranking system designed to celebrate consistency, difficulty, and execution across all levels. Aaron dives into how the rankings were developed, the goals behind the project, and what it means for athletes, coaches, and fans moving forward. We discuss the impact this system could have on the visibility and growth of diving, and what the future might look like now that performance across the country can be compared on an even playing field. Tune in for a fascinating conversation that could redefine how the diving world evaluates excellence.

The blog postIn this solo episode, I explore the contrast between two powerful management cycles — PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) and its dysfunctional cousin, PDCYA (Plan, Do, Cover Your A**).Dr. W. Edwards Deming's PDCA framework was meant to bring the scientific method into management — to help teams learn, experiment, and improve. But in too many organizations, fear and blame have quietly replaced learning and accountability. That's when PDCYA takes over.I share examples from healthcare and beyond that show how psychological safety, not heroics or perfection, determines whether PDCA thrives or dies. Leaders who react to mistakes with curiosity instead of punishment create systems that learn. Those who don't end up with teams who stay silent and stuck.If your organization seems to be running on PDCYA, this episode offers a way back — one safer question, one better response, and one small cycle of learning at a time.

Jim sits down with Amy Julian to dig into culture as lived behavior, not wallpaper. From early days in AB InBev's purchasing team through years of complex change, Amy unpacks why command-and-control stalls digital projects, how cross-industry thinking opens doors, and where AI is already moving the needle for mid-market procurement and supply chains. Expect straight talk on failed implementations, governance that actually clears roadblocks, and translating values into daily decisions on the floor.What you'll hearWhy culture is a set of guiding principles you can act on, lessons from the AB InBev acquisition years and getting comfortable with constant change, a candid failure story and what clunky multi-consultant programs miss, systems thinking across tech and manufacturing, agile mindsets meeting lean and PDCA, practical AI use cases for quoting, planning, and buy decisions, the shift from analyst work to relationship work, and how to build multi-level client alignment that survives real life.Topics coveredBehavior-driven culture and purpose, change management beyond slide decks, ERP friction and inventory truth, cross-functional governance, agile plus lean in the same room, AI agents for sourcing and planning, leadership communication and trust-but-verify, turning workshops into action logs people actually own.Key quotes“Culture is a set of guiding principles and behaviors that help me make the right decisions day to day.”“Most transformations fail where the behavior stops. Values without actions are just posters.”“Let people author the change. IT can't do it to the organization and expect it to stick.”“AI should be your analyst and sidekick. People still make the calls and hold the relationships.”Jim's takeChange sticks when the shop floor can see themselves in it. If your governance cannot clear a bottleneck by Tuesday, it isn't governance. Bring agile curiosity to lean rigor, and stop pretending culture happens after go-live. It starts at scoping.Amy's takeDesign for behavior first. Set decision rights, create real feedback loops, and wire your principles into the tools. Start small with AI where pain is obvious, prove value fast, then expand. Systems thinking beats heroics.Connect with usSubscribe to Manufacturing Culture for more conversations at the intersection of people, process, and progress. Say hello, pitch a guest, or share a story where culture actually changed something.SponsorSpend two high-impact days at Med Device Boston, September 30 - October 1 at Boston's BCEC. Explore 200+ suppliers, hands-on workshops, curated matchmaking, and education sessions built for the next generation of med tech innovation. Register now at https://www.medeviceboston.com/en/home.html

Enter to win a copy of "The Problem Solver's Toolkit" by Tracy O'Rourke and Elisabeth Swan by September 12.Organizations invest thousands of dollars and countless hours into lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement training programs. Certifications get awarded. Belts get earned.But nothing actually changes.Technical problem-solving training alone isn't enough to drive meaningful impact. Without guidance and support on how to apply problem-solving tools—and the people-side of leading change—improvements stall. In this episode of Chain of Learning, I'm joined by Tracy O'Rourke and Elisabeth Swan, co-founders of the Just-in-Time Café and co-authors of "The Problem-Solver's Toolkit." With more than 50 years of combined Lean Six Sigma experience, they've trained and coached thousands of problem-solvers across industries—from healthcare and government to manufacturing and service—helping teams turn knowledge into real results.Whatever problem-solving method you use—DMAIC, PDCA, or an A3—you'll walk away with practical insights to help you bridge the gap between knowledge and action.YOU'LL LEARN:Why traditional training programs fail to create lasting problem-solving capability—and what to do insteadThe importance of bringing others along in a change project and staying flexible and curious as the work evolvesWhy successful and sustainable problem-solving requires both technical know-how and people skillsHow to engage teams, navigate change, and keep momentum going while leading a process improvement team How to close the gap between learning and doing by turning skills into real-world resultsABOUT MY GUESTS:Tracy O'Rourke is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and co-founder of the Just-in-Time Café. As a sought-after consultant, instructor, and speaker with over 25 years of experience, Tracy specializes in cultural change, leadership development, strategic alignment, and process improvement. Elisabeth Swan is a leadership coach, keynote speaker, award-winning author of “Picture Yourself a Leader”, and co-founder of the Just-in-Time Café. Elisabeth brings decades of experience helping Fortune 100 companies and nonprofits embrace conscious leadership and continuous improvement. IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/51My website for resources and ways to work with me KBJAnderson.comConnect with Tracy O'Rourke: linkedin.com/in/tracy-orourkeConnect with Elisabeth Swan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethswanFollow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjandersonDownload my free KATALYST™ Change Leader Self-Assessment: KBJAnderson.com/katalyst Get your copy of the “Problem-Solver's Toolkit”: www.jitcafe.com/book My Japan Leadership Experience: kbjanderson.com/japantrip TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:01:37 The inspiration behind the “Problem Solvers Toolkit” 02:54 The disconnect between what is education and what leads to retention 04:22 The aha moments in creating the revised second edition in leading process improvement05:55 Potholes and detours as a metaphor in process improvements not going the perfect way06:36 The journey of continuous improvement in taking your team on the journey with you07:26 Incorporating road games in getting the team involved in problem solving11:03 What led Tracy and Elisabeth to want to help people in leading process improvement13:31 The real meaning of being a leader — more than just being a senior executive16:04 The difference between lean and Six Sigma18:24 Why the process steps matter more than the name19:22 Why people feel lean has failed20:38 Additional learnings in making the second edition of “The Problem-Solver's Toolkit” 21:53 Changes made in the second edition including graphics, examples and templates22:19 What the Just-in-Time Café digital toolkit includes 25:23 How to solve problems based on solving similar problems27:19 The 5S Baby spoof music video inspired by process solving tools29:12 The next spoof song based on root cause analysis33:16 Elisabeth's takeaways from the Japan Leadership Experience in seeing worker happiness34:53 The importance of focusing on human happiness and engagement for growth36:53 Tracy's takeaways from the Japan Leadership Experience 40:00 Top recommendation for being the most effective in getting traction in solving problems41:41 The importance of building curiosity to get to know people and their experiences43:34 What is involved in successful problem-solving44:14 How to close the gap between learning and doing Enter to win a copy of "The Problem Solver's Toolkit" by Tracy O'Rourke and Elisabeth Swan by September 12. Apply today for the Japan Leadership Experience — last chance to join the November 2025 cohort. Applications also open for May 2026.

迎戰 AI 變局，主管都該學會「變速領導力」！在高壓、高轉速、高變動下，快速應變、找出解方 【變速領導力｜AI時代的管理升維與應變】https://pse.is/83l5s6 跨世代溝通常碰壁、跨部門協作難推動、團隊績效卡關衝不出？老闆 AI 期待值過高，無法有效向上管理？ AI 不只改變工作，還有主管帶隊的「管理邏輯」！前遠傳副總郭憲誌，30年一線管理經驗，收斂成一堂『變速領導力』主管升級課學會管理的配速之道，懂得在對的時間、對的領域、加速推動對的事情！即日起限時預購享優於5折課程優惠！本集節目由《經理人》資深主編邵蓓宣，專訪前遠傳電信副總經理郭憲誌，談「變速領導力｜AI 時代的管理升維與應變」。 本集節目重點： 1.工具 ≠ 轉型：破解 AI 時代三大迷思 許多企業誤以為「導入 AI 工具」就等於完成轉型，但工具只是起點。常見迷思包括：僅強調內部效率、忽略外部競爭水準；或要求團隊加速學習，主管卻對新科技陌生。這些錯誤期待，會讓轉型流於表面。真正的轉型需要領導者具備前瞻視野，規畫未來方向。 2️. AI 轉型與數位轉型的差異：速度帶來壓力 過去的數位轉型往往有較長的調整期，但生成式 AI 出現後，工具更新頻率大幅加快，幾周甚至幾天就有新版本。這種「變速」特性，讓管理者必須在快速決策與謹慎觀察之間取得平衡。領導者不僅要追求速度，更要懂得判斷何時「快攻」、何時「靜觀」，否則容易做出錯誤判斷。 3️. 新版 PDCA：動態調整與跨部門協作 傳統 PDCA 側重穩定流程與品質控管，但在 AI 時代，計畫常常被瞬息萬變的外部環境打破。新PDCA： • P：前瞻式規畫（Proactively Transform） • D：動態調整（Dynamic Adjustment） • C：跨職能協作（Cross-function Cooperation） • A：責任與信任（Accountability & Trust） 這套新框架讓組織更靈活，讓領導者塑造「可協作的文化」，不只是單向要求團隊。 Powered by Firstory Hosting

Apply for the Nov 2025 (limited spots remaining) or May 2026 Japan Leadership Experiencehttps://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/ “Change the culture!”That's exactly what longtime Toyota leader Isao Yoshino was tasked with during one of the most famous business transformations in history—NUMMI—Toyota's joint venture with General Motors in the 1980s.The challenge? Take GM's worst-performing plant—plagued by absenteeism, low morale, and poor quality—and turn it around.Within just one year, with the same American workforce but under Toyota's leadership, NUMMI became GM's best-performing site.Behind the scenes was Mr. Yoshino, leading the design and delivery of a three-week training program in Japan for hundreds of NUMMI's frontline and middle managers.In this episode, Mr. Yoshino shares the inside story of NUMMI's transformation—how an experiment in a business turnaround became a “New Me” moment for its leaders—and the leadership lessons you can use to influence culture change without relying on authority.If you're a lean practitioner or change leader wondering how to truly “change a culture,” this is a rare chance to hear the story directly from the person who lived it.You'll Learn:Why you can't force culture change—and what to do insteadHow Mr. Yoshino and his team created  immersive learning experiences that shifted NUMMI leaders' mindsets in just three weeksWhy the “Check” step in PDCA is the secret to Toyota's sustained success How the andon process reshaped leaders' views on problems—and how a “no problem is a problem” and no-blame mindset fosters learning and continuous improvementWhy NUMMI's transformation was as much (or more) about people as it was about performanceABOUT MY GUEST:Isao Yoshino, worked at Toyota Motor Corporation for over 40 years—from the late 1960s to the early 2000s—and played an important role in the development of Toyota's people-centered learning culture it's now famous for. He was a key part of Kan-Pro senior leadership development program, which embedded A3 thinking as the process for problem-solving, communication, and leadership development across the organization—and has deep expertise in the practice of hoshin-kanri—Toyota's strategy deployment process. He's the subject of the Shingo award-winning book “Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning”IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes with links to other podcast episodes and resources: ChainOfLearning.com/50Check out my website for resources and ways to work with me KBJAnderson.comFollow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjandersonDownload my free KATALYST™ Change Leader Self-Assessment: KBJAnderson.com/katalyst Learn more about the Japan Leadership Experience: kbjanderson.com/japantrip For an even deeper behind-the-scenes look at NUMMI, read the dedicated chapter in my book: LearningToLeadLeadingToLearn.com TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:03:02 How Isao Yoshino felt to be tasked with changing the culture and attitude of NUMMI leaders04:27 Creating the space for leaders to experience working in Japan and Toyota's style09:21 Positive results from employees changing their attitude mindset themselves without being forced12:06 The importance of “check” in the PDCA process 14:38 Making the “check” process a positive experience in learning how to improve systems without blame18:10 The critical difference between the former GM culture and Toyota with their approach to problems19:12 The mindset shift of “no problem is a problem” and the impact of pulling the andon cord20:19 The positive results from lettings others learn and grow without force23:09 Reflections from Isao Yoshino about being part of the Japan Leadership Experience and continuing to learn something new24:38 The acronym for NUMMI and the deeper meaning of, “New Me” to become the best version of yourself Apply for the Nov 2025 (limited spots remaining) or May 2026 Japan Leadership Experiencehttps://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/ 

Summary In this episode, Andy welcomes Mark Reich, a former Toyota leader and current Chief Engineer for Strategy at the Lean Enterprise Institute. Mark is the author of Managing on Purpose. If you've ever tried to improve your team but felt like your strategy was stuck in a slide deck, this conversation is for you. Mark introduces the idea of hoshin kanri, a lesser-known but critical pillar of Toyota's management system, and explains how lean thinking is more than just tools--it's a way of developing people and aligning purpose across an organization. You'll hear why metrics alone won't get you to strategic clarity, how to escape the trap of firefighting, and why engagement, not just direction, is the key to long-term improvement. He also shares how lean thinking can be applied at home, even with your kids! If you're looking for insights on how to align teams, build capability, and lead with greater purpose, this episode is for you! Sound Bites "Don't focus on the tool. The tools have to serve a purpose." “Catchball is not just a handoff of plans. It's a conversation about what matters and how we'll learn together.” “Direction without development is just pressure.” They're not called punishment calls. They're called co-learning calls. “If strategy feels like something being done to people, you've already lost.” “You don't learn PDCA by attending a training. You learn it by doing it, with guidance, reflection, and coaching.” “It's not just about solving the problem. It's about who solves it and how they do it.” “We had to change how we talked about strategy before we could change how we worked on strategy.” Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:49 Start of Interview 02:01 What early experiences shaped your views on leadership, strategy, or lean? 05:28 How do you explain TPS and hoshin kanri as two pillars of Toyota's system? 10:36 What are common mistakes leaders make when trying to improve the business? 15:23 Where do you coach people to start when they want better alignment? 17:40 What myths or misunderstandings do people have about lean? 18:12 Case study example: Turner Construction 25:45 What lean tools or concepts should project managers explore more deeply? 29:24 Where do you recommend someone begin learning about lean? 34:47 How has lean thinking helped at home—and with raising kids? 36:09 End of Interview 36:36 Andy Comments After the Interview 40:53 Outtakes Learn More You can learn more about Mark Reich and his work at the Lean Enterprise Institute at Lean.org. For more learning on this topic, check out: Episode 438 with Jeff Gothelf. It's a book about OKRs, which is different from hoshin kanri, but the overall discussion is worth checking out. Episode 387 with Atif Rafiq. It's a book that has a strategic approach to dealing with uncertainty. Episode 320 with Greg Githins. It's more about how to think strategically. Pass the PMP Exam This Year If you or someone you know is thinking about getting PMP certified, we've put together a helpful guide called The 5 Best Resources to Help You Pass the PMP Exam on Your First Try. We've helped thousands of people earn their certification, and we'd love to help you too. It's totally free, and it's a great way to get a head start. Just go to 5BestResources.PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com to grab your copy. I'd love to help you get your PMP this year! Join Us for LEAD52 I know you want to be a more confident leader–that's why you listen to this podcast. LEAD52 is a global community of people like you who are committed to transforming their ability to lead and deliver. It's 52 weeks of leadership learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Learn more and sign up at GetLEAD52.com. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Business Acumen Topics: Lean, Toyota Production System, Hoshin Kanri, Strategy, Organizational Alignment, Leadership Development, Continuous Improvement, Team Engagement, Project Management, PDCA, Capability Building, Coaching The following music was used for this episode: Music: Underground Shadows by MusicLFiles License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Synthiemania by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

My guest for Episode #528 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Mark Reich, a Senior Lean Coach with the Lean Enterprise Institute and former Toyota leader with over two decades of experience. Episode page with video, transcript, and more Mark spent six years working in Japan, including helping launch the Lexus brand and later leading Hoshin Kanri strategy processes during Toyota's rapid growth in North America. He also played a pivotal role at the Toyota Supplier Support Center (TSSC), helping bring the Toyota Production System to manufacturing, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations. In our conversation, we dive into his career journey, his approach to Lean leadership, and the practical lessons behind his new book, Managing on Purpose: Using Hoshin Kanri to Develop Strategy, Align Teams, Grow Leaders, and Innovate Your Enterprise. You can get a 25% discount on the book via LEI using the code LBIPODCAST25. Mark shares compelling stories from his early days at Toyota, including working on the front lines of assembly, learning by doing, and his first experience pulling the andon cord. These moments shaped his appreciation for Toyota's deep respect for frontline work and its commitment to developing people. He reflects on how Toyota embeds learning and support into problem solving, where pulling the cord is seen as a learning opportunity, not a failure. That mindset became foundational for his later work, especially when managing enterprise-wide strategy through Hoshin Kanri. We also explore what Hoshin Kanri really is--and what it isn't. Mark challenges the overemphasis on tools like the X-matrix and instead advocates for focusing on purpose, alignment, and leadership behavior. He explains how strategy deployment at Toyota was never a one-way cascade, but a dialogue grounded in humility, curiosity, and shared responsibility. Whether you're new to Hoshin or struggling to sustain it, Mark offers insights that can help any leader make strategy a living, breathing part of organizational culture. Questions, Notes, and Highlights: How did you end up working for Toyota, and what led you to Japan? What was your educational background, and did you already speak Japanese before moving there? What was your initial role at Toyota, and how did it relate to their global expansion? Did you meet or work with John Shook during your time in Japan? How did Toyota develop you into an industrial engineer despite your background in English writing? What was it like working in a Toyota plant, and what did you learn from that experience? Did you experience any early mistakes or learning moments while working the line? How did your role evolve after leaving Japan, and how did you get involved with Hoshin Kanri in North America? What challenges was Toyota North America facing that made Hoshin Kanri so essential? How did you facilitate alignment and catchball between Toyota's plants and leadership teams? How do you define Hoshin, strategy, and Hoshin Kanri? Why do you prefer not to use the term "strategy deployment," and what's the issue with top-down-only thinking? How do you coach executives to embrace catchball and bottom-up engagement? How do you balance executive direction with frontline input in strategy development? What role does psychological safety play in making Hoshin Kanri work? How does A3 problem solving fit into the Hoshin process, and how does it help build capability? Why is it important for executives to practice PDCA and engage in direct problem solving? What's the difference between long-cycle and short-cycle PDCA, and how should leaders manage both? Why does it take most organizations a couple of years to fully embed Hoshin Kanri? What lessons do companies learn when they start with too many strategic initiatives? Why did you choose not to include the X-matrix in your book, and what are your thoughts on its use? What business problems does Hoshin Kanri best help organizations solve? How can Hoshin Kanri help clarify the distinction between daily management and long-term strategic work This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network. 

Enter to win a copy of "Managing on Purpose" by Mark Reich, Chief Engineer of Strategy at the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI). Giveaway open through June 20th.How effective is your organization's strategy in achieving results?If your team doesn't understand how their daily work connects to bigger organizational goals, you don't have a strategy—you have a gap. A gap in engagement. A gap in alignment. This gap leads to confusion, misaligned priorities, and wasted effort.I'm joined by Mark Reich, author of “Managing on Purpose”, to explore how hoshin kanri – often translated as strategy or policy deployment – can bridge this gap and transform your strategy development and deployment process.With 23+ years at Toyota and extensive experience guiding organizations through lean transformations, Mark reveals how hoshin kanri offers a different approach to strategy execution and management. It connects people to purpose, builds capability, and aligns cross-functional areas, turning vision into results.Turn your strategy into action by aligning and building a purpose-driven organization.YOU'LL LEARN:Differences between hoshin kanri and traditional strategy management Common misconceptions around strategy deployment and what sets hoshin kanri apartThe role of catchball in connecting top-down and bottom-up processesThe importance of building reflection (hansei) and PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) into the processReal-world examples of organizations successfully transitioning to hoshin kanri strategy development and deploymentABOUT MY GUEST:Mark Reich is the author of “Managing on Purpose.” He spent 23 years at Toyota, including six years in Japan, seven years at the Toyota Supplier Support Center (TSSC), and over a decade leading Toyota's North American hoshin kanri process. Today, he's the Senior Coach and Chief Engineer of Strategy at the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), where he guides organizations and their executives on lean transformation.IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/45Connect with Mark Reich: linkedin.com/in/markareichMark Reich's book, “Managing on Purpose”: lean.org/store/book/managing-on-purposeResources and ways to work with me: KBJAnderson.comFollow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjandersonDownload my FREE KATALYST™ Change Leader Self-Assessment: KBJAnderson.com/katalyst Learn more about the history and application of hoshin kanri: Learning to Lead, Leading to LearnTIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:2:05 Hoshin Kanri vs. traditional management approaches to strategy2:52 Mark defines hoshin kanri3:49 What people get around around strategy deployment4:26 Two key differences that sets hoshin kanri apart from traditional strategy5:16 The problem Mark aimed to solve in “Managing On Purpose”10:07 Why knowing your true north vision matters11:34 The complexity of the x-matrix in implementing strategy15:31 Why catchball is essential to hoshin kanri20:32 Leading effective catchball conversations23:07 Vertical vs. horizontal catchball24:31 Collaborative input in the A3 process26:17 How leaders can retain perspective for effective catchball conversations28:30 The PDCA cycle's critical role in hoshin kanri framework31:06 Importance of flexibility in leadership32:19 Distinguishing daily tasks vs. long term tasks for success34:31 Embedding reflection time in the hoshin process to make PDCA work37:31 Long-term learning in implementing effective systems39:48 Using hansei for reflection and prioritization Enter to win a copy of "Managing on Purpose" by Mark Reich, Chief Engineer of Strategy at the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI). Giveaway open through June 20th.Apply today for my next Japan Leadership Experience — learn more and discover the power of this immersive learning experience.

In this World Environment Day edition of our Sustainability Series, Elma Christian is joined by David Muil, Intertek's VP of Sustainability, to explore how businesses can unlock value by embedding sustainability into their strategy. From cost savings and innovation to stakeholder engagement and regulatory alignment, this episode breaks down why sustainability is more than a moral imperative—it's a smart business move. Discover real-world examples, a practical PDCA roadmap, and one key message: sustainability is a profit driver.Speakers: David Muil - Global VP of Sustainability for IntertekElma Isakovic-Christian - Global Business Development Director, Supplier Management and SustainabilityFollow us on- Intertek's Assurance In Action || Twitter || LinkedIn.

Emergency preparedness is a term you're likely familiar with regarding Health & Safety, but its application is also a key part of the Best Practice Environmental Management Standard, ISO 14001.  ISO 14001 aims to help organisations reduce their overall impact on the environment, and this includes mitigating and responding to any incidents that may adversely affect factors such as biodiversity and water quality in areas where your business is based. While not applicable to every industry, there are many which need to take greater responsibility in the event of an environmental incident. ISO 14001 provides key guidance in how to create effective processes to ensure you respond swiftly, and in alignment with the law. In this episode Ian Battersby explains what is meant by emergency preparedness and response within ISO 14001, and how that can apply to your business. You'll learn ·      What is emergency preparedness and response in ISO 14001? ·      How do you approach Clause 8.2 in ISO 14001? ·      Planning for an environmental emergency ·      Definitions of different types of emergency ·      How can you prevent an environmental emergency?   Resources ·      Isologyhub ·      Learn more about ISO 14001   In this episode, we talk about: [02:05] Episode Summary – Ian explains the purpose of clause 8.2 in ISO 14001, emergency preparedness and response. [02:35] What is meant by ‘emergency preparedness and response' in ISO 14001?: Many will be familiar with emergency preparedness and response in relation to Health and Safety. In Standards such as ISO 45001, it's about ensuring there are plans in place to reasonably foresee and prevent any serious harm to a person or persons affected by our activities The aim with Clause 8.2 in ISO 14001 is to minimise the risk an organisation poses to the environment. Though, these aren't mutually exclusive and some environmental response plans can prevent harm to both people and the environment. Ian seeks to clarify this clause further as many have a tendency to point towards their fire evacuation plan and fire drills as the first piece of evidence when demonstrating conformity to clause 8.2 in ISO 14001. While fire is very violent to the environment once it's occurred, the evacuation of people during such an event building offers little in the way of an environmental response. [05:10] Breaking down Clause 8.2: Clause 8.1 states: “The organization shall establish, implement and maintain the process(es) needed to prepare for and respond to potential emergency situations identified in 6.1.1.” Like with many Standards, it references an early clause where you should be identifying the relevant emergency situations. Clause 6 focuses on risk and opportunities, and in the case of ISO 14001 this is where you'll establish your environmental aspects and compliance obligations. Specifically, Clause 6.1.2 states: “Within the defined scope of the environmental management system, the organization shall determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can control and those that it can influence, and their associated environmental impacts.” This would take into consideration any abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. So, this is where you should already have established the emergency situations for which you need to plan for.  Risk management is a core of the standards and planning for emergency situations is a core of risk management.  You don't write plans in isolation; you will have already established what's important. [07:30] Planning for emergency: As stated in Clause 8.2: “The organization shall plan: a)    to take actions to address its risks b)    how to: 1)    integrate into environmental management system or other business processes; 2)    evaluate the effectiveness of these actions.” This is all part of the familiar PDCA cycle. From Ian's perspective as an auditor, he won't look at emergency plans first, instead looking at an organisations Aspects & Impacts Assessment. The standard isn't prescriptive on how you assess the impact of what you do or the risks.  The methodology is your choice, but it is very explicit in that the content must include abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations. [09:40] What are the definitions for different types of emergency situations? Normal situations are when everything operates as intended, Business as usual, the day-to-day activities you expect: E.G. Standard operation of machinery, a vehicle getting from A to B without issue. Abnormal situations are when things aren't quite right, not catastrophic, but not business as usual; you can still achieve your intended outcome, but maybe not as quickly or efficiently: E.G. machinery running inefficiently or perhaps using more fuel or lubricant than usual. They don't necessarily require an emergency plan, but you may want to monitor the severity of such situations and their potential for significant impact if unaddressed. Emergency situations are serious events requiring immediate attention and which could cause significant environmental impacts. The type of emergency situation that could possibly occur will depend on the type of organisation, but common ones include fire or chemical / fuel spill. [11:30] What is required by the Standard? – As stated: You are required to: A) plan to respond to prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts from emergencies; (not human) B) respond to actual emergencies; C) prevent or mitigate the consequences of emergencies; D) periodically test the planned response; E) review and revise the process, in particular after the occurrence of emergency or test; F) provide relevant information and training, to relevant interested parties, including persons working under its control. [13:00] Examples of Emergency Situations – We'll look at a common one, fire. There are still 22,000 workplace fires in the UK each year, which is a significant environmental impact. That amounts to approximately 2,700 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. This in addition to the atmospheric toxins, ground/water contamination, resource loss, waste etc.  So, in considering fire as an environmental emergency, these are the impacts. IOSH states that the most common cause for workplace fires is faulty or misused electrical equipment, followed by flammable/combustible materials, dirt and clutter, human error, smoking and cooking. One thing to note about those causes is that they are generally required to be controlled by specific legislation. So, you would be looking for a link between compliance obligations (or legal) register, the Aspects & Impacts Assessment and the controls in place to minimise the risks identified in both. Faulty electrics would stand out, so you would look at what measures could be put in place to prevent such faults occurring, including: ·      Preventive maintenance of equipment ·      Inspection and testing of electrical fixed wiring ·      Portable appliance testing By demonstrating the processes in place to address these, you can evidence compliance obligations and the planning to reduce the possibility of an emergency situation arising. However, a fire may still occur [15:40] Example emergency situation – Prevention: – You should look at the planning to prevent such a situation escalating into a full-blown emergency in order to prevent the environmental impact. This could include: ·      The maintenance, inspection and testing of fire detection or suppression systems ·      The inspection and servicing of firefighting equipment. ·      Firefighting equipment training for personnel Based on what you know about the causes of fire, you should examine smoking policies/practices, catering equipment maintenance, housekeeping, hazardous material management etc. Proof of fire drills alone enough when it comes to emergency preparedness and response in ISO 14001. Especially from an auditor's perspective, as how can you prove that your fire drills are useful in minimising the impact on the environment? [17:15] Other emergency situations – Spillage: An area where you can more readily see that preparedness and response directly affects the environmental outcome is where there has been a spillage of some kind. A spill of a lubricant on a shop floor, for instance, has the potential to cause a slip hazard, affecting the safety of people.  The preventive measures, again, have similarities regardless of whether we're talking safety or environment, but do differ in that we're trying to prevent the lubricant then reaching the outside world and contaminating ground or water; that's the environmental impact.  Waste disposal associated with the mopping of a spill; you may be dealing with hazardous waste, which must be disposed of in a controlled fashion under the law. If you'd like assistance with ISO 14001, get in contact with us, we'd be happy to help. We'd love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here's how: ●     Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin ●     Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes: Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube |iTunes | Soundcloud | Mailing List

In this solo episode, Brandon unpacks a powerful idea that keeps surfacing in his work and personal life: we can't solve problems we don't understand. And we can't understand problems until we stop speaking in generalities and start getting specific.The spark came from a bedtime story with his son—What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada—but the insight goes much deeper. Avoiding the problem makes it grow. Facing it, defining it, and breaking it down is what opens the door to real solutions.Brandon explores how this principle shows up in manufacturing, leadership, strategy, communication, and day-to-day execution. From root cause analysis to structured methods like PDCA and A3, it all comes down to one thing: clear thinking.About Building Better:Building Better with Brandon Bartneck focuses on the people, products, and companies creating a better tomorrow, often in the transportation and manufacturing sectors. The show features real, human conversations exploring what leaders and innovators are doing, why and how they're doing it, and what we can learn from their experiences.Key Themes:You can't solve what you don't understandSpecifics matter more than abstractions when it comes to problem definitionAmbiguity creates unnecessary complexity and anxietySystematic frameworks only work when grounded in clear thinkingManufacturing lessons apply across leadership, strategy, and operationsShow Notes:brandonbartneck.com/buildingbetter/256Listen to the Episode:Apple PodcastsSpotify

By Adam Turteltaub KISS takes on a new meaning in this podcast: Keep it Streamlined & Strategic. Keeping it streamlined and strategic is also the topic of a session at the 2025 HCCA Compliance Institute that will be led by Krista Muszak, Senior Manager, Process Optimization at Pfizer and Angela Smart, Senior Compliance and Ethics Partner, Intermountain Healthcare. Specifically. they'll be applying this new take on KISS to the topic of program effectiveness. So how does it work? How do we keep our programs streamlined and strategic?  First, we avoid scope creep and remain focused. That, they explain, begins with having and continuously referring back to a program charter that keeps you and everyone else involved from pursuing all the tangential issues that could derail your efforts. Second, they advise following the PDCA formula: Plan, Do, Check and Act. Third is conducting a root cause analysis that helps you understand not what happened but why. It will keep  you thinking strategically and not just about the particular incident that called for the analysis to be done. Want to learn more about KISS? Listen to this podcast and then join them in Las Vegas for the 2025 HCCA Compliance Institute. Listen now Sponsored by Bluesight, providing industry-leading privacy monitoring with fast, reliable patient data violation detection.

Anuj Ojha: Building Agile Team Maturity Through Honest Feedback Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. A successful Scrum Master should work towards making themselves unnecessary, but Anuj warns against common anti-patterns in this journey. He emphasizes the danger of viewing Scrum as a universal solution or behaving like a "cult master" who rigidly follows rules instead of listening to team needs. He advises against manipulating conversations or using others' authority to validate decisions. Instead, he promotes viewing Scrum as a continuous PDCA cycle and maintaining an open mind about different approaches. Self-reflection Question: How comfortable is your team with giving and receiving direct, constructive feedback to each other? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Team Shared Self-Evaluation This retrospective format focuses on building interpersonal relationships through structured feedback. Using a Google Form, team members answer two key questions about each colleague: what they appreciate about working with them and one change that could make them an even better team member. The format includes a sharing session where team members can process the feedback and discuss it openly. This approach encourages personal accountability by having participants first communicate what they themselves want to change before asking others to change. [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

And more from the KCCK Genetics Springtime Showcase Sale and the Spring Opportunities at Pine Tree Dairy Sale previews!

In this episode of The Quality Hub, Chatting with ISO Experts, host Xavier Francis welcomes back Suzanne Strasser, VP of Consulting and Development, to explore the PDCA Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) and its vital role in ISO 9001. They discuss how this structured, iterative method drives continuous improvement by aligning with key ISO 9001 clauses. From setting goals and testing solutions to analyzing outcomes and implementing changes, PDCA helps businesses enhance efficiency, mitigate risks, and meet customer expectations. They also emphasize the importance of focusing on real outcomes rather than rigidly following methodologies. Tune in to learn how applying PDCA within ISO 9001 can strengthen your quality management system and drive meaningful improvements in your organization! Helpful Resources: Compliance vs. Certification:  https://www.thecoresolution.com/iso-compliance-vs-certification   For All Things ISO 9001:2015: https://www.thecoresolution.com/iso-9001-2015   Contact us at 866.354.0300 or email us at info@thecoresolution.com   A Plethora of Articles: https://www.thecoresolution.com/free-learning-resources   ISO 9001 Consulting: https://www.thecoresolution.com/iso-consulting      

By viewing ISO 13485 through the lens of interconnected Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycles, Subhi offers a fresh perspective that simplifies the implementation of this quality management standard. He explains the structure of ISO 13485, highlighting how each clause aligns with PDCA, and provides practical examples of applying this cycle to different processes within the standard. Subhi emphasizes that ISO 13485 is more than a rule book; it's a guide for continuous improvement and real-world application in the medical device field. 00:00 Introduction to Game-Changing ISO 13485 Insight 01:24 Understanding ISO 13485 as a Guide 02:11 ISO 13485 Structure and Clauses 03:56 Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) Cycle Explained 05:44 Applying PDCA to ISO 13485 Clauses 07:33 Real-World Application and Continuous Improvement 09:10 Conclusion and Call to Action Subhi Saadeh is a Quality Professional and host of Let's Combinate. With a background in Quality, Manufacturing Operations and R&D he's worked in Large Medical Device/Pharma organizations to support the development and launch of Hardware Devices, Disposable Devices, and Combination Products for Vaccines, Generics, and Biologics. Subhi serves currently as the International Committee Chair for the Combination Products Coalition(CPC) and as a member of ASTM Committee E55 and also served as a committee member on AAMI's Combination Products Committee. For questions, inquiries or suggestions please reach out at letscombinate.com or on the show's LinkedIn Page.

In this latest episode, Lisa Smith joins Mustansir Saifuddin to dive into the world of SAP transformation and process improvement. Lisa shares how to leverage SAP to streamline supply chain processes, optimize business operations, and drive significant improvements. Listen in as Lisa dives into the importance of business objectives, alignment, effective change management and so much more. Lisa Gonzalez Smith is a trusted global procurement leader transforming global end-to-end supply chain processes and driving organizational change management. Lisa is a seasoned source to pay executive with over 30 years in global automotive procurement (Direct & Indirect) and a proven record of delivering SAP Ariba global programs at Ford Motor Company on budget and ahead of schedule with state of the art, cloud-based technology LinkedIn: Lisa G. Smith Innovative Solution Partners Mustansir Saifuddin X @mmsaifuddin Episode Transcript: [00:00:00] Mustansir Saifuddin: Welcome to Tech Driven Business, Lisa. How are you? [00:00:38] Lisa Smith: Doing great, Mustansir. How are you? [00:00:40] Mustansir Saifuddin: Doing wonderful. Thank you. I'm so excited to have you on our show. And today we would like to talk about SAP transformation and process improvement and what other person can talk about that? , Especially in the context of supply chain processes. [00:00:56] So I really look forward to this session with you. [00:01:00] Lisa Smith: I certainly appreciate the invitation to do it, and I'm excited to be here, and thanks for the opportunity. I enjoy being able to share some of those learnings and have these these fun discussions, so. [00:01:11] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. So let's get into it. You know we talk about companies leveraging SAP. When you talk about leveraging SAP to identify and eliminate, basically the idea is inefficiencies in the supply chain processes. How can they do that? what's your take on this? [00:01:29] Lisa Smith: Well, I think, you know, first of all, great technology can be used to really drive change around how business gets done. So defining what's important for the business to have going forward. Defining what is important and what they need then allows for SAP's technology to drive how that gets done. But with that, there's a lot of change to those processes, or if you really want to transform the business, there should be and, but with that, you need to be mindful of the [00:02:00] change impact. [00:02:00] That comes along with that. The change that impacts the people, be it internal employees, be it external with suppliers, for example, and you want to bring those folks along on that journey and get them excited about the change, right? One of the things that I find is tremendous is being able to leverage SAP's technology to streamline, commonize and simplify processes across the enterprise. [00:02:25] And it has the great. breadth and depth in order to do that. And that process capability depth and breadth allows for that to happen. And so it allows you to then ask yourself as an organization, why can't we do business, for example, the same way everywhere, unless there's a legal or regulatory or tax reason why do we have to be different? [00:02:48] How can we simplify this? How can we take some of that inefficiency out of the process? And the software can really help drive that. [00:02:56] Mustansir Saifuddin: That's excellent point. I think what I'm hearing from you is as much as you can commonize your processes and be able to keep the system as simple as possible. Allows you to leverage the, the capabilities a lot more [00:03:11] Lisa Smith: Yeah, especially with cloud technology to get the, the lifts and the upgrades and take advantage of those. Definitely. [00:03:18] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. That kind of leads me into this discussion about, you know, everybody talks about metrics when we talk about SAP driven process improvements especially, what are some of the key metrics to measure your success in those scenarios? [00:03:35] Lisa Smith: Well, I think regardless of what functional area that you're looking to improve be it in finance or procurement or supply chain you know, manufacturing, inventory, wherever, I think it's important to start with what are the objectives for the business? What is it that you're wanting to achieve and accomplish? [00:03:52] Whether it is additional incremental cost savings, whether it is operational efficiency improvement, whether it's better [00:04:00] compliance and controls or faster days to close or better forecasting lower inventory levels, whatever those metrics are, I think it's important to use the business objectives to drive that and then determine what success looks like. [00:04:17] What are those objectives? How are we going to measure those and determine those up front in your process in your, future state design? If I want to improve on time sourcing by 25%, like, let's say, or lower raw materials inventory by 10%. You know, that's a clear objective. Now, how am I going to measure that? [00:04:39] What's my format or the actual calculation tactically to measure that? And then , you can understand those. And the reason it's important to understand those up front in the process is because that helps ensure as you're designing your future state business process in the software and the software starts to be configured that you drive those outcomes based on those metrics. [00:05:03] So what are those metrics that are important to your business to achieve success and implement those very clearly with a way to measure and then use those to guide the future state process design. [00:05:20] Mustansir Saifuddin: Interesting. So it seems like you're using your business KPIs and kind of molding it into what SAP can do for you in those key metrics. [00:05:29] Lisa Smith: Right. And there's a lot of embedded , kind of inherent KPIs that are part of that process. And then, of course, with the incremental, A. I. capabilities and the analytics capabilities and so forth, you start to bring those metrics to light much much more quickly than perhaps in a, previous state, especially if that previous state was manual or very heavily reliant on Excel and things of that nature, which I'm sure there's a lot of companies that experience that. [00:05:58] Mustansir Saifuddin: No, absolutely. I think you hit up on a [00:06:00] very good point over here. I mean, analytics is one of my areas and I know that it is so important in this SAP implementations that you have a very, I mean, there's a robust set of analytics that comes to the system. But based on your business requirements and your measurement or the KPIs that you're looking at it can play a huge role in your success. [00:06:23] Lisa Smith: Yes, absolutely. It can jumpstart or serve as a catalyst for those metrics. Many of those metrics are already from a common sense point of view. There may be incremental ones that you want and the data exists to allow for those to be created. And so there's a lot of flexibility in that space. [00:06:40] The quality of built in compliance exists because it is moving processes from one step to the next and doing so with quality and embedded foolproofing mechanisms, similar to an assembly line, For example, when you're doing quality checks, as you're assembling parts on a, product, for example, you have the ability to understand the outcome. [00:07:02] The embedded process capability that exists, has a built in quality and with that the analytics that come along with it. So those analytics are being driven by quality information and quality and disciplined processes. If that makes sense. [00:07:18] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. And I think I like the comparison you gave with the assembly line. It's so true. It's everything. It flows in a, in a very. seamless manner. So it's like you don't even notice how this next process is going to take over. It's just from a business standpoint. It makes it so much easier. [00:07:35] Lisa Smith: Right? [00:07:35] Mustansir Saifuddin: For folks who are dealing with it day in day out that not only the analytics part, but, the different functions being able to communicate freely [00:07:46] Lisa Smith: Exactly. Yeah. And share the actual data, share the real time data. Allow the, source data to drive analytics, but it's a consistent set of source data. That is across the functional areas, [00:08:00] although their metrics might be different and what they derive from that data, it may be different. [00:08:04] It's based on that same quality of source information. And I think that's a really impressive capability to be able to bring to the analytics table and and bring that discipline to the analytics. [00:08:19] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. Kind of leads me into this next discussion. You know, everything needs change management. Change management is one of the big topics, right? When you are doing an SAP transformation, especially in a global organization, where you have to deal with cultures, where you're dealing with languages different way of doing things how do you go about doing it? [00:08:41] Lisa Smith: Well, my first two words are very carefully. The change management aspect of any you know, implementation like this or call it transformation, the change management is as critical as the business process as the software, those other elements it is critical key to a successful adoption and a successful outcome, but it starts with having the case for change, because what you're doing is formulating a vision for folks to help them understand this is where we want to go. This is where we want to be, you know. In the future, so many years from now and so forth. So what is that case for change? What's driving us to need to move to this next level? And if people understand the why, okay, that case for change, they're going to be far more open to considering and actually start to get excited about it. [00:09:32] And I think that. Is also very important to have that message in that case for change articulated by the senior leadership from what I call a top down perspective and a top down advocacy, because that message sets a tone for the organization and it filters through the organization and it's very important part. [00:09:53] I had a very strong set of C suite leaders that were very much [00:10:00] advocating for this. And so they were able to articulate that message. And then we could take that and embrace it with what I'll call a bottom up approach with the affected stakeholders. So who are those stakeholders? Understand the different what I call personas. [00:10:16] Are we talking about requisitioners, or buyers, or manufacturing operation people, or finance analysts? Who are, who are the stakeholders that are going to be affected or impacted by this? And understand their cultural differences. From a culture standpoint, whether it's across regions or countries, whether it's across functional areas, You know, how messaging and how that change is impacting someone , in Europe versus Asia Pacific, very different. [00:10:45] And so how you package the information and package the communications is important as well. And to nuance or tailor that accordingly. nuancing and tailoring also for the functions. It's what. Maybe how manufacturing perceives it may be very different than how marketing would perceive it or IT would perceive. [00:11:03] And so how do you tailor again to the nuances of a particular functional area as well? If you can understand that impact and what the technology is going to do to their respective business processes, then you can say, well, what input do I need from them to ensure I take into consideration what's necessary and , Now, how we do it, they look different. [00:11:26] And we'll assess that impact and create a strategy around that, but I need to make sure I consider what is needed for their, you know, for them to do their job successfully. And so when that's understood, then you can help them understand the change, keep them tied into what's happening, keep the communication flowing. [00:11:47] And it gets them excited about a new way of doing business. And you can start to get creative about the way things are communicated using. You know, animated personas to help illustrate the from and to condition or [00:12:00] communication broadcast. Various things can be implemented and deployed. To give one example, when we had a very wide span of, of particular personas in this case, requisitioners that had to be communicated to, and they were very different because every function in the company requisitions, we held virtual office hours and we held them in local languages. [00:12:20] We had the training materials, in the local language because somebody on the manufacturing floor may not be proficient in you know, one, one language, let's say English. So we had the materials in local language and so forth, depending upon the personas. So those are the things that need to be considered to help re respect that input from , the folks who are impacted and then be able to, to communicate it in a very clear way that resonates for them. [00:12:47] Mustansir Saifuddin: I think that's a great advice and a great takeaway, especially when you're dealing with the folks on, on ground, you want to make sure that you're able to reach , to them the way they can consume the information and be able to train accordingly. So now that's very helpful. On a personal note, how are you staying on top of changes, now we are talking in the AI age, both business and technology are, are rapidly changing. So how do you keep up with these kind of change? [00:13:19] Lisa Smith: Well, my youngest son would tell me I don't, but in, in reality, what's important to me is understanding that the continual evolution and innovations that are happening inside of SAP's technology, for example, and cloud technology in general. And I think there's so much out there. Yeah. SAP has tremendous webinars, you know insights, podcasts, things of that nature that can be, very illustrative of what's going on. There's a lot of information in various media forms that I use. But there are webinars, and also I do a bit of Googling and, you know, YouTube demo watching and those kinds of things. Also I think , their solution integration partners, their solution integrators also bring. [00:14:00] A lot of insights around what's happening. What are the trends in the business? What's happening in this industry? What does that mean in terms of leveraging the technology? So it kind of brings the technology and the business together. To understand where things are headed, be it, what are some of the new challenges of chief procurement officers, for example, in a post COVID society. You know, very different than a pre COVID condition perhaps. [00:14:26] And so those kinds of strategic understanding, as well as what is the technology doing to support that understanding is largely available. So I do a lot of that just out of interest, [00:14:40] Mustansir Saifuddin: Yeah, no, that's the only way right now to keep up is just be aware of what are , the mediums available to you and have that tenacity to go and get that information from wherever you can get and keep up with the changes in technology. [00:14:56] S4HANA is top of the mind, a lot of companies these days. How can companies ensure a smooth transition to S4HANA? And especially when you talk about S4HANA, it's a big undertaking. How can you minimize disruptions to your operations? Can you elaborate on that? [00:15:15] Lisa Smith: Again, I'll use that "very carefully" answer, but I think the first thing is it's important to prioritize risk mitigation first and foremost, you never want to jeopardize the business or disrupt the ability to provide the goods or services , that the company is charged with, providing. [00:15:33] And you can't take it all at once either. How can I sequence this? If I establish a longer term vision or a view or a road map, okay, where I want to be, I have to take it in a series of steps. And perhaps some of those steps can happen in parallel. Some need to happen in a particular sequence because of interdependencies. [00:15:53] Some may be able to, as you learn, you might say, gosh, I should do this instead first and then followed [00:16:00] by X. I learned a lot of those things as we went through deployment and the ability to kind of flex and be a bit more agile, I think is important, but sequencing things in order to try and gain the optimal value as quickly as possible, while you mitigate the risk. It's a delicate balance, but that's probably one of the , more important principles, if you will, to have top of mind in terms of how can I glean the value quickly while I de risk the business? And in order to do that, I think you need to have very clear timing milestones and deliverable milestones. [00:16:37] And there needs to be a very good disciplined program or project management process, that is enabling that to take place. And you need to do that in order to ensure that the timing is kept. And also to contain the cost. Otherwise, you can start diverting off on different paths and the scope starts to creep and the money starts to keep moving, up you know, , on the scale and the timing continues to shift out. [00:17:09] So it's really important to keep, the clear timing with the deliverables and have a governance of project management to control that very very tightly. And then the other one I mentioned is, is governance. That is critical as you're changing these processes. And you're perhaps completely eliminating a policy or preparing a new policy in order to do business a different way. Then what governance do I need to have in place so that I escalate those decisions quickly so that I'm not being. bound by or, you know, delayed by lack of policy decision making, lack of policy change approval, for example on the program. If I know I need that policy change in order to configure it this way, I better start having the governance or I better have the governance in place to be able [00:18:00] to escalate that quickly if it requires certain levels of approval within the organization. And then readying the organization for change. That's one of the key attributes to ensuring a smooth transition. Having a robust cadence of communication, a repeated cadence so that people know what to expect. It can be at a relatively high level. [00:18:22] And as they get close to their respective deployments, it becomes more granular. The communications, the training materials, the virtual hours, things of that nature become more granular as they get closer to their respective deployments. And then , I employed something that Toyota taught me. They referred to it as PDCA and plan due check act. [00:18:43] And so I have a detailed plan, not just about the program milestones and deliverables, but everyone's role and responsibility and all of the things associated with making that implementation happen or get to that achieved outcome and execute to that plan. Have the controls on the status through the project management or program management and the governance that I mentioned. Then act and adjust accordingly if, and when needed, which inevitably it will be needed. [00:19:14] You have to adjust course, but it's really a PDCA continual loop of plan to check act as you move through the life cycle of a program. [00:19:27] Mustansir Saifuddin: I like it. I think that's very useful, especially when you are In this cycle, if you want to make sure that every small piece is covered and the only way you can do it is having the right governance, having the right plan in place. And then, of course, the checks and balances at each and every milestone. [00:19:44] We talked about a lot of different things. I would like to leave the session with what is the one key takeaway you would want to leave with our listeners today. Can you share that? [00:19:56] Lisa Smith: Yes, I would. It's going to be 2. 1 is [00:20:00] embrace the technology to allow it to propel your business forward for a long term sustainable outcome. And do that with an open mind to changing process. And leverage that technology to drive that simplified process and understand the impact from a change perspective that comes with it and manage that in concert, because when you do, the success can be absolutely tremendous. [00:20:28] It can be transformational. But the two go together. [00:20:32] Mustansir Saifuddin: Absolutely. Great advice. Thank you for coming on our show. It was real pleasure to have you join us today. [00:20:38] Lisa Smith: Well, likewise, I really enjoy the conversation and certainly it's an exciting space. There's tremendous opportunity for companies you know, that are looking to find whatever those objectives are, improved efficiency, cost reduction all the different things, the disciplines that , can really level an organization up to the next stage. [00:20:58] And the next level in a, in a longterm way. So it's great fun. And I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to, to have the conversation. Thank you. [00:21:07] Mustansir Saifuddin: Thank you. [00:21:08] Thanks for listening to Tech Driven Business brought to you by Innovative Solution Partners. Lisa shared valuable insights that apply to all areas of an enterprise. Her key takeaway? Embrace technology to allow it to propel your business forward while effectively managing the change impact to ensure a smooth and successful transition. [00:21:34] We would love to hear from you. Continue the conversation by connecting with me on LinkedIn or X. Learn more about Innovative Solution Partners and schedule a free consultation by visiting isolutionpartners.com. Never miss a podcast by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Information is in the show notes.

This week's guest is Bill Krolicki. Ron and Bill discussed data analytics, automation, the PDCA cycle, knowing if you're winning or losing, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Bill likes (3:25) His background (3:44) What data analytics means (4:55) A Pareto example (7:20) Working with machines and automation (10:36) Making issues visible (14:01) Measuring input well (18:44) Reducing administrative burden (20:27) Removing obstacles (22:03) Practical tips for managers (24:13) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Bill on LinkedIn Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? What data analytics tools do you use? Why those ones?

In this podcast we cover: The percentage of each of the steps.  Why planning must be your largest percentage. How you can really get this wrong and get yourself into trouble. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two

Continuous improvement is an important facet of the modern manufacturing landscape. One of the best-known among such methodologies is Plan-Do-Check-Act. In this article, we explore PDCA's tenets, its benefits, and how best to conduct it. You can learn more about it from this episode or read about it on our blog More information about MRPeasy software at our website mrpeasy.com

In this episode of the Everyday Business Problems podcast, Dave Crysler welcomes Roy Waterhouse, a seasoned professional with 34 years of experience in the commercial printing industry at Hopkins Printing. Roy shares his journey into lean manufacturing, discussing how lean principles have been integrated into every aspect of his work and life. From simplifying processes to improving customer relationships, Roy provides valuable insights into how continuous improvement methodologies like PDCA and the Toyota Production System can transform an organization. He also touches on the importance of leadership support, the challenges of sustaining lean initiatives, and how making lean personal can enhance both professional and personal life. What You'll Discover: How Hopkins Printing has integrated lean manufacturing principles since 1993. The benefits of simplifying processes and making lean principles accessible to everyone in the organization. Insights into how lean thinking can reduce waste and improve efficiency, even in complex manufacturing environments. The importance of leadership support in driving and sustaining continuous improvement efforts. Practical examples of how visual management and standardization can make daily operations smoother and more efficient. How making lean principles personal can improve both work and home life. The challenges of maintaining a lean culture over the long term and strategies to overcome them.

城揚建設新推出的「陽明第一廳」 緊鄰三民區的明星學府-陽明國中 46~52坪，每層四戶兩部電梯 最適合有換屋與置產需求的你 讓生活中充滿書香、運動風，滿足食衣住行的消費需求 城揚建設 陽明第一廳 07-384-2888 https://bit.ly/3YvDjc7 -- 【Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 | 會議AI神助手】 會議太長抓不住重點？跨國會議有志難伸？ Galaxy Z Fold6 全新 Galaxy AI 旗艦摺疊， 語音轉文字，分人逐字稿一鍵摘要，會議紀錄秒完成 智慧即時翻譯與摺疊專屬雙面翻譯窗，跨國溝通更直覺 Galaxy Z Fold6 反正更厲害 https://bit.ly/3WnY9ap －－－－以上訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ 飛碟聯播網《飛碟早餐 唐湘龍時間》2024.08.01 週四教育單元 國立台灣大學環境工程學研究所博士 邱宗永、亞太綜合研究院醫護環衛與社福研究所長 潘懷宗《呼應國際永續趨勢脈動！產品碳足跡專業顧問師培訓班開課了！》 ◎節目介紹： 聯合國下設各國政府間的氣候變化專門委員會(IPCC)發布報告指出，全球極端氣候與人為活動已經造成地球氣溫特價上升，各地暴雨、颶風及熱浪，頻繁發生，危害到了人類生命與環境生態，節能減碳刻不容緩。產品碳足跡是指一項產品從原料採集到製造、包裝、行銷、消費者使用及生命終結處理等整個產品生命週期中，所產生的碳總和。 「ISO14067產品碳足跡專業顧問師培訓班」課程著重培訓專業顧問師，增強你在拜訪客戶時招商接案的技巧，並教你如何輔導企業計算各階段的碳排放及呈現數據量化的完整性，教你使用生命週期評估軟體(LCA)，由原物料取得至最終處置，整個過期中的環境考量面、潛在環境衝擊與碳排放等訊息揭露，能提升企業組織永續發展及碳管理，加強企業競爭優勢。 適合對象 1、有志成為ISO 14067:2018 產品碳足跡輔導專業顧問師或專業指導教練者。 2、企業組織負責ISO 14067:2018產品碳足跡高階主管或管理代表。 3、規劃企業集團BSG永續發展建立符合ISO 14067:2018 產品碳足跡的幕僚人員。 4、政府單位、企業組織供應鏈或會計師事務所等單位查證產品碳足跡的專業人員。 5、提升專業ISO 14067:2018 產品碳足跡規範技能及個人專業證照職業生涯規劃。 6、邁向產品碳足跡、碳中和、淨零排放與碳權交易的先驅者。 訓練效益 1、培訓完整IS014067:2018碳足跡規範架構與輔導盤查PDCA流程專業技能。 2、深入熟悉企業IS014067:2018碳足跡盤查技巧與輔導持續改善企業盤查缺失。 3、培育IS014067:2018碳足跡盤查專業顧問師拜訪客戶招商接案技巧及發展企業碳管理與淨零成功先鋒。 ▶ 《飛碟早餐》FB粉絲團  / ufobreakfast  ▶ 飛碟聯播網FB粉絲團  / ufonetwork921  ▶ 網路線上收聽 http://www.uforadio.com.tw/stream/str… ▶ 飛碟APP，讓你收聽零距離 IOS：https://reurl.cc/3jYQMV Android：https://reurl.cc/5GpNbR ▶ 飛碟Podcast SoundOn : https://bit.ly/30Ia8Ti Apple Podcasts : https://apple.co/3jFpP6x Spotify : https://spoti.fi/2CPzneD Google 播客：https://bit.ly/3gCTb3G KKBOX：https://reurl.cc/MZR0K4 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

My guest for Episode #509 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ankit Patel, the founder of My Business Care Team, a BPO company providing services for optometrists, and co-founder with his wife Classic Vision Care, an optometry group in Atlanta. Episode page with transcript and more With a strong background in Lean methodology, Ankit has worked as a Lean consultant at Dell and the Cleveland Clinic, driving process improvements and coaching executives.  He holds a Master's degree in Positive Organizational Development and a Bachelor's in Industrial Engineering.  Recognizing talent acquisition challenges, Ankit partnered with a Filipino team to source skilled, cost-effective staff for various business functions. He now leverages AI for hiring and automation to optimize his optometry practice and BPO services, applying Lean principles to drive efficiency and growth. In this episode, Ankit shares insights from his journey, starting as a lean consultant at Dell and the Cleveland Clinic, and transitioning into optometry, where he focuses on building patient relationships and enhancing processes through lean principles and AI technology. Mark and Ankit discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI in business processes, the importance of positive organizational development, and how appreciative inquiry can drive team alignment and engagement. Ankit also highlights the role of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) in managing small businesses and improving training and development with AI tools, offering valuable lessons for anyone interested in continuous improvement and innovative approaches in healthcare and beyond. Questions, Notes, and Highlights: What is positive organizational development, and how did you come to study it? How did your experience at Cleveland Clinic influence your involvement in your current business? How do you balance focusing on optometry with the potential to expand into other medical practices? How do you prioritize where to use AI in your processes without falling into the trap of using it because it's trendy? Can you share an example of improving a process before thinking about automating it with AI? How rapidly is AI technology advancing, and how does that impact your ability to adjust its use in your business? How do you see AI tools facilitating faster PDCA or PDSA cycles in continuous improvement practices? What led you to the positive psychology approach, and how does it differ from traditional organizational development? How do you apply appreciative inquiry in your work, and what impact does it have on team alignment and engagement? Can you discuss the origin and growth of your new business involving AI and BPO for optometry? What role does EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) play in managing your business? How do you evaluate the effectiveness of training and development using AI tools? How do you communicate your practice's focus on building patient relationships in your marketing and branding? 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. 

What You'll Learn: In this episode, hosts Patrick Adams and Shayne Daughenbaugh discuss the implementation of Lean principles in accounting, emphasizing simplifying cost accounting, aligning costs with value streams, and adopting a PDCA mindset, while also noting the limitations of traditional practices and the need for a value-based approach. They covered Lean pricing strategies, such as market-based pricing and demand alignment, and discussed optimizing changeovers for efficiency, alongside sharing experiences of assisting veterans in their transition to civilian life. About the Guest:  Mark DeLuzio is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lean Horizons Consulting. He is also a former Corporate Officer and Vice President of Danaher Business System (DBS) for Danaher Corporation. Danaher has been recognized as the leading implementer of Lean globally and has been rated as the 3rd most profitable US stock over the last 30 years. Mark is also credited with developing the first Lean Accounting process in the United States for Danaher's Jake Brake Division, where he served as their Chief Financial Officer. Mark is the author of “Turn Waste into Wealth,” which offers practical advice for those considering a Lean transformation and “Flatlined – Why Lean Transformations Fail and What to do About It”, which offers the lessons learned from Mark's association with hundreds of Lean transformations on a global basis. Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Click Here For Shayne Daughenbaugh's LinkedIn Click Here For mark Deluzio's Website --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leansolutions/support

In this episode, we're diving into the role of training development and its significance within the PDCA process.Today, our focus is on the fundamental step of training development and how it plays a role in providing teams with essential skills and knowledge, enhancing our business's day-to-day operations.Furthermore, we will explore strategic facets of training development, such as tailoring content to specific audiences and synchronizing training schedules with the "Go Live" date.Don't miss out on discovering how effective training development can elevate your business. Tune in now!TIME STAMPS:[2:29] Understanding the PDCA process.[3:59] Role of training development in the "Do" phase.[5:20] Identifying training needs.[8:55] Duration of training development and post-training actions.14:32] How to develop a training plan.RESOURCESGrab our worksheet today at https://hilarycorna.com/process-worksheet-download/ and start making progress!Download the PDCA Process here: https://hilarycorna.com/pdca/