The Lean Solutions Podcast

Hosted by Patrick Adams

Business

Website RSS feed

Episodes

297

Latest episode

Sep 2026

Language

About the show

This podcast offers business solutions to help listeners develop and implement action plans for lean process improvement and implement continuous improvement projects, cost reductions, product quality enhancements, and process effectiveness improvement. Listeners come from many industries in both manufacturing and office applications.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 8, 2026Episode 3631 min

Culture Is the Hidden Process

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Catherine McDonald is joined by Stephanie Angelo to explore why culture is the hidden process behind organizational performance. They discuss how organizations can improve processes all day long, but without a culture that supports trust, accountability, and engagement, those improvements are unlikely to stick. Stephanie explains why company culture should be viewed as a business strategy and offers a simple way to understand it: the personality of an organization. The conversation explores how leaders can intentionally shape that personality through values, behaviors, policies, and everyday interactions—and why creating a strong culture requires active involvement from senior leadership, not just middle managers or HR. The discussion also looks at psychological safety, differences in culture across teams, and the importance of creating alignment between departments. Stephanie shares practical insights into hiring for culture through behavior-based interviewing and explains how understanding a candidate's past behavior can provide a better picture of how they may contribute to an organization's culture. Finally, Catherine and Stephanie explore the growing role of AI in the workplace and why it should be used as a tool to prompt, assist, and support human thinking rather than replace it. They discuss the potential for AI to support team communication and collaboration while emphasizing the need to maintain human judgment and intentionality. Key Takeaways: 1. Culture is the hidden process that determines whether improvements truly stick 2. A strong company culture should be treated as an intentional business strategy 3. Culture is a shared responsibility, but senior leaders must actively model and support it 4. Hiring for culture requires understanding behaviors—not just skills and experience Links: https://stephanieangelo.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieangelosphr https://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/

September 1, 2026Episode 3535 min

Why Your Kata Isn’t Sticking

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams and Andy Olrich are joined by Dr. William Harvey to explore one of the biggest challenges in continuous improvement: sustainment. Together, they discuss why organizations can be great at launching improvement initiatives but struggle to maintain momentum and achieve lasting results. William identifies three fundamental conditions that influence whether improvement efforts stick: the work must feel meaningful, people must feel safe doing it, and they must have the time to do it. The conversation explores the critical role psychological safety plays in building ownership and engagement, along with how leaders can create trust by consistently listening to employees, removing obstacles, and following through on commitments. The discussion also dives into Toyota Kata and deliberate practice as practical approaches for developing problem-solving capability throughout an organization. William explains how small experiments, daily coaching, and shared responsibility between coaches and improvers can turn continuous improvement from a temporary initiative into an everyday habit. Whether you're leading a team, coaching problem solvers, building an improvement culture, or trying to prevent your latest initiative from becoming another "flash in the pan," this episode provides practical insights for creating an environment where continuous improvement can truly sustain. Key Takeaways: Sustainment requires meaningful work, psychological safety, and protected time Leaders build trust by listening, removing barriers, and consistently following through Continuous improvement must become part of the work—not something added on top of it Toyota Kata builds problem-solving capability through deliberate practice and experimentation Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drwilliamharvey https://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/

August 25, 2026Episode 3424 min

Behavior Profiles and Kata in the Workplace

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Natalie Howden is joined by Cindy Darnell, Steve Burgett, and Jordan Kimball for a preview of their sessions at the Lean Solutions Global Summit. Together, they explore how organizations can design better processes, reduce ambiguity, strengthen communication, and develop people through continuous improvement. Steve and Jordan share how their work at Gentex focuses on designing systems that make problems visible, reduce noise and chaos, and create the stability needed for people to become proactive problem solvers rather than constant firefighters. They also discuss how these principles can be applied beyond manufacturing to support and administrative environments. Cindy dives into DISC and how understanding different communication and behavioral styles can help leaders navigate change, strengthen teams, and support lean culture transformation. The conversation also explores the connection between people and innovation, the importance of understanding ourselves and others, and how Kata can become a powerful people development process. Whether you're leading change, improving processes, developing people, or building a stronger continuous improvement culture, this episode offers practical insights for creating systems that work better and teams that work better together. Key Takeaways: 1. Design processes to make problems visible and reduce ambiguity 2. Standardization and stability give people more room to problem-solve and innovate 3. Understanding different communication styles can make change more effective 4. People and innovation are better together when communication and systems support both Links: https://www.findleansolutions.com/summit-2026/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/

August 18, 2026Episode 3331 min

Why Batching is Slowing Your Team Down

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Shayne Daughenbaugh and Andy Olrich welcome James Martin to explore why batching often feels more efficient, but can actually hurt the flow of an entire organization. James shares real-world examples of reducing batch sizes and moving toward flow, including a transformation that reduced processing time from 14 hours to as little as 1.5 hours while significantly increasing output. The conversation explores how batching creates waiting, excess inventory, bottlenecks, and localized efficiency, and why teams need to focus on the flow of the entire system rather than individual productivity. James also explains how smaller batch sizes, experimentation, visual management, and employee empowerment can help organizations identify problems more quickly and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Whether you're trying to reduce waste, improve manufacturing flow, or build a stronger continuous improvement culture, this episode offers practical examples of how reducing batching can help work move faster and more effectively through an organization. Key Takeaways: Focus on flow—not localized efficiency Smaller batches can expose and eliminate waste Make bottlenecks and problems visible Empower teams to experiment and improve Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-martin-4a4629254/ https://srasolutions.com.au/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/

August 11, 2026Episode 3225 min

People + Innovation: A Pre-Summit Series

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams is joined by Rebecca Moyers, Director of Operational Excellence for the State of Missouri, for a preview of her session at the Lean Solutions Summit, The Feedback Advantage. Rebecca shares how the State of Missouri is using employee and customer feedback to guide process improvement, strengthen experiences, and focus limited resources on the improvements that matter most. The conversation explores how Missouri built an operational excellence community across 17 executive agencies, uses feedback to support both employee and customer experience, and applies omni-channel listening to better understand the entire customer journey. Rebecca also explains why organizations need to look beyond internal silos and consider whether every part of an experience connects seamlessly from the customer's perspective. Rebecca shares practical examples of collecting feedback through website interactions, surveys, call centers, and operational data, and emphasizes that organizations shouldn't ask for feedback unless they're prepared to act on it. Most importantly, she explains that these principles aren't limited to government or large organizations; teams in virtually any industry can use intentional feedback to improve processes, culture, and the experiences they create. Key Takeaways: Feedback helps organizations focus improvement efforts on what matters most Great customer experiences require looking at the entire journey—not individual silos Employee and customer feedback become more powerful when paired with operational data Don't ask for feedback unless you're prepared to act on it Links: https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/

August 4, 2026Episode 3135 min

People + Innovation: A Pre-Summit Series

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams is joined by Paul Doyle and Shawna Hondorp for a preview of their sessions at the Lean Solutions Summit. Together, they explore two critical topics shaping today's organizations: developing leaders through intentional systems and using AI to strengthen talent acquisition without losing the human connection. The conversation dives into why leadership development should be treated as a business process rather than a training program, how specific leadership behaviors can be standardized and developed across every level of an organization, and why AI works best when paired with a thoughtful strategy. Shawna also shares practical insights into using AI responsibly in recruiting, emphasizing transparency, compliance, and the importance of maintaining authentic human relationships throughout the hiring process. Whether you're leading a team, developing future leaders, building an AI strategy, or improving your hiring process, this episode provides practical insights for creating stronger leaders, smarter systems, and more intentional organizations. Key Takeaways: Leadership development is a business process—not just a training program Strong leadership is built through intentional behaviors and systems AI should enhance human connection, not replace it A successful AI strategy requires intentionality, transparency, and trust Links: https://www.findleansolutions.com/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/

July 28, 2026Episode 3033 min

How to Find the Real Root Cause

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Shayne Daughenbaugh sits down with Seamus Maguire to explore one of the biggest reasons problem-solving fails, even in organizations with experienced people and proven Lean tools. Drawing from his new book, Finding Fact Before Fixing , Seamus explains how cognitive biases, assumptions, and the pressure to find quick answers often lead teams to solve the wrong problem. The conversation explores why hypothesis testing and experimentation should be at the center of every problem-solving effort, how leaders can ask better questions to uncover true root causes, and why collecting the right data is more important than simply collecting more data. Seamus also shares practical ways to challenge assumptions, use the scientific method in everyday problem-solving, and create a culture where teams focus on finding facts before implementing fixes. Key Takeaways: Challenge assumptions before finding solutions Use hypothesis testing instead of educated guesses Ask better questions to uncover root causes Collect the right data—not just more data Links: linkedin.com/in/seamusmaguire?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios https://www.routledge.com/Finding-Fact-Before-Fixing-How-Business-Professionals-Can-Avoid-False-Assumptions-When-Solving-Problems/Maguire/p/book/9781041130307 https://www.findleansolutions.com/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/

July 21, 2026Episode 2938 min

People + Innovation: A Pre-Summit Series

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams is joined by Brett Lesiewicz, Judd VanBergen, and Phil Ranck for a preview of their sessions at the 2026 Lean Solutions Summit. Together, they explore how stronger relationships, proactive planning, and better communication help organizations succeed in uncertain environments. The conversation highlights how Lean tools like the Last Planner System, takt planning, and visual management are transforming the construction industry by creating alignment, improving collaboration, and reducing uncertainty before work even begins. Phil also introduces the Seven Thinking Gears, a structured communication framework designed to make meetings more productive, uncover innovative ideas, and empower every team member to contribute to continuous improvement. Whether you're in construction, manufacturing, healthcare, or another industry, this episode offers practical insights into building stronger teams, improving communication, and creating more predictable results through Lean thinking. Key Takeaways: 1. Strong relationships create certainty in uncertain environments 2. Proactive planning prevents costly rework 3. Better communication unlocks innovation 4. Lean principles apply far beyond manufacturing Links: https://www.findleansolutions.com/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/

July 14, 2026Episode 2832 min

Lead With Your Eyes

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Andy Olrich and Catherine McDonald sit down with Andrew Kettner to discuss why one of the most overlooked leadership skills, eye contact, can have a profound impact on trust, communication, and continuous improvement. Andrew explains how effective leaders must look beyond reports, dashboards, and data by practicing Lean's "go and see" mindset. Through genuine face-to-face interactions, leaders gain valuable insights into emotions, engagement, and the real challenges their teams face. The conversation also explores the connection between eye contact, empathy, emotional intelligence, and building stronger workplace relationships. Andrew shares personal stories from his military leadership experience and cancer journey that demonstrate how meaningful human connections can influence both leadership and life. Whether you're leading a Lean transformation or simply looking to become a more effective leader, this episode offers practical ways to strengthen your leadership presence by learning to truly see the people you lead. Key Takeaways: Great leaders practice "go and see" by engaging directly with people—not just data. Eye contact builds trust, empathy, and stronger workplace relationships. Emotional intelligence helps leaders better understand both people and processes. Small, intentional interactions create stronger Lean cultures and better leadership. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkettner https://www.findleansolutions.com/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/

July 7, 2026Episode 2632 min

People + Innovation: A Pre-Summit Series

What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this episode, Patrick Adams sits down with John Dyer to explore the thinking behind the Lean Excellence World Championship and why it has become one of the most engaging learning experiences at the Lean Solutions Summit. The conversation dives into how the competition gives participants and observers the opportunity to see Lean in action. From process mapping and visual management to problem-solving, teamwork, and customer focus. John explains why process mapping is the foundation of every successful improvement effort , how it helps teams visualize workflows, uncover hidden waste, identify bottlenecks before implementation, and create stronger future-state processes. He also shares why every organization, regardless of industry, can benefit from making process mapping a core part of its continuous improvement strategy. Whether you're new to Lean or looking to strengthen your continuous improvement efforts, this episode provides practical insights into learning Lean through hands-on experience and applying process mapping to improve any process. Key Takeaways: 1. Process mapping is the foundation of improvement 2. Lean is learned best through hands-on experience 3. Customer focus drives better decisions 4. Great Lean cultures embrace problems Links: https://www.findleansolutions.com/ https://www.findleansolutions.com/lean-summit/