Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership

This week’s guest is Shahab Shah. Ron and Shahab discussed the importance of balancing human empathy with the demands of reality, why tone matters, first steps for making improvements, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here.

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Shahab’s favorite quote (2:25)

His background (4:17)

What was the most influential (6:23)

What Shahab is looking for when first entering a manufacturing plant (8:26)

His first steps for making improvements (13:50)

Balancing human empathy with reality (16:01)

Why tone matters (25:08)

How Shahab handles expectations (31:06)

Shahab’s final words of wisdom (42:46)

Podcast Resources

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Shahab on LinkedIn

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What Do You Think?

Why else does tone matter?

This week’s guest is Pete Behrens. Ron and Pete discussed Pete’s book, “Into the Fog,” what it means for leaders to face uncertainty, why leadership is like cooking, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here.

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Pete’s quote (2:10)

His background (3:15)

Why people are the biggest source of variability (6:57)

What Pete means by “into the fog” (9:50)

Pete’s approach (14:14)

What’s better than sitting still (17:59)

Why leadership is like cooking (22:07)

The constraints Pete is seeing (28:41)

Pete’s final words of wisdom (32:32)

Podcast Resources

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Into the Fog

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What Do You Think?

What does venturing “into the fog” look or feel like for you?

This week’s guest is Brian Meyers. Ron and Brian discussed the heart-stopping story of how Brian’s facility caught fire, the profound difference lean made in saving it, what “unwavering commitment” means, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here.

In this episode you’ll learn: 

The quote Brian likes (4:16)

His background (5:35)

The fire at Brian’s factory (8:40)

How lean saved the day (15:14)

How they moved forward (17:04)

The emotions Brian felt that day (18:48)

Unwavering commitment (22:57)

His final words of wisdom (26:55)

Podcast Resources

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Brian on LinkedIn

Lean by Doing

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What Do You Think?

In what other truly profound ways can lean save lives, factories, whole businesses, etc?

This week’s guest is Kristin Kielich. Ron and Kristin discussed Kristin’s experiences with continuous improvement in education, dealing with resistance, measuring success, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here.

In this episode you’ll learn: 

The quote Kristin likes (2:51)

Her background (4:03)

About Kristin’s personal lean journey (11:48)

Dealing with resistance (14:13)

How the UC system uses Value Stream Mapping (19:01)

How their team is structured (21:23)

Measuring success (27:39)

Her final words of wisdom (31:03)

Podcast Resources

Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3

Kristin on LinkedIn

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What Do You Think?

How else could continuous improvement be used in an educational setting?

This week’s guest is Randall Dupre. Ron and Randall discussed Randall’s book, “Everyday Lean,” the kinds of mistakes Randall sees people making, what good leadership looks like, his favorite lean principles, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here.

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Randall’s quote (2:46)

His background (3:12)

Why he left the corporate world (6:22)

Why he wrote his book (8:38)

The mistakes people are making (9:39)

An example of good leadership (12:33)

His favorite lean principles (14:55)

A hard lesson he had to learn (20:06)

Randall’s final words of wisdom (24:47)

Podcast Resources

Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3

Randall on LinkedIn

Randall’s Website

Everyday Lean on Amazon

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Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here.

What Do You Think?

How do you learn to see waste?