This week's guest is Steven Langer. Ron and Steven discussed what it means to optimize workplace culture, what a strong organizational culture looks like, dealing with burnout, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Steven likes (2:51) His background (3:42) What he means by "healthy" (5:15) How to know whether you're winning or losing (7:07) How the size of the company factors in (9:40) What a strong organizational culture looks like (11:18) Balancing taking care of people with revenue (12:57) His experience ..read more

This week's guest is Craig Coyle. Ron and Craig discussed Craig's experience as an Apache pilot, what employee engagement is and isn't, why new leaders quit, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  Craig's favorite quote (2:37) His background (3:26) The first time Craig flew an Apache on his own (7:01) Why employee engagement is critical (8:40) What engagement looks like (12:29) Craig's advice he gives to senior leaders (17:26) Why new leaders quit (21:21) His advice for finding community (27:25) Mentorship versus commu ..read more

This week's guest is Uriel Eisen. Ron and Uriel discussed the importance of kanban, why increasing your inventory isn't always a bad thing, Uriel's background and projects, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Uriel likes (2:33) His background (5:14) What "tripling production" means (9:03) How he increased their inventory (14:01) How it's measured (19:13) Uriel's advice on how to get started (22:14) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Austere Manufacturing Austere Manufacturing ..read more

This week's guest is Adam Lawrence. Ron and Adam discussed reliability kaizen, what it means, how it relates to the Wheel of Sustainability, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Adam likes (2:25) His background (3:17) What reliability kaizen means to Adam (4:52) About OEE (8:59) The steps he and his team follow (10:12) What this has to do with reliability (14:38) The resistance he's seen teams face (16:58) About the Wheel of Sustainability (22:28) How he and his teams have applied it to reliability kaizen ..read more

This week's guest is Sarah Tilkens. Ron and Sarah discussed The KPI Lab (which Sarah founded), why talent development is critical, what leaders can do to help, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Sarah likes (2:14) Her background (3:19) About the KPI lab (4:27) Why talent development is critical (5:23) What leaders can do (8:38) Combining lean and talent development (12:18) What it's been like working on the KPI lab (17:01) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Sarah on LinkedIn ..read more

This week's guest is Thomas Gelmi. Ron and Thomas discussed Thomas's unique background, how he helps leaders develop their "human" skills, navigating different personalities at work, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Thomas likes (2:48) His background (4:16) What "human skills" refers to (7:33) Why how we feel about ourselves matters (10:29) Navigating personality differences (16:36) His opinion on why developing human skills is good for business (21:38) A leader's ability and willingness to be vulnerabl ..read more

This week's guest is Alen Ganic. Ron and Alen discussed visual management, examples of visual management they have seen and created, dealing with any resistance you might meet, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote Alen likes (2:46) His background (3:12) What visual management is (5:28) Examples he's seen and created (6:20) A story about Ron's time at FlowServe (11:08) Alen's story about how he helped saved a company (15:35) Dealing with resistance (20:23) The practical mistakes people make (25:26) Tips for ..read more

This week's guest is Dr. Brad Miller. Ron and Dr. Miller discussed what it's like to teach Lean and Six Sigma at a university, the business lessons that can be learned from academia, his grocery store simulation, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  The quote that inspires Dr. Miller (3:01) His background (4:29) How he started working at a university (6:51) What students are like these days (9:07) How he structures his classes (13:53) About his grocery store checkout simulation (18:37) How mixing different personalit ..read more

This week's guest is Ridha Dhrifi. Ron and Ridha discussed ISO 9001, how it aligns with lean manufacturing, balancing compliance with operational efficiency, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  Ridha's favorite quote (3:01) His background (4:29) The alignment between ISO 9001 and lean manufacturing (5:49) About ISO 9001 (7:09) Industries interested in ISO 9001 (8:31) Making sure it's an authentic certification adding real value (10:42) How lean thinking can help and harmonize (12:45) How current and future state wor ..read more

This week's guest is Ron Pereira. In this new years-themed episode, Ron explains why forming new habits is often more effective than keeping new resolutions, how to form those habits, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you'll learn:  Why resolutions fail (3:20) Outcomes versus the process (4:51) Ron's habit of exercising (7:05) Creating standard work for habits (8:14) Lean and new habits (11:06) Define value (11:20) Start small (12:07) Measure your progress (14:22) Eliminate waste (15:15) Standardizing the approach (16:22) Sustai ..read more