Connecting the Dots

Hosted by Skip Steward

Business Management Health FitnessInterviews guests

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288

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Baptist Management System (BMS) is an improvement system that focuses on creating a holistic management system built on purpose, people, and process. BMS exist within the overall operating system of Baptist Memorial Health Care. BMS promotes and is based on the following 11 Guiding Principles: Respect, Humility, Trust, Empathy, Perfection, Process Focus, Scientific Thinking, Quality at the Source, Flow and Pull, Constancy of Purpose, Systemic Thinking. As we embed the 11 Guiding Principles into our culture, demonstrated by our ideal principled-based behaviors, we will be passionate about continually improving the experience and outcomes for our customers. The information discussed in the Connecting the Dots podcast are meant as a discussion about the subject of continuous improvement. It might showcase what our best, most motivated users have achieved. Expected outcomes and results may vary. All testimonials are real, may not reflect another user's experience, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results. Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation is accredited by the Mississippi State Medical Association to provide continuing medical education for physicians. BMHCC designates this enduring material for a maximum of .50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. It is the policy of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation (BMHCC) to promote balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all educational activities; to require disclosure of relevant financial relationships from individuals engaged in content development or planning of a CME activity; to identify and resolve conflicts of interest related to those relationships; and to make disclosure information available to the audience prior to the CME activity. Presenters are required to disclose discussions of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or devices during their presentations. None of the hosts or guests have financial interests to disclose.

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60 recent

October 1, 202625 min

The Praise Paradox with Elisabeth Swan

Elisabeth Swan has spent more than 3 decades helping people figure out what’s wrong with processes—and what to do about it. A Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, she has coached and taught thousands of problem solvers, from local nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies, helping them build better systems and stronger problem-solving cultures. These days, she’s equally interested in what we’re not trained to look for: what’s working, who contributed, and what people are doing that’s worth repeating. Her latest work, The Praise Paradox™, explores how our natural tendency to spot problems can cause us to overlook the contributions that drive both continuous improvement and human performance. Elisabeth is the award-winning author of Picture Yourself a Leader and co-author of The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit, and co-host of the Just-in-Time Cafe podcast. She teaches Lean at UC San Diego Health and has taught improvement and leadership courses at UC San Diego, UC Davis, and the University of Denver. Before all that, Elisabeth performed with ImprovBoston—an experience that still shapes how she thinks about curiosity, experimentation, listening, and the importance of building on what other people have to offer. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

September 24, 202627 min

Variation: Goal Setting

John A. Dues serves as the chief learning officer and chief operating officer at United Schools in Columbus, Ohio. He is an accomplished systems leader and improvement science scholar-practitioner and recently published his first book entitled Win-Win: W. Edwards Deming, the System of Profound Knowledge, and the Science of Improving Schools. Throughout his career he has served on the founding teams of seven school and nonprofit organizations. John has a BA from Miami University, an M.Ed. from the University of Cincinnati, is a Teach For America alumnus, and completed the Improvement Advisor program through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

September 17, 202633 min

Artificial Organizations with Barry O’Reilly

Barry O’Reilly is an entrepreneur, executive advisor, and bestselling author who works with senior leaders to redesign how their organizations perform, make decisions, and innovate at scale. He is the co-founder of Nobody Studios, a global Top 10 AI venture studio building and launching 100 companies in five years—applying venture-speed experimentation to de-risk new business creation before significant capital is deployed. Barry is the author of Lean Enterprise: How High Performance Organizations Innovate at Scale—part of Eric Ries’s Lean Series and recognized by Harvard Business Review as a must-read for CEOs—and Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results, a repeatable system that enables leaders to surface legacy behaviors, replace outdated assumptions, and build the capabilities required to perform under uncertainty. His latest book, Artificial Organizations, challenges leaders to redesign work, judgment, and productivity in an era defined by human and machine intelligence. His work is grounded in enterprise transformation and venture-scale execution. He serves as faculty at Singularity University, contributes to The Economist, and advises boards and executive teams of global, high-growth and established organizations. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

September 10, 202625 min

I Think, Therefore I Know: Scientific Thinking for Unscientific Organizations with Brad Nelson

Brad Nelson is the author of I Think, Therefore I Know: Scientific Thinking for Unscientific Organizations , co-host of The Agile for Agilists podcast, and organizer of Agile Detroit. Drawing on experience in lean manufacturing, software development, and organizational change, he explores how incentives, feedback, and learning shape organizations and the people within them. He lives in Metro Detroit. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

September 3, 202630 min

The Future of Work Is Grey with Dan Pontefract

Dan Pontefract is a renowned leadership strategist, author, and keynote speaker with over two decades of experience in senior executive roles at companies such as SAP, TELUS, and Business Objects. Since then, he has worked with organizations worldwide, including Salesforce, Amgen, Nestlé, Virgin Media O2, Autodesk, BMO, the Government of Canada, Manulife, Nutrien, and BDO, among others. As an award-winning and best-selling author, Dan has written six books: THE FUTURE OF WORK IS GREY, WORK-LIFE BLOOM, LEAD. CARE. WIN., OPEN TO THINK, THE PURPOSE EFFECT, and FLAT ARMY. His 2024, Work-Life Bloom, is the 2024 Thinkers50 Best New Management Book and the Gold Medal Winner of the Axiom Business Book Awards. He also writes for Forbes and Harvard Business Review. Dan is a renowned keynote speaker who has presented at four TED events and has delivered over 600 keynotes. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business and has received over 25 industry, individual, and book awards. Dan’s career is interwoven with corporate and academic experience, coupled with an MBA, B.Ed, and multiple industry certifications and awards. Notably, Dan is listed on the Thinkers50 Radar, HR Weekly’s 100 Most Influential People in HR, PeopleHum’s Top 200 Thought Leaders to Follow, and Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

August 27, 202630 min

Rewiring Your Organization for AI with Koreen Pagano

Koreen Pagano is a globally recognized expert in skills strategy, AI transformation, analytics, learning technology, and immersive experiences. She founded Tandem Learning, where she pioneered immersive learning through virtual worlds, games, and simulations. She has held product leadership roles at Lynda.com, LinkedIn, D2L, Degreed, and Wiley. Today, Pagano advises organizations on AI and skills transformation in her role as co-founder of Rising Tide Cooperative and CEO of Talent Rewire. She is a seasoned international speaker and author of Immersive Learning and Building the Skills-Based Organization. She lives in Carpinteria, CA. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

August 20, 202633 min

The Way of Excellence with Brad Stulberg

Brad Stulberg researches, writes, and coaches on performance, well-being, and sustainable excellence. He is the bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness, Master of Change, and co-author of Peak Performance. Stulberg regularly contributes to the New York Times, and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic among many other outlets. He serves as the co-host of the podcast "excellence, actually" and is on faculty at the University of Michigan. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina. Follow him on Instagram @Bradstulberg Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

August 13, 202632 min

Parallels between the A3 and the H&P with Lavon Medlock

Lavon Medlock has spent over two decades enhancing leaders’ skills in problem-solving and coaching. Skilled in a variety of continuous improvement methods, she has trained leaders in creating effective daily management systems, deployed an integrated facility design approach to new construction projects like a 90,000-square-foot patient tower, and enhanced operations across different sectors. With a primary focus on the healthcare industry, Lavon has worked with clinical leaders to combine the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s teachings on quality with A3 thinking and key project management principles. She’s a practitioner, teacher, and coach in the field of A3 thinking and holds certifications in both Project Management (PMI-PMP) and Six Sigma Green Belt. In addition to instructing and coaching for the Lean Enterprise Institute, she teaches graduate coursework at The Ohio State University. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Oregon Health & Science University. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

August 6, 202629 min

Following Your Heart with Dr. Richard D. Mainwaring

Richard Mainwaring, MD, has been a pediatric cardiac surgeon since 1990 and has been a faculty member at the Stanford University School of Medicine since 2003. During Dr. Mainwaring’s career as a surgeon, he has contributed to this specialized field of surgery in many realms, including clinical medicine, basic science research, and publications. Dr. Mainwaring is a member of all four professional thoracic surgical organizations, including the American Association of Thoracic Surgery, Society for Thoracic Surgeons, Western Thoracic Surgical Association, and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association and is also a member of the American College of Surgeons and Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society. In 2012, the congenital cardiac surgery fellowship program at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This program is one of 17 accredited congenital cardiac surgery training programs in the US. Dr. Mainwaring has been program director at LPCH since its inception and is currently Chairperson of the Congenital Thoracic Surgical Directors Association. Dr. Mainwaring teaches intra-operative management and surgical technique to the congenital cardiac surgery fellows. Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.

July 30, 202625 min

A Lifetime of Coaching: Reflections and Lessons Learned with Margie Hagene

Margie is an organizational effectiveness and Lean Thinking / Continuous Improvement teacher and coach. For over thirty years, she has helped executives and senior leaders recognize their changing roles and responsibilities in complex systems. By providing frameworks for thinking and learning, and evidence-based structures for practice, she supports leaders in identifying and developing appropriate behaviors and skills for leading and creating an organization filled with competent, confident problem solvers. For eighteen years, Margie worked as a global internal consultant for Ford Motor Company at all levels within the organization - from team leaders to the COO - in Product Development, Design and Manufacturing. Since 2005, Margie has worked in a variety of leading service and manufacturing industries, including healthcare, PreK-12 education, distribution, food service, and transportation/mobility. Her work has included university programs in areas of leadership development, Lean Thinking, and organizational learning. Margie’s ongoing community work focuses on issues of hunger relief and land conservation. Clients invariably learn to appreciate Margie’s ability to quickly assess leadership qualities, identify issues of misalignment among management, and recognize disconnects between agreed to policies and principles and actual daily behaviors. She embodies the belief that intentional, balanced focus on both the social and technical components in complex systems is essential for long-term effectiveness of any improvement efforts. Margie holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Butler University, Indiana (USA), and a Master of Science Degree in Education from Indiana University (USA). Link to claim CME credit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DXCFW3 CME credit is available for up to 3 years after the stated release date Contact CEOD@bmhcc.org if you have any questions about claiming credit.