Topics and questions covered include:

• Why organizations adopt Lean tools but still lack clarity around priorities, roles, and decision rights -- and the first discipline leaders should adopt to fix it
• What to do when senior leadership has lost enthusiasm for the Lean journey
• How to prevent "automating waste" when AI and automation enthusiasm outpaces process stability -- and why "a process has to earn the right to be automated"
• Whether bloated management layers or frontline cuts are the real problem when economic pressure hits
• How to get leaders to recognize their job is to develop people and remove barriers
• How to tell whether non-compliance with a mapped process points to a design flaw or an implementation failure
• Centralizing vs. distributing CI capabilities -- and why the CI team's real job is teaching, not doing
• Why the X-Matrix confuses leaders and what Karen uses instead
• The first signs of operational excellence (or its absence) when walking a manufacturing floor
• How to influence leadership when there's no top-down sponsorship
• Adapting value stream mapping for variable, non-linear work environments
• What to do when an organization is too busy fighting fires to improve
• Keeping CI momentum through executive and frontline turnover
• How to avoid "gemba theater"
• What motivates Karen to keep going when teams are stuck

Karen Martin is a two-time Shingo Award-winning author of Clarity First, The Outstanding Organization, Value Stream Mapping, and Metrics-Based Process Mapping. She is the founder of TKMG and TKMG Academy.

Learn more about Karen's work: https://tkmg.comTKMG Academy: https://tkmgacademy.com

In this conversation, Karen shares how she went from working in hospital laboratories as a microbiologist to building and running operations at a fast-growing HMO -- and eventually founding her own consulting and education business. She talks about what drew her away from Lean tools toward the bigger questions of culture, leadership, and organizational clarity, and why lack of clarity tends to generate more emotional friction in workplaces than people expect.

The live webinar is March 11th at 1:00 PM Eastern. No slides -- just an hour of questions and answers on Lean, operational excellence, value stream thinking, leadership, and organizational design. Submit your questions in advance or ask them live.

Register or find the recording

TL;DR: Toyota’s real competitive advantage is not its tools -- it is mutual trust and mutual respect. Leaders are responsible for cultivating both. When trust is present, employees speak up, problems surface early, and continuous improvement accelerates. Without it, Lean becomes mechanical and unsustainable.

When executives discuss Toyota, the conversation often centers on tools.

Kanban. Andon. Standardized work. A3 thinking.

Those matter. But Toyota’s sustained performance does not come from tools alone. It comes from the leadership philosophy that makes those tools work.

At the center of that philosophy is mutual trust and mutual respect.

Not as cultural decoration.
As operational necessity.

Toyota is explicit: improvement depends on people surfacing problems quickly. That only happens when trust flows in both directions.

Toyota's own guiding principles website says they:

"Foster a corporate culture that enhances both individual creativity and the value of teamwork, while honoring mutual trust and respect between labor and management."

Leaders must trust employees to act responsibly.
Employees must trust leaders to respond constructively.

Without that reciprocity, performance deteriorates.

TL;DR: Respect for People is the foundation of Lean management. It means engaging employees as problem solvers, creating psychological safety so people speak up, developing standardized work with teams instead of forcing it on them, and implementing improvement software with people -- not to them. It includes high standards and accountability. Without Respect for People, continuous improvement becomes mechanical and unsustainable.

Respect for People in Lean management is the principle that employees are capable problem solvers who must be engaged, developed, and trusted in order for continuous improvement to succeed.

A dysfunctional workplace culture isn’t just an HR problem—it’s an operational one that directly affects retention, innovation, safety, and financial performance. In this episode, we explore the most common warning signs of a broken culture, including resistance to change, disengaged employees, burnout, lack of diversity in leadership, and the “black hole” where ideas and feedback disappear.

Drawing on research and real-world examples, we unpack why culture should be measured and managed as seriously as revenue or quality, and why surface-level fixes like perks or pizza parties don’t work. The conversation highlights three foundational pillars of a healthy, high-performance culture: strong employee engagement, alignment between people’s strengths and their roles, and continuous learning supported by psychological safety.

If your organization struggles with turnover, stalled improvement efforts, or chronic frustration on the front lines, this episode offers a practical lens for diagnosing the real issues—and a continuous improvement approach for fixing them at the system level.

Operational Excellence rarely fails because of a lack of ideas. More often, it breaks down when strategy, daily work, and improvement efforts operate in silos.

In this episode, Mark Graban explores what it really means to take a unified approach to OpEx—one that connects strategy deployment, process discipline, employee-driven improvement, and leader-led initiatives into a single, coherent system.

You’ll hear how organizations move beyond disconnected spreadsheets, emails, and project tools to create visibility, alignment, and learning across all levels of the organization. Mark also discusses how platforms like KaiNexus support this work—not by replacing leadership or Lean thinking, but by strengthening the management system that makes continuous improvement sustainable.

This conversation is especially relevant for leaders trying to:

• Bring strategy to life at the frontline

• Balance top-down direction with bottom-up improvement

• Create visibility without micromanagement

• Turn Operational Excellence into how the business actually runs

What makes a Lean transformation last not just a few years, but two decades? At Electrolux, the answer wasn’t more tools, more training, or more Kaizen events. The breakthrough came when the company realized that leadership behaviors — not Lean mechanics — were the deciding factor in whether improvement stuck.

In this episode, Sandro Casagrande shares the story behind the Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS), now in its 20th year. He explains why the early years of EMS produced uneven results, what changed when Electrolux shifted its focus to leadership habits, and how coaching routines, visual management, and leader standard work became the backbone of a sustainable improvement culture.

Drawing from more than 30 years with Electrolux, Sandro details:

• Why early EMS efforts succeeded in some plants but stalled in others
• How leadership behaviors became the turning point in creating organizational habits
• What neuroscience and habit loops taught Electrolux about sustaining change
• How coaching — not directing — accelerates team development and problem solving
• How sites reach gold and platinum performance levels, and why those gains hold even through turnover, new products, and process changes
• Why zero-injury safety goals became both realistic and expected
• How digitalization and platforms like KaiNexus now support global consistency and scale

Sandro also lifts the curtain on Electrolux’s leadership academy: a months-long experiential system where leaders learn by doing — running improvement cycles, receiving coaching, and ultimately becoming coaches themselves.

If you’re trying to build a culture where improvement happens every day, not just during events or crises, Sandro’s journey offers practical, hard-earned insight into what it really takes.

About the Guest
Sandro Casagrande is the Group Methodology & Documentation Leader at Electrolux. His Lean journey began in 1994, and he has been central to EMS from its earliest pilot projects through today’s global digitalization efforts. He was the first Italian to achieve EMS Master Gear certification and continues to guide EMS implementation across all business areas.

Register for the full webinar (Dec 10, 1 pm ET):
https://info.kainexus.com/unlock-the-power-of-leadership-the-electrolux-management-system-ems-way/webinar

Sandro shares insights from more than 30 years at Electrolux, including:
• How continuous improvement started with Total Quality Management in Italy
• The evolution of EMS from early pilots to a global system
• Why strong leadership behavior—not just tools and training—determines sustainability
• Lessons learned from uneven progress across sites
• How EMS Way reframed the company’s strategy to focus on culture, people development, and leader capability

If you're interested in Lean, leadership, cultural transformation, or sustaining improvement across a global enterprise, this discussion sets the stage for a powerful webinar.

Learn more about KaiNexus webinars: https://www.kainexus.com/webinars

This blog summarizes key insights from a comprehensive whitepaper detailing UMass Memorial Health's remarkable transformation journey. 

When Dr. Eric Dickson stepped into the CEO role at UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) in 2013, he inherited what most would consider an impossible situation. The healthcare system was hemorrhaging money with a record $55 million operating loss, teetering on the edge of defaulting on publicly traded debt, and struggling with poor patient and staff satisfaction scores. Decision-making had ground to a halt, with executive departures leaving leadership gaps throughout the organization.

Fast-forward eleven years, and UMMH tells a dramatically different story. One that offers powerful lessons for any organization seeking sustainable transformation through continuous improvement. Here are the key takeaways from their journey:

🔁 The five habit cues (and how to use them for lasting change)
📚 Books that shape how leaders think and grow—including new takes on familiar topics
🔍 What it really means when a measure becomes a target
🔊 Why audio learning fits modern leadership lifestyles
💡 Trust as the lubricant of continuous improvement—and why that matters now more than ever
📈 What’s coming next at KaiNexus to support improvement at scale

This episode blends practical insights, thoughtful reflection, and a little humor—ideal for anyone passionate about continuous improvement, Lean leadership, or building a better workplace culture.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.kainexus.com
📘 Mark’s book: https://www.mistakesbook.com

To be presented Sept 30 at 5 pm ET by Tracy O'Rourke.

Do you have a painful process, but people don’t seem to want to embrace change to improve it? Does it seem that people are comfortable with the status quo? One of the most powerful Change Management tools you have is…Gemba Walks!  

Tracy O’Rourke

Co-Author "The Problem-Solver's Toolkit"
Co-Founder of the Just-in-Time Café
Co-Host of the Just-in-Time Café podcast
Master Black Belt UC San Diego Instructor

Parody Music Video CreatorA process improvement ZEALOT!

we’ll explore the psychology behind Gemba Walks specificallyrelated to some of the concepts shared in “Switch” by Chip & Dan Heath andwhy Gemba Walks are a MUST when you need difficult change to be easier

Here is the blog post

Employee participation is the heartbeat of any Lean or continuous improvement effort. Without it, even the best strategies stall. Drawing on research by Dr. Shweta Chopra and Jayaruwani Fernando—conducted inside a healthcare organization using the KaiNexus platform—this episode explores what really motivates people to engage with suggestion systems and improvement programs.

You’ll learn why performance expectancy (believing the system helps me do my job better) and social influence (seeing peers and leaders participate) are far more powerful drivers of engagement than system usability or resources alone. The findings highlight the importance of feedback loops, visible success stories, and leadership behaviors that create a culture where employees feel heard and valued.

Whether you’re leading a Lean transformation, managing a suggestion system, or simply striving to boost engagement in your organization, this research-backed discussion offers practical guidance on how to build momentum and make continuous improvement sustainable.

Summary

The continuous improvement model is a systematic approach where organizations constantly implement small, incremental improvements to services, products, and processes. Built on seven core principles, this model enables businesses of any size to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and engage employees in meaningful change that directly supports strategic goals.

You’ve identified inefficiencies. You have a clear roadmap. You know your improvement initiative can move the needle. What's next? You need executive buy-in.

One of the most common challenges for CI and OpEx leaders is getting senior leadership to engage, support, and actively champion improvement work. It's not that leaders don't care about the performance of CI and OpEx initiatives, but because of a combination of perception gaps, systemic challenges, and competing priorities. The good news? With the right framing and structure, it's absolutely possible to turn passive approval into active sponsorship. 

Below, we break down how to earn executive buy-in that translates into cultural and operational impact.

Manufacturers in the automotive sector face significant pressures today, from rising material costs and supply chain disruptions to the demand for faster production times and stricter regulatory requirements. Achieving continuous quality improvement (CQI) remains critical, as it not only enhances product consistency and drives compliance but also helps manufacturers stay competitive in a market that is constantly evolving.

Fortunately, continuous improvement has a long history in automotive manufacturing. Many of the tools and techniques widely used by organizations worldwide were explicitly developed to ensure the quality and efficiency of automotive manufacturing. Toyota was a pioneer of many of the CQI approaches used today. Whether you are using language like CQI, TQM, Lean, TPS, or Lean Six Sigma, these approaches described below still apply.

As you might imagine, the benefits of a successful continuous improvement program are significant, including...

If you’re a CI leader, you’ve likely experienced the paradox: you’re driving improvements across the organization, but your executive team still sees your program as “supporting work” and not strategic work.

You may hear positive feedback, even encouragement. But behind closed doors, your program is being measured against a different standard.

The good news? The C-suite isn’t intentionally withholding their expectations. They’re just operating with a set of priorities that live in another language. And until your improvement program speaks it, you’ll struggle to get traction, attention, or budget.

Here’s what your C-suite actually wants from your improvement work, even if they haven’t explicitly said it, and how you can deliver on those expectations in a way that secures long-term executive support...

Video, slides, and more

Learning objectives:

• Identify the hidden barriers that prevent Lean from gaining traction—and discover practical strategies to overcome them
• Learn the nine behaviors leaders and employees can adopt to build a culture of continuous improvement
• Gain strategic insights into driving cultural change across teams and entire organizations

Scott Gauvin is the CEO of Macresco Consulting and the Co-founder of the Respect for People Roadmap. With 30 years of experience in operations, he has helped organizations around the world and across industries rethink the path to transformation—not just in process, but in mindset.

A contributing author to Leading With Compassion: Cultivating Connection from the Inside Out, Scott believes real change happens when organizations bridge the gap between culture and strategy. Right now, he’s focused on helping organizations unlock performance by systematically cultivating the behaviors that make it possible.

We recorded this live as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar series. Bill shares hard-earned lessons on strategy, execution, and what it really takes to align a company around a few critical priorities.

We talk about:

• How to apply the 80/20 principle as a business operating system

• Why many improvement efforts fail from lack of strategic alignment

• The CEO’s role in creating a culture of continuous improvement

• Lean as a condition of employment—and what that actually means

• Daily management, small wins, and sustaining momentum

• Using Lean outside the factory—in sales, engineering, and the office

• The future of improvement, from AI tools to leadership mindset shifts

• What CI leaders should understand about a CEO’s perspective

Bill also discusses how he balances empathy and execution, shares thoughts on transforming healthcare through Lean, and offers advice for CI professionals who want to move into broader operational leadership roles.

Links:

• Bill’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bill-Canady/

• KaiNexus Webinars: https://www.kainexus.com/webinars

Thanks again to Bill for sharing his time, his insights, and his candor.

Presented by
Lindsey Booty, RN, BS, CNOR, is the Supervisor of Performance Improvement
Christopher Thomas, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at LSUHSC and Chief Quality Officer
LeaAnn Teague, MBA, MT(ASCP), SBB, PMP, is Sr. Director of Performance Improvement
from  Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center

In many hospitals, the process of recording, prioritizing, and addressing safety concerns raised by employees during patient safety rounds is often manual, fragmented, and lacks standardization. To overcome these challenges, Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center implemented KaiNexus to streamline the documentation, tracking, and resolution of safety concerns raised during patient safety rounds, while ensuring that risks are prioritized and addressed in alignment with the SAFER Matrix.

In this webinar, you'll learn how Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center leveraged KaiNexus to reinforce a culture where safety is everyone's responsibility. By providing a transparent and efficient system for raising and addressing concerns, team members are empowered to speak up, knowing their input will be heard and acted upon.

Register for the webinar

Lindsey shares how their team has built a culture of high reliability and accountability by combining weekly patient safety rounding with the powerful capabilities of KaiNexus—including weighted scoring and the SAFER Matrix.

You’ll learn how they:

• Close the loop on safety concerns raised by frontline staff

• Engage leadership in weekly visibility and action

• Use technology to drive transparency and accountability

• Align improvement methodology, leadership behaviors, and digital tools

This story is rooted in healthcare but packed with lessons for any industry focused on continuous improvement, safety, and culture change.

🎙️ Want to hear more? Join us for the full webinar on April 15 at 1:00 pm ET:
👉 Register here

📺 Can’t attend live? Register anyway and get access to the recording afterward.

#PatientSafety #ContinuousImprovement #KaiNexus #LeanHealthcare #ZeroHarm #AccountabilityCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #ImprovementCulture #LeanLeadership #HighReliability

In this episode, we explore how continuous improvement serves as a key pillar within a broader operational excellence strategy in healthcare. While many organizations strive to enhance quality and efficiency, real progress happens when continuous improvement is not treated as an isolated initiative but as an embedded practice within a structured system. Operational excellence provides the strategy, alignment, and leadership framework necessary to sustain and scale improvement efforts across an organization.

A critical factor in achieving operational excellence is leadership commitment. Senior leaders must do more than support improvement initiatives—they must integrate them into the organization’s strategic direction. This requires a shift from traditional command-and-control leadership to a coaching and mentoring approach, where leaders ask the right questions, remove obstacles, and create an environment where continuous improvement becomes a daily habit rather than a series of isolated projects.

For continuous improvement efforts to be sustainable, organizations need a well-defined management system. Operational excellence replaces traditional project-based thinking with a structured approach that ensures improvement initiatives are aligned with long-term goals, also known as the organization's "True North." Without this alignment, improvement efforts risk becoming fragmented and disconnected from the larger mission of delivering safe, high-quality, and reliable care.

Cultural transformation is another essential element of this journey. Operational excellence recognizes that meaningful change takes time, requiring organizations to "slow down to speed up." Rather than rushing through process changes, healthcare leaders must foster a culture where thoughtful planning and execution lead to lasting improvements. A common vocabulary around improvement efforts also helps ensure clarity, engagement, and a shared understanding among staff, reinforcing the connection between individual contributions and the organization's broader objectives.

Prioritization is key to avoiding burnout and ensuring improvement efforts are impactful. Without clear priorities, organizations may scatter their resources across too many initiatives, leading to frustration and a lack of meaningful progress. Operational excellence encourages a focused approach, typically emphasizing three to four high-impact priorities that align with strategic goals and drive breakthrough improvements.

Technology also plays a vital role in continuous improvement. Modern improvement platforms help teams collaborate, share data, and measure the health of their improvement culture. Real-time reporting and analytics enable organizations to identify challenges faster and address root causes more effectively, ensuring that improvement efforts lead to measurable and sustainable results.

Ultimately, continuous improvement is most effective when embedded within an operational excellence framework. This integration helps healthcare organizations channel the passion of their workforce into practical, long-term solutions that enhance quality, lower costs, and improve patient outcomes. By fostering a culture where continuous progress is part of daily operations, organizations can achieve sustainable success and drive meaningful change for years to come.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Career Evolution & Leadership: Jeff reflects on his 11-year journey at KaiNexus—from a focus on sales to embracing a broader role that includes marketing, customer experience, and internal culture.
• The Importance of Commitment: A discussion on how leadership behaviors, particularly a sustained commitment to operational excellence, are critical to long-term success.
• Building a Business Case for Continuous Improvement: Insights into aligning improvement efforts with strategic business goals, showcasing how measurable outcomes support growth and innovation.
• Cultivating a Culture of Improvement: Real-world examples of embedding continuous improvement into job roles and driving organizational change, including the impact on employee engagement and operational results.

Key Takeaways:

• Continuous improvement is not just about activity—it’s about achieving tangible business outcomes.
• Leadership commitment and accountability play a crucial role in overcoming obstacles and maintaining momentum in improvement initiatives.
• Integrating sales, marketing, and customer experience under one cohesive strategy can create a lasting impact on both internal culture and external performance.

Why Listen?
Whether you’re a champion of operational excellence or a business leader aiming to align improvement efforts with strategic goals, this conversation offers actionable insights and thoughtful reflections to help you build a more resilient and agile organization.

Connect with KaiNexus:
Explore the KaiNexus platform and learn how it can enhance your organization’s continuous improvement journey.

Presented by Shawna Forst, Performance Excellence, Quality & Risk Coordinator at MercyOne Newton Medical Center

What do physical education teachers and performance excellence professionals have in common? More than you think! This session will feature one former P.E. Teacher's perspective on the similarities between coaching kids and leading quality and improvement efforts in the workplace while also sharing how to leverage KaiNexus to support and encourage those endeavors.

In this webinar, you'll learn:

• To explore the basic fundamentals of being an effective coach, regardless of field.
• To identify how KaiNexus can be leveraged in being an effective coach.
• To understand how Lean methodology, leveraging KaiNexus, can help eliminate waste, build teamwork, reduce conflicts, reduce or eliminate defects, create IDEAL processes, services, and products as well as improve client satisfaction.

Shawna is the Performance Excellence Quality & Risk Coordinator and Lean Healthcare Coach at MercyOne Newton Medical Center. Shawna has been a Lean Healthcare facilitator since January 2007 and has two years of experience as a technician in a cardiac unit. Since then, she has had various roles in Healthcare Quality and Safety. Shawna graduated from Simpson College in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education and a Coaching Endorsement. In 2010, she became a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and received her LEAN Green Belt certification in 2014. She also received her Masters in Business Administration from Western Governors
University in 2018.

About the Presenter:Shawna Forst

In this engaging episode of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast, hostMark Graban welcomesGreg Jacobson, Co-Founder and CEO of KaiNexus, to discuss the much-anticipated KaiNexicon, the company's annual user conference. The conversation not only highlights the logistics and plans for the 2025 KaiNexicon but also dives into the essence of continuous improvement and the unique setup that makes this conference such a valuable experience.

Key Discussion Points

• Introduction to KaiNexicon 2025: Greg Jacobson shares his enthusiasm for the ninth annual KaiNexicon, emphasizing the conference’s goals and its role as a vital gathering for KaiNexus users.

• Reflections on 2024 and Forecasting for 2025: Greg talks about how closing out the previous year impacts a small team and shares optimism regarding the financial outlook for 2025.

• Importance and Impact of KaiNexicon: The dialogue explores the significance of KaiNexicon, especially the cultural cross-pollination among industries that attend.

• Continuous Improvement and Engagement: Both speakers discuss the structured feedback process used to enhance the conference each year, reflecting KaiNexus' commitment to improvement.

• Unique Features of KaiNexicon: Key aspects such as the SpeedNexus session, as well as interactive opportunities available to users, are highlighted.

• Product Sneak Peeks and Innovations: Greg shares his passion for product development and how Kinexicon serves as a platform to preview upcoming advancements.

  
  

  Memorable Quotes:

  • Greg Jacobson: "When you start realizing that you’re not copying and pasting even within industry, you can get a really excellent manifestation of what should lean or continuous improvement look like in your organization."

  • Mark Graban: "It’s not the type of event where you sit there passively for the whole time. There are interactive sessions."

  • Greg Jacobson: "At the fundamental core, all businesses are based on revenue, expenses, and people."

  Tune in next time for more insightful discussions on enhancing continuous improvement efforts.

Presented by Mark Graban
Hosted by Linda Vicaro

Are you looking for practical ways to eliminate errors and enhance efficiency in your organization? Join us for "Mistake-Proofing in Action: Real-World Examples Across Industries," an insightful webinar showcasing how organizations across healthcare, manufacturing, and service sectors have successfully implemented mistake-proofing techniques. Discover innovative solutions that prevent errors before they occur, improve safety and quality, and save valuable time and resources. Through inspiring case studies and actionable takeaways, you’ll learn how to adapt these proven approaches to your unique challenges. Don’t miss this chance to gain practical tools and insights to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence. Register today and see mistake-proofing in action!

February 12 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Mark Graban

Are you looking for practical ways to eliminate errors and enhance efficiency in your organization? Join us for "Mistake-Proofing in Action: Real-World Examples Across Industries," an insightful webinar showcasing how organizations across healthcare, manufacturing, and service sectors have successfully implemented mistake-proofing techniques. Discover innovative solutions that prevent errors before they occur, improve safety and quality, and save valuable time and resources. Through inspiring case studies and actionable takeaways, you’ll learn how to adapt these proven approaches to your unique challenges. Don’t miss this chance to gain practical tools and insights to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence. Register today and see mistake-proofing in action!

Mark Graban, a senior advisor to KaiNexus, is an internationally-recognized author, speaker, and consultant. His latest book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation, is available now. 

Mark is also the author of the award-winning book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement and others, including Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More.

He serves as a consultant through his company, Constancy, Inc. Additionally, Mark hosts podcasts, including “Lean Blog Interviews” and “My Favorite Mistake.”

Education: B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University; M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s “Leaders for Global Operations” Program.

About the Presenter:Mark Graban

We are often asked if continuous improvement and operational excellence are the same. They are not, but they are closely related. Continuous improvement involves constantly improving your business processes to reduce waste, cut costs, improve quality, and maximize human potential. It focuses on making each existing process perfect. Operational excellence goes further. It involves setting the organization up for growth by understanding what the market wants and creating an uninterrupted value stream that continuously feeds the need.
It is essential to understand the difference between these two complementary paradigms that guide business operations management so that you can apply elements of both to streamline operations and achieve your most critical strategic goals.

Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System, once said, “Without Standard Work, there is no Kaizen.” That’s a pretty bold statement, but when you think about the continuous improvement cycle, it makes a lot of sense. How can you move from the current state to the desired state if the current state is a moving target? Standard Work, which documents the current best practice for performing a task or process, and ensures that everyone is applying it, is a prerequisite for improvement.

Here are 15 ways that Standard Work benefits organizations that leverage it.

TKMG Academy

An exploration of implementing LSW throughout Sperber Companies, a distributed Landscape Maintenance business made up of organically-grown business and M&A (read multiple cultures). Covering everything from embracing current cultures, developing an organizational culture with a common language, level setting business leader responsibilities, introducing Lean thinking, and implementing daily rhythms, this webinar will discuss the efforts, hurdles, and learnings this 5-year-old business is living every day. Brent has spent more than 20 years working in and on the business, improving operations within high-speed manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, distributed-services environments, and governmental agencies. A Lean practitioner at heart, Brent received his formal Toyota Production System training while working for Toyota Motor Sales in their North American Parts Operations. While with Toyota, he was responsible for operational design of two new warehouses built in Puerto Rico and Mexico City. A certified TPS trainer, he developed strategic warehouse design standards, while also serving as the Toyota Customer Service Diversity and Inclusion Champion Coordinator. He helped develop a Lean program for the landscape maintenance industry, implementing and evolving continuous improvement programs across the country since 2009. This included co-leading a team focused on the operational integration of a $2 billion dollar merger. Brent is currently responsible for Learning & Development and CI for a start-up Landscape Maintenance & Construction company doing work in 14 states. He has a BA in Business Management from Mercyhurst University and is a retired military veteran, having served 21 years in the US Army and US Army Reserve.

I often find myself falling into the common trap of believing that if something is worthwhile, it is necessarily difficult. I think we all expect that valuable things are hard. The truth is, however, that sometimes the most effective and impactful things we can do are really quite simple.

When it comes to continuous quality improvement, this is absolutely the case.

Here are 9 examples of quality improvement tools, techniques, and technology that are uncomplicated yet extremely valuable.

Most of us have memories of playing the game of catch either as children or with our children. I really shouldn’t call it a “game” because there are no winners and losers. There is no defense because everyone is on the same side. One participant tries to deliver the ball to the other in a way that they will be able to grab and return it. The ability to catch and throw a ball is important because it is a foundation for success in many other, more complex sports. The Lean idea of catchball involves moving ideas and information from one person or team to another and, much like catch from childhood, it forms the basis for complicated decision-making and policy development.

The process you use to develop your strategic plan is as important as the plan itself. Many organizations adopt the Hoshin Kanri method (also known as Hoshin Planning or Strategy Deployment), which integrates daily management with the strategic breakthroughs needed to propel the organization forward. Hoshin Kanri helps create specific, actionable plans and allocates the resources necessary to achieve them.

An important element of Hoshin Kanri is not just the setting of top-down objectives but also ensuring a two-way dialogue between leadership and employees, known as "catchball." This ongoing feedback loop ensures that strategic objectives are both communicated effectively and adjusted based on input from all levels of the organization. The entire process becomes an iterative cycle that aligns with the Plan-Do-Study-Adjust (PDSA) framework, fostering continuous learning and improvement.

Here are the seven steps typically followed in the Hoshin Kanri process:

Presented by Melissa Sherman

Why is change so hard? Change is a complex and multifaceted process that often evokes a wide range of emotions and challenges. Despite these challenges, change is an inevitable part of life and is often necessary for growth, progress, and adaptation.

By acknowledging the difficulties associated with change and providing support, encouragement, and clear communications, we can help individuals and organizations embrace change and Continuous Improvements more effectively.

As continuous improvement practitioners, we don’t always think about the impact our continuous improvement initiatives will have on the employees.

Learning objectives: Throughout this session, we will look at various ways to improve the sustainability of our projects. Let’s discuss the importance of making sure we are embedding change management into your continuous improvement efforts. We will look at what change is, the resistance to it, the journey/change curve an individual goes through, the various change models, and some strategies you can use to assist in your efforts.

Accomplished Lean Leader and Sought-after Speaker recognized for driving continuous improvement initiatives and sharing change best practices, honed from 30 years of expertise in process excellence. Holistic ability to drive enterprise Six Sigma, Lean, and Kaizen deployments, delivering quantifiable productivity, efficiency, and waste elimination gains. Coached business teams during organizational adoption of agile solutions for high-level value delivery. Delighted business partners and stakeholders through strategic data-driven roadmap planning and creation.

In this episode, we discuss how to create a culture of continuous improvement in the workplace. We'll cover seven surefire ways to promote improvement, including making it ongoing, involving all employees, removing barriers to improvement, celebrating all types of improvement, providing resources and recognition for improvement efforts, and leading by example. By following these tips, you can create a workplace where everyone is constantly striving to be better.

Cathy Burke shares her leadership approach of inviting team members to raise opinions, identify obstacles, and work collaboratively—values that Innovation Station enables through its platform. Jeff Marks adds how the platform supports their weekly commitment to optimize performance, leveraging both new ideas and past solutions to avoid redundant efforts.

Together, Cathy and Jeff highlight the impact of empowering every employee, regardless of role, to contribute ideas that can affect change on a larger scale. Discover how Innovation Station tracks, monitors, and facilitates execution on these improvements, ensuring that opportunities lead to tangible successes.

To learn more about how KaiNexus can support your improvement initiatives, visit www.kainexus.com.

When leaders consider implementing a structured business process improvement methodology, one of the challenges they often face is explaining to employees what types of opportunities to consider. Usually, there are some apparent needs that people attack immediately. Still, once those are addressed, it can be challenging to recognize the flaws in processes, especially ones you operate every day.

A practical approach for overcoming this issue is providing employees with categories of improvement potential to keep in mind. Sharing a few examples with your team — and asking lots of questions — can help spark ideas, get people thinking creatively, and foster innovation.
Of course, recognizing the opportunities for improvement is only the first step. Next, your team will need to leverage various improvement techniques to implement positive change.
This post breaks down common improvement needs into several categories and then covers several practical tools for problem-solving.

Register here

I'm excited to invite you to join me on August 21st for a special webinar titled “Ask Us Anything! Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement.” This session, running from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET, is designed to be highly interactive, with a focus on your questions and insights.

You can also view this as a LinkedIn Live streaming session. But we'll only be able to take and answer live questions from the Zoom Webinar crowd.

Psychological safety is a crucial foundation for any organization striving to foster continuous improvement. When team members feel safe to speak up–whether it's to share ideas, report problems, or admit mistakes–they are more likely to contribute to a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Without psychological safety, the fear of blame or retaliation can stifle innovation and lead to missed opportunities for growth.

In our previous KaiNexus webinar, I discussed the importance of psychological safety and how it ties into continuous improvement. If you missed that session, don't worry–you'll receive a link to the recording when you register. I encourage you to watch it before the August 21st webinar, as it will set the stage for our discussion.

I'll kick off the session with a brief 15-minute presentation recapping the key points from the previous webinar and sharing some updated thoughts on fostering psychological safety. We'll then conduct live polling to gauge the level of psychological safety attendees feel in their organizations, providing us with real-time data to inform our discussion.

The heart of this webinar will be the Q&A session, moderated by Morgan Wright. I'll be joined by some other “KaiNexians” to share their thoughts on our culture.

This is your chance to ask anything related to building a culture where everyone feels safe to engage in continuous improvement activities. Whether you're curious about specific strategies, leadership behaviors, or methods for sustaining psychological safety over time, we're here to provide practical insights.

By the end of this session, you'll be able to:

• Define psychological safety and understand its critical role in the workplace.
• Identify the connection between psychological safety and continuous improvement.
• Develop actionable strategies for cultivating psychological safety within your teams.
• Assess and sustain psychological safety in your organization.

To sum up, my goal for this webinar is to help you develop practical strategies to build psychological safety in your teams. This is about more than just making people comfortable–it's about creating an environment where continuous improvement is possible because people feel safe to contribute, challenge the status quo, and learn from mistakes.

I hope you'll join us and bring your questions, your experiences, and your ideas. Let's make this a lively and impactful session!

Register: Ask Us Anything! Psychological Safety and Continuous ImprovementWhy This Topic MattersWhat to Expect on August 21stLearning Objectives

1. Strategy Articulation:

   • Karen emphasizes the need for strategy to be communicated in a clear and powerful way. This ensures that all stakeholders understand the direction and objectives of the organization, fostering a unified approach towards achieving goals.

2. Organizational Alignment:

   • The importance of aligning the leadership team and the entire organization to the company's goals is highlighted. Karen discusses methods to ensure that everyone understands how their contributions align with and support the overall strategy.

3. Operational Alignment:

   • Ensuring that processes and operations are consistent and aligned with the strategy is crucial. Karen shares insights on how to streamline operations to support strategic objectives effectively, reducing inefficiencies and improving performance.

4. Executing with Excellence:

   • Karen underscores the necessity of having a robust structure and method in place to manage strategy and key initiatives. This includes establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and metrics to track progress and ensure accountability.

5. Organizational and Culture Change:

   • Building a culture of performance improvement and bringing people along for the journey is essential for sustained success. Karen discusses techniques for fostering a culture that embraces change, continuous improvement, and innovation.

Karen Friedenberg brings a unique perspective to strategy execution, combining her experience in consulting with her background in industry. As a former executive, she understands the importance of having executable plans that deliver results. She has led Strategic Program Management and Operational Excellence departments, overseeing large business and digital transformations. Karen is passionate about listening, connecting the dots, and using various disciplines such as Lean Six Sigma, change management, and design thinking to solve business problems and facilitate sustainable change.

For more detailed insights and to access the slides, visit: Leveraging a Strategy to Execution Framework - A Journey of Transformation.

Leaders who want to develop a culture of rapid continuous improvement have many tools at their disposal. So many that it can be challenging to keep them all in mind when deciding how to execute an opportunity for improvement or address a difficult challenge. Most organizations don't use all of these techniques simultaneously, but each can be remarkably effective when applied to the right situation.
We put together a list of the most common and helpful business process improvement tools and techniques that you can start implementing today. Each will help your team improve product quality, increase customer satisfaction, and achieve optimal performance with minimal waste.

Here at KaiNexus, we get the opportunity to chat with organizations across all industries and write about many different continuous improvement tools and techniques they use. Lately, I’ve been thinking about two things that most have in common.

First, the tools they use are generally simple but not easy.

And second, the key to success lies in the planning phase.

Both of these observations apply to Kaizen events. The concept is straightforward. A team sets aside other responsibilities for a few days to focus on solving an important challenge in short order. That’s pretty simple, but getting results requires a significant amount of planning and preparation

Fortunately, there is a well-defined path to success.

Here are the seven simple steps to follow before you kick off your next event.

It's time for another lively and informative "Ask Us Anything!" webinar. This time, we're featuring Linda Vicaro and Lynn Howell, the KaiNexus Lean Strategy team, joined by host and moderator Mark Graban.

Learn more about our webinars: https://www.kainexus.com/webinars

Related Content:

• Watch all three Habits webinars and more
• Mark's "Lean Office Gone Wrong" video

Questions:

Linda and Lynn , could you tell us about your professional background and career? Feel free to add a fun fact if you'd like.

How can we effectively communicate the value of continuous improvement to leadership and secure their buy-in?

How can we engage leaders to support ongoing daily continuous improvement or small Kaizen initiatives that might not have immediate, impressive ROIs?

How do we explain the benefits of continuous quality improvement and data usage to those who believe, "we already collect data" but don't use it to improve processes?

What strategies can overcome employee resistance to change in a lean transformation? What are best practices for engaging staff in continuous improvement?

How can a small company with limited resources start implementing lean practices?

How can a large organization with over 20,000 employees foster a culture of continuous improvement despite slow processes?

What tips and processes can help during an in-person session to create a new process for assessing and onboarding technology?

How can we integrate lean with existing digital transformation efforts to enhance continuous improvement and innovation?

How can we ensure consistent implementation and sustainment of lean practices over time?

Where should a sales or service-oriented organization focus first when implementing continuous improvement?

Register here

Presenters:

• Linda Vicaro
• Lynn Howell

Host and Moderator:

• Mark Graban

In this live event, our experts will tackle your questions about continuous improvement, lean methodologies, and more. Whether you submit your questions in advance or ask them during the webinar, our team is ready to provide valuable insights and practical advice.

🔹 Submit Your Questions: Get your queries answered by Linda, Lynn, and Mark by submitting them ahead of time or participating live.

🔹 Who Should Attend: This webinar is perfect for anyone involved in or curious about lean strategies and continuous improvement, including industry professionals, managers, and enthusiasts.

Don't miss this opportunity to engage directly with the KaiNexus Lean Strategy team. Subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay updated on our latest content and live events.

📅 Date: June 20 🕑 Time: 2:00 - 3:00 ET

Follow Us:

• Website: KaiNexus
• LinkedIn: KaiNexus LinkedIn

#LeanStrategy #ContinuousImprovement #KaiNexus #Webinar #AskUsAnything

Gemba walks have become a widely adopted management technique. Leaders gain valuable insights into organizational value flow and often discover improvement opportunities by directly visiting the work environment. This collaborative approach involves employees sharing details about their tasks and the reasons behind them.

Why are Gemba Walks Important?

We'll learn about his background, why he joined KaiNexus, and why he moved from Chicago. Is he is Cubs fan or a White Sox fan? And what does his think about Chicago pizza? The answer may surprise you.

Learn more about KaiNexus: https://kainexus.com/

James Womack and Dan Jones are the founders of the Lean Enterprise Institute and the Lean Enterprise Academy (UK), respectively. Their book, Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, is considered by some to be the bible of Lean Manufacturing. It was initially published in 1996 based on their in-depth study of Toyota’s fabled Toyota Production System (TPS).

Womack and Jones realized that every business output results from a process. Process thinking in operations management requires leaders and workers to view the organization as a set of related processes that work together for a common goal rather than a group of departments supporting a specific function.
These ideas are widely used by organizations in every sector to better design, track, and optimize business operations. Companies have not done away with functional departments. Instead, they view the work departments do differently. Departments don't exist on their terms. Each receives inputs from other functions and provides outputs that other departments must consume to complete their work.

In short, each function or person contributes to one or more business processes. So, instead of managing departments, process thinking means managing entire operations. A process might move through a series of teams or functions, each with its requirements, but the purpose of each one is to create value for the customer, which is what matters.

This was presented on May 30, 2024 by Dr. William Harvey Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion. What is Enterprise Excellence? Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization. What might I learn? A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo. Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor. Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.

Presented by Dr. William Harvey on May 30, 2024, 1 pm ET.

Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion.
What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization.
What might I learn?
A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo.
Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor.

About the Presenter:Dr. William Harvey

Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.

James Womack and Dan Jones are the founders of the Lean Enterprise Institute and the Lean Enterprise Academy (UK), respectively. Their book, Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, is considered by some to be the bible of Lean Manufacturing. It was initially published in 1996 based on their in-depth study of Toyota’s fabled Toyota Production System (TPS).

Womack and Jones realized that every business output results from a process. Process thinking in operations management requires leaders and workers to view the organization as a set of related processes that work together for a common goal rather than a group of departments supporting a specific function.
These ideas are widely used by organizations in every sector to better design, track, and optimize business operations. Companies have not done away with functional departments. Instead, they view the work departments do differently. Departments don't exist on their terms. Each receives inputs from other functions and provides outputs that other departments must consume to complete their work.

In short, each function or person contributes to one or more business processes. So, instead of managing departments, process thinking means managing entire operations. A process might move through a series of teams or functions, each with its requirements, but the purpose of each one is to create value for the customer, which is what matters.

Maybe Albert Einstein was talking about continuous improvement when he said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Too often, we see organizations struggling to measure only those things that can be tied to a dollar amount and they, unfortunately, neglect the impact of ALL improvements. Let’s have a look at the top six ways to measure the impact of your organization’s improvement efforts.

The renowned football coach and philosopher, Vince Lombardi, once said, “Perfection is unattainable, but if we chase perfection, we catch excellence.”

That’s the mindset of a Lean organization. There’s a bedrock belief that every process, investment, employee, or action should directly translate to value for the customer with no waste. That ideal is unattainable, of course, but Lean organizations try to get close to it every day, and in doing so, reach a level of success that their competitors can only envy.  Every Lean organization is unique, but there are some core qualities that they tend to have in common.

Join Mark Graban as he hosts Elizabeth Chase to preview her webinar...

April 24 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Elizabeth Chase

One City’s (and Library’s) Lean Story… Abridged
Join us for a look at how one library’s practice of Lean introduced a city to its benefits and informed the design of the 5th largest public library in Texas, a 158,000-square-foot library (in a repurposed rocket factory).
Covering everything from creating a Lean training curriculum to specific examples of applied Lean fundamentals – with a detour into Vaccine site administration – this webinar has something for everyone interested in continuous improvement and/or libraries.
Attendees will be able to ask as many questions that dive into specific details as time allows.

Elizabeth Chase is the Material Services Manager for the Frisco Public Library.

Elizabeth began her career with the City of Frisco in 2003. Before taking her current position, her roles at the Library included Adult Services Reference Librarian, Cataloger, and Senior Librarian.

In the category of “other duties as assigned,” Elizabeth is a member of the Frisco Lean Team Steering Committee, which develops and implements Lean certification for City employees. Her primary role is teaching a 4-hour Lean fundamentals class to employees throughout the City and celebrating the improvements made as a result.

Written by Danielle Yoon, read by Mark Graban.

The post starts:

Manufacturers of all kinds seek to achieve continuous quality improvement because it ensures the consistency of products delivered to customers and protects against the competition. It also paves the path to compliance with industry-specific standards. This is crucial in the automotive sector because defective vehicle parts may lead to expensive recalls—or worse, accidents that cost lives.

Fortunately, continuous improvement has a long history in automotive manufacturing. Many of the tools and techniques widely used by organizations worldwide were explicitly developed to ensure the quality and efficiency of automotive manufacturing. Toyota was a pioneer of many of the CQI approaches used today. Whether you are using language like CQI, TQM, Lean, TPS, or Lean Six Sigma, these approaches described below still apply.

As you might imagine, the benefits of a successful continuous improvement program are significant, including:

6 Steps to Continuous Improvement in the Automotive Industry

Learn more about KaiNexicon

In this captivating dialogue, Mark Graban helps unravel the remarkable journey of Greg, highlighting his deep-rooted dedication to continuous improvement that stretches back to his early days in his mother's tuxedo shop.

Unfolding the chapters of Greg's extraordinary journey, we learn about the inception of KaiNexus, which came to life from the chaos of email clutter, evolving to become a robust system that fosters improvement and efficiency. Greg's story serves as a testament to the far-reaching influence of a single individual's dedication to constant betterment, potentially catalyzing a revolution in the industry by propelling productivity and quality of care forward.

Presented by Tracy Defoe

How do you develop coaching skills in yourself and others? Why would you want to?

Everyone who manages people is asked to coach. Most of us think we are good at it. If you were lucky enough to learn how to develop and coach people because you were coached well from the start of your career, you are unusual. Most of us have to learn a new, quiet way of working with people to coach and develop them.

Join kata coach Tracy Defoe for her ideas on developing coaching skills the Toyota Kata way, based on years of personal and group experiential learning experiments.

This webinar is a preview of a deep dive Tracy is facilitating at the upcoming Kata Summit, KataCon10, coming up in April 2024.

Tracy Defoe is an adult educator specializing in learning at work. About ten years ago she started coaching to develop a scientific mindset in people improving their processes at work using the Improvement and Coaching Kata detailed in Mike Rother's Toyota Kata books. She is a cofounder of the global women's group Kata Girl Geeks, cofounder of Kata School Cascadia, and a facilitator with Tilo Schwarz's Kata Coaching Dojo Masterclass.

We often describe Kaizen as a way of looking at the world rather than a prescription for how to achieve positive change. Kaizen thinkers seek to make small changes to operations daily in search of higher quality, more efficiency, and less waste. But because the concept of Kaizen is so philosophical, it can be a challenge for people new to the idea to understand what it means in practical terms.

Related: What is Kaizen?

One useful tool for training managers to adopt the Kaizen mindset is called the 5 M’s. By consistently examining the 5 M’s, managers will be able to recognize when something in a process is not working and improve efficiency and profitability. This model can be used for risk mitigation, addressing safety issues, and improving quality. It can be used right alongside other Kaizen techniques such as the 5 Whys, 5S, and Gemba walks.

1. Humanpower
2. Machines
3. Materials
4. Methods
5. Measurements

Registration Link Webinar Description: How do you develop coaching skills in yourself and others? Why would you want to? Everyone who manages people is asked to coach. Most of us think we are good at it. If you were lucky enough to learn how to develop and coach people because you were coached well from the start of your career, you are unusual. Most of us have to learn a new, quiet way of working with people to coach and develop them. Join kata coach Tracy Defoe for her ideas on developing coaching skills the Toyota Kata way, based on years of personal and group experiential learning experiments. This webinar is a preview of a deep dive Tracy is facilitating at the upcoming Kata Summit, KataCon10, coming up in April 2024. Tracy Defoe is an adult educator specializing in learning at work. About ten years ago she started coaching to develop a scientific mindset in people improving their processes at work using the Improvement and Coaching Kata detailed in Mike Rother's Toyota Kata books. She is a cofounder of the global women's group Kata Girl Geeks, cofounder of Kata School Cascadia, and a facilitator with Tilo Schwarz's Kata Coaching Dojo Masterclass.

In this episode, we hear three clips with Tory Schrock, Director of Organizational Excellence at Pella Regional Health Center.

Learn more about KaiNexus

Ecologists and other environmentally aware people often talk about the goal of "Zero Waste." But, of course, that's an outstanding goal for business as well.
Reducing waste is at the heart of the Lean business methodology. The purpose of Lean is to spend more of your time creating value for customers by reducing or eliminating everything that does not produce value (AKA the waste). Value can take the form of finished goods, services, or information. To make it easier to identify waste in business processes, Lean practitioners target eight specific types of waste.
Although the Lean approach originated in manufacturing, it is used in almost every sector. Strikingly the eight wastes are common across industries, including software development, construction, healthcare, and education. Although it is not as apparent as it may be on a factory floor, the set of tasks and activities performed in any sector creates a production process that ultimately provides value to a customer.
While some of the wastes are self-explanatory, others are more difficult to recognize. This post aims to help by giving a few examples of each type of waste in various businesses. Hopefully, they will help you think about how waste may be occurring in your operations and how to begin designing processes that minimize it. Of course, the people who are most likely to find and correct waste are the process operators, so it is a good idea to share these examples with them and provide a way for each employee to submit opportunities for improvement.

Written by Maggie Millard, read by Mark Graban

Businesses use a host of methodologies to bring structure to the process of identifying and acting upon opportunities for improvement. You may be familiar with Six Sigma, Kaizen, Lean, Toyota Production System, and others. Although these methodologies differ, the foundation of each of them is the continuous improvement model. 
The continuous improvement model reflects the idea that organizations should constantly implement incremental improvements to services, products, and processes. The approach applies to every industry and size of business. Several central principles guide the continuous improvement model. 

Operations science describes the fundamental relationships that drive operations performance. However, the concepts are not widely understood or applied properly. Join us for this webinar with Ed Pound, Managing Director of the Operations Science Institute to:

• Learn a fundamental, expensive problem that plagues nearly all organizations yet is widely unknown
• Participate in an exercise to see if this problem affects your organization
• Learn some basic concepts of operations science and how the field can be used to accelerate your organization’s success right now, with your existing people and technology. No capex needed.

Ed Pound is the Managing Director of the Operations Science Institute, lead author of the book "Factory Physics for Managers," and co-author of the upcoming book "Applied Operations Science." Ed has over 35 years of experience managing, coaching, and training in operations across many different industries and countries and in businesses large and small.

Learn more about jobs at KaiNexus

In this enlightening episode of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast, join Jeff Roussel and Greg Jacobson for a deep dive into the unique corporate ethos of Kinexis. Discover how this dynamic company has etched out its colossal success through the shared formulation and embodiment of collective core values. Rather than a top-down approach, KaiNexus methodically identified fundamental behaviors through employee interactions that came to define their organization. Their culture vividly narrates a story of shared beliefs where every policy adopted and decision made is a tribute to their core values. Let’s explore how they've shaped their environment, where principles aren't simply stated words, but an integral part of the everyday actions.

Take a journey revealing how the cornerstone of teamwork contributes significantly to KaiNexus's triumphs. Understanding that individual efforts culminate in extraordinary feats when synchronized into a collective endeavor is their core mantra. Discover how Kinexis has cultivated a workplace where collaboration and collective success are at the heart of every initiative. A discussion featuring their outlook on kindness as a strength, focusing on customer needs, and the embedding of trust will help listeners understand how the company's values contribute to a nurturing and respectful business ethos, while also delivering superior service to its clientele.

As presented by John Grout on 1/17/24. Hosted by Mark Graban of KaiNexus.

This webinar is a 60-minute primer into mistake-proofing (a.k.a. poka-yoke). Information about the basics of mistake-proofing, why people make mistakes, and how to start the process of reducing mistakes will be presented in a fast-moving and entertaining format.
Objectives:

• Build awareness of mistake-proofing
• Introduce a concise presentation format: “pecha kucha," with 20 slides x 0:20 seconds each = 6:40 minutes (we’ll do two of these with discussion in between).
• What is mistake-proofing?
• Include lots of examples
• Why do people err?
• How can design eliminate errors?
• Next steps in implementation

John Grout is the David C. Garrett Jr. Professor, former dean, and award-winning teacher in the Campbell School of Business at Berry College. Dr. Grout has researched lean supply chain management and mistake-proofing (a.k.a. Poka-Yoke) extensively and published numerous articles on the topic. John was awarded the Shingo Prize for his paper, “The Human Side of Mistake-Proofing” with Douglas Stewart. John has also consulted with a large variety of firms to mistake-proof their processes.

Read the blog post, get an infographic and free ebook

Great results depend on thoughtful planning, execution, and follow-up. Here are the most important steps you can take to ensure that your next Gemba walk is successful.

Written by Kade Jansson and read by Mark Graban

Read the blog post

Yet, adverse outcomes in these organizations are rare. How is that possible?

Written by Greg Jacobson, read by Mark Graban

Read the blog post

Presented by Stephanie Hill, Senior Lean Strategist at KaiNexus

Having worked as…
…a CI practitioner reporting to a CFO,
…a consultant and coach to executives and
…a Lean Strategist configuring software to meet executives’ needs,
Stephanie has learned that senior leaders are the influencers of any organization - able to make or break a CI program and culture.
Attendees will:

• Gain clarity on the need for executive buy-in and engagement.
• Learn three considerations before engaging senior leaders in CI.

During the session, attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on their gaps in building relationships with their senior leaders. Participants will walk away with a plan to increase executive engagement.

Stephanie Hill is a Senior Lean Strategist with KaiNexus and owner of Light Bulb Moment Consulting. She has over 23 years of experience applying Lean to various industries, including legal, manufacturing, retail, insurance, healthcare, and government. She has certifications in Strategic Human Resources Leadership and Scaled Agile, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a master’s degree in Public Health, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. She lives near Columbus, Ohio, and enjoys building LEGO sets, dancing, and traveling. She is also preparing to publish her first book, "A Life of Learning: Lessons in Leadership from Raising a Boy with Autism."

Learn more about KaiNexus: https://kainexus.com/

Matt Banna: My name's Matt Banna, and I'm an enterprise account executive at KaiNexus. Oftentimes organizations come to us because they're having challenges managing their A3s. They don't have visibility into the work that's happening, who's doing what, and when are things on track or off track? And ultimately, how are these A3s impacting their organizational goals? They've tried to solve these challenges through tools that aren't fit for purpose, like Excel or PowerPoint, or uploading things into a SharePoint drive or even creating homegrown systems. Matt Banna: What they've found is that once things get saved into SharePoint, they go into some sort of black hole. And nobody ever sees the results of those A3s. Or if they go to some sort of project management solution. Those A3s aren't shaped like A3s. Matt Banna: And so all the work that they've done to teach the A3 problem solving methodology goes out the window. Because the format of how people are solving those problems in that tool doesn't look like the format that they've been taught. But we'll work together to configure your A3 in KaiNexus to mirror the standard that you've built and that you've taught within your organization. In this example we have configured, you can see a background and a current condition countermeasures a way to prioritize this project against others. You can use it to assign tasks directly to people that will automatically notify them once they've been assigned, or that work becomes overdue. Matt Banna: Categorize this work however you want with some sort of priority, or connect it to strategic initiatives. Add in root cause like Five Whys or Fishbones, attach before and after pictures or any approvals that are needed once this A3 is actually completed, simply going into the resolution to say what happened? What was the outcome of this project? Was it qualitative or quantitative, such as some sort of quality or safety change? Or maybe there was some sort of cost savings where you can say how much you saved, how often, and then be able to report on that later throughout the organization. Matt Banna: Managing your A3s and KaiNexus gives visibility to the organization at multiple levels, gives visibility of the work that's happening to different team members so they can share best practices or make sure that they're not working on duplicate efforts. It gives visibility into your CI team so that they can more effectively coach or congratulate people who are doing good work, and it gives more visibility to executives so they can track the impact of the work that's happening. And ultimately, how is that affecting your organizational goals?

Learn more about KaiNexus: https://kainexus.com/

In addition, the podcast delves into the critical role of checklists and SOPs in complex tasks, using the turkey preparation as a case study. Tune in and explore how technology integration can further enhance safety and cooking outcomes. Understand the application of CI principles in scheduling the timing of various festive dishes for stress-free holiday meals, on par with standard industrial processes. The takeaway from this podcast emphasizes the profound influence of CI on personal traditions and professional progress.

Books and Resources for Aspiring Leaders

Educating oneself on effective leadership practices can significantly transform how one goes about influencing behavior and instituting lasting change. Books like Crucial Influence: Leadership Skills to Create Lasting Behavior Change offer guidance on how to lead with intention and purpose.

Other notable texts include:

• Never Lose an Employee Again by Joey Coleman, which focuses on employee retention through onboarding and integration into company culture.

• Drive by Daniel H. Pink, that delves into human motivation and the factors that compel us to excel in what we do.

• Atomic Habits by James Clear, emphasizing the power of small consistent changes over time.

Finally, foundational reads like Kaizen by Masaaki Imai remind leaders of the roots of continuous improvement and lean thinking.

December 5 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Presented by Stephanie Hill, Senior Lean Strategist at KaiNexus Having worked as… …a CI practitioner reporting to a CFO, …a consultant and coach to executives and …a Lean Strategist configuring software to meet executives’ needs,

Stephanie has learned that senior leaders are the influencers of any organization - able to make or break a CI program and culture. Attendees will: - Gain clarity on the need for executive buy-in and engagement. - Learn three considerations before engaging senior leaders in CI.

During the session, attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on their gaps in building relationships with their senior leaders. Participants will walk away with a plan to increase executive engagement. About the Presenter: Stephanie Hill, Senior Lean Strategist Stephanie Hill is a Senior Lean Strategist with KaiNexus and owner of Light Bulb Moment Consulting. She has over 23 years of experience applying Lean to various industries, including legal, manufacturing, retail, insurance, healthcare, and government. She has certifications in Strategic Human Resources Leadership and Scaled Agile, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a master’s degree in Public Health, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. She lives near Columbus, Ohio, and enjoys building LEGO sets, dancing, and traveling. She is also preparing to publish her first book, "A Life of Learning: Lessons in Leadership from Raising a Boy with Autism."

Recorded November 7 Presented by D. Lynn Kelley, Ph.D. Co-Author of Change Questions: A Playbook for Effective and Lasting Organizational Change The book "Change Questions" unlocks the secrets of sustainable organizational change by asking key questions that deliver a customized approach for change that is just right for your specific initiative and organization. You will be given access to the free digital workbook, which is a fillable PDF that you can save, use, and reuse in your future change activities. After this webinar, you will be able to develop a customized implementation plan for a change initiative that integrates the topics listed below: a. Purpose b. Design, Do, and Improve the Work of the Change c. Capability Building and Employee Engagement d. Management System and Leadership e. Culture Following a career highlighted by leadership roles in engineering, supply chain, and continuous improvement in various industries, Kelley retired from Union Pacific Railroad in 2018. Now serving as a senior advisor to BBH Capital Partners, she assists in sourcing, investment evaluation, transaction execution, and providing post-investment oversight to the firm’s portfolio companies. At Union Pacific, she was senior vice president of supply chain and continuous improvement. She was also the executive co-owner of the company’s innovation program. Before joining Union Pacific, Kelley was vice president of operational excellence, an officer and a member of the executive leadership team at Textron. Kelley holds a PhD in evaluation and research and taught undergraduate and graduate statistics courses. Before becoming a professor, she held the positions of executive vice president and chief operating officer of Doctors Hospital in Detroit.

Unravel the central principle of respect for people and customers as Mark and Greg discuss the substantial impact that this simple component can have on customer satisfaction and rapport. It's not just about delivering service; it’s about demonstrating recognition and appreciation. Delve into exciting, relatable narratives that emphasize the significance of respect in our daily interactions and how it lays the groundwork of undeniably fruitful relationships.

LINKS:

• Video with Ford CEO Jim Farley
• The Lean Leadership Podcast with Chris Burnham
• Society for Health Systems Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference
• 2024AME Conference
• Learn more about KaiNexus

Presented by Colleen Soppelsa, a Lean and Six Sigma Transformation Leader with 20+ years of experience Charles Feltman defines trust as "choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person's actions." This webinar will delve into how lack of trust from the employee experience degrades their relationships with management, coworkers, and their jobs, leading to an environment unprepared for Lean methodology. You will learn about approaches outside the traditional Lean framework to change the DNA from the middle. Colleen Soppelsa is a Lean and Six Sigma Transformation Leader with 20+ yrs experience across the Automotive (Toyota), Aviation (GEA) and Aerospace & Defense (L3H) Industries. She has been committed to creating breakthrough thinking environments based on the "Respect for People" principle specifically in the area of Trust as a non-negotiable for a Lean Culture.

October 17 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Colleen Soppelsa, a Lean and Six Sigma Transformation Leader with 20+ years of experience

Charles Feltman defines trust as "choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person's actions." This webinar will delve into how lack of trust from the employee experience degrades their relationships with management, coworkers, and their jobs, leading to an environment unprepared for Lean methodology. You will learn about approaches outside the traditional Lean framework to change the DNA from the middle.

Colleen Soppelsa is a Lean and Six Sigma Transformation Leader with 20+ yrs experience across the Automotive (Toyota), Aviation (GEA) and Aerospace & Defense (L3H) Industries. She has been committed to creating breakthrough thinking environments based on the "Respect for People" principle specifically in the area of Trust as a non-negotiable for a Lean Culture.

Greg and Mark talk about being guests on Chris's podcast, The Lean Leadership Podcast.

• Mark in Episode #1
• Greg in Episode #15

We answer two questions from the list of "rapid fire" questions that Chris would ask in his podcast:

• Do you have a Lean/Continuous improvement pet peeve/or what do you frequently see being applied or being done wrong?
• What do you consider the most important thing that you have learned in your career journey?!

Here is the webinar that Chris did for us as part of the KaiNexus series. And he was part of this panel discussion about virtual improvement.

We dedicate today's KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast episode to a remarkable individual whose loss has been deeply felt within the Lean community. Chris Burnham, a Lean thinker, a podcast host, and a leader in the field, recently left us, creating a void which has been challenging to navigate. This episode serves as a tribute to Chris's life, his work, and his indelible influence on those fortunate enough to cross his path.

In addition to his brilliance as a Lean thinker, Chris's exemplary character shone through in his role as the host of the Lean Leadership Podcast. His hunger for knowledge and openness to new ideas defined many of his interactions. In 2015, Chris kickstarted his podcast series by inviting Mark Graban aboard as his inaugural guest - beginning a progressive journey through the realm of Lean thinking and practices.

Presented by Mark Parrish

This webinar provides an exciting and unique opportunity to ask an experienced CEO questions about leadership, culture, and continuous improvement. We’ll be joined by Mark Parrish, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mark is a six-time CEO at public, private and private equity companies, to include Igloo Products Corp. and the Stuart Dean Company, Inc.

Mark provides his audience world-class lessons in leadership and operational excellence gathered over three decades from within the "living laboratories" of myriad companies and industries. How can leaders create a company culture worthy of each and every employee’s full 100% commitment? How can the “business goal” of making a dollar co-exist with the “noble goal” of making a difference? How do we navigate the waters of trust, engagement, and organizational politics? Come "Ask the CEO" yourself.

The formal presentation will be brief – 15 minutes. The remainder of the hour will allow the audience to interact with Mark via moderated Q&A – submitted both in advance and during the session.

September 14th at 1 pm ET

Presented by Mark Parrish, hosted by Mark Graban

This webinar provides an exciting and unique opportunity to ask an experienced CEO questions about leadership, culture, and continuous improvement. We’ll be joined by Mark Parrish, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mark is a six-time CEO at public, private and private equity companies, to include Igloo Products Corp. and the Stuart Dean Company, Inc.
Mark provides his audience world-class lessons in leadership and operational excellence gathered over three decades from within the "living laboratories" of myriad companies and industries. How can leaders create a company culture worthy of each and every employee’s full 100% commitment? How can the “business goal” of making a dollar co-exist with the “noble goal” of making a difference? How do we navigate the waters of trust, engagement, and organizational politics? Come "Ask the CEO" yourself.
The formal presentation will be brief – 15 minutes. The remainder of the hour will allow the audience to interact with Mark via moderated Q&A – submitted both in advance and during the session.

About Mark Parrish:

Mark Parrish is Managing Partner and co-founder of Parrish Partners, LLC, the twenty-year-old, southern California-based leadership and management consulting firm.  

Previously, Mark was CEO, President, and Director of Igloo Products Corp., the 76-year-old, private equity owned, U.S.-based manufacturer of the iconic Igloo brand of commercial and consumer cooler and drinkware products.  While in his role at Igloo, Mr. Parrish was named the Houston Business Journal’s “2017 Outstanding CEO.”  

Immediately prior to joining Igloo, Mark was CEO, President, and Director of Stuart Dean Company, Inc., the 86-year-old, private family-owned, Manhattan-based international real estate restoration and preservation company.  Stuart Dean customers include the Empire State Building, the White House, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Apple stores worldwide. 

Mark has an accomplished record of leading organizational transformations of U.S.-based manufacturers and service providers.  His contributions have yielded tremendous value creation with well-known consumer brands, such as Harley-Davidson and Simmons, and other industry leaders, including Ply Gem Windows, Interface, Inc., and Deceuninck North America, each world-class manufacturers known for their rapid product innovation. 

 Mark is a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.  During his ten years of uniformed service in Army Aviation, he served in five countries on three continents. As an AH-64 Apache pilot and Army “Top Gun,” he served in Operations Desert Shield/Storm, where he was awarded the Bronze Star and Air Medal for Valor.  He later earned two Master of Science degrees in Engineering and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

August 15 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Seán Paul Teeling, Programme Director for the Professional Certificate and Graduate Certificate in Process Improvement in Health Systems at UCD Health Systems.

Lean is one of the most internationally popular process improvement methodologies around the world. Similarly, person-centred approaches have risen in popularity since the millennium with political and policy intentions now widely advocating that person-centredness should be at the heart of the health system. In this webinar, we discuss the first research internationally into the combined use of Lean and person-centred improvement approaches, lessons learnt, and how to be a person-centred improver in any industry or setting.
Learning objectives:

• Understand what is meant by person-centred improvement
• Identify the synergies between Lean and person-centred improvement
• Understand where person-centred improvement diverges from Lean and how to address it
• Be able to incorporate person-centred approaches into your Lean work

Seán Paul Teeling is the Programme Director for the Professional Certificate and Graduate Certificate in Process Improvement in Health Systems at UCD Health Systems. Prior to this, he worked as Lean Manager at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Dublin, working closely with the Hospital and the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems on the development of the highly successful Process Improvement in healthcare programmes. 
Seán Paul is an accredited facilitator of Person-centred Cultures in Healthcare. He completed his PhD with and is a member of, and honorary lecturer with, the Centre for Person-Centred Practice Research, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. He is also an affiliate of the Stanford Medicine Centre for Improvement, Stanford University, CA. His research is in the use of process and quality improvement methodologies in healthcare including the Model for Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and Agile and in particular the influence and contribution of Process Improvement methodologies on Person-centred Cultures. In January 2011, he was appointed by the Minister for Health as a member of the Health Products Regulatory Authority Advisory Committee on Medical Devices, on which he served for two terms.

Panelists: 
Kym Guiliotti, Director of Product
Greg Jacobson, Co-founder & CEO
Maggie Millard, VP of Customer Experience
Linda Vicaro, Senior Lean Strategist
Moderated by:
Mark Graban, Senior Advisor

As KaiNexus co-founder and CEO Greg Jacobson, MD says, “You can’t have a culture of continuous improvement without learning from mistakes.”
Join us for a panel discussion featuring five KaiNexians who will share stories and reflections about cultivating a culture of psychological safety, where people feel safe to speak up about mistakes (or other opportunities for improvement) and also feel safe to try improvements and innovations.
The panel is being moderated by Mark Graban, who has been a senior advisor to KaiNexus since 2011. He loves talking about mistakes in his podcast "My Favorite Mistake" and also wrote (and published) a new book that includes stories from KaiNexus: "The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation."
If you attend the live session, you'll also be able to ask questions about our lessons learned about cultivating a culture at KaiNexus and how this might benefit you, your team, and your organization.

Greg's podcast episode Mark's book: http://mistakesbook.com/ Panelists: Kym Guiliotti, Director of Product Greg Jacobson, Co-founder & CEO Maggie Millard, VP of Customer Experience Linda Vicaro, Senior Lean Strategist Moderated by: Mark Graban, Senior Advisor As KaiNexus co-founder and CEO Greg Jacobson, MD says, “You can’t have a culture of continuous improvement without learning from mistakes.” Join us for a panel discussion featuring five KaiNexians who will share stories and reflections about cultivating a culture of psychological safety, where people feel safe to speak up about mistakes (or other opportunities for improvement) and also feel safe to try improvements and innovations. The panel is being moderated by Mark Graban, who has been a senior advisor to KaiNexus since 2011. He loves talking about mistakes in his podcast "My Favorite Mistake" and also wrote (and published) a new book that includes stories from KaiNexus: "The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation." If you attend the live session, you'll also be able to ask questions about our lessons learned about cultivating a culture at KaiNexus and how this might benefit you, your team, and your organization.

Presented by Mark Graban, KaiNexus Senior Advisor

Mark’s presentation will explore the connections between Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement, using examples from Toyota, KaiNexus, and other companies.

Mark will explore how we can assess the current state of Psychological Safety in teams or across a broader organization. He’ll also discuss what leaders can do to help create conditions where employees feel safe enough to speak up about mistakes, problems, and improvement ideas. 

Today, Morgan Wright and Mark Graban preview Mark's upcoming webinar... "Psychological Safety as a Foundation for Continuous Improvement"

June 8 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Mark Graban, KaiNexus Senior Advisor

Mark’s presentation will explore the connections between Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement, using examples from Toyota, KaiNexus, and other companies.

Mark will explore how we can assess the current state of Psychological Safety in teams or across a broader organization. He’ll also discuss what leaders can do to help create conditions where employees feel safe enough to speak up about mistakes, problems, and improvement ideas. 

Mark's book

As presented May 11 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) and
Greg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), from KaiNexus.

Come join the final webinar in our three-part habit webinar series to learn how we sustain and maximize organizational habits in a continuous improvement culture. In this 1 hour webinar, we will review the highlights from the prior habits webinars, learn how you can design organizational habits, develop your Habit Loops by persona, and share stories of organizations who have seen incredible results from implementing habits.

Morgan Wright, customer marketing manager at KaiNexus, joins Mark Graban, senior advisor at the company, to give a preview of this upcoming webinar, the third in a series about "habit loops": Sustaining Continuous Improvement with Habit Science

Part 1

Part 2 About the webinar: Come join the final webinar in our three-part habit webinar series to learn how we sustain and maximize organizational habits in a continuous improvement culture. In this 1 hour webinar, we will review the highlights from the prior habits webinars, learn how you can design organizational habits, develop your Habit Loops by persona, and share stories of organizations who have seen incredible results from implementing habits. About the Presenters: Morgan Wright Customer Marketing Manager, KaiNexus Greg Jacobson Co-Founder & CEO, KaiNexus

Learn more about KaiNexus: http://kainexus.com/

Presented by Elisabeth Swan

We often underestimate our influence on others. We fail to recognize the impact we have on people, their work, their ability to solve problems, and thrive. Whether we hold formal leadership positions or not, we all have the power to affect those around us. However, the way we think, speak, and act may not always bring out the best in ourselves or those we interact with. This can lead to missed opportunities, strained relationships, and less-than-ideal outcomes.
Come join this 1-hour webinar to get insights on how to use the reality of how our minds work to address those people-centric challenges and become a force for good. You’ll get tools to enhance your ability to help people navigate change and make a lasting impact on the organization and those around you.
Elisabeth has consulted in the business process performance industry for over 30 years. Her experience spans from helping local non-profits expand their reach to guiding Fortune 100 companies through Lean Transformations. She has trained and mentored thousands of people in improvement projects generating millions in savings. She has deep experience coaching problem solvers and facilitating leadership retreats, strategic planning sessions, process walks, and kaizen events.
Elisabeth is the Co-Designer and Lead Instructor for the Lean Six Sigma Leadership Course at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She is a co-founder of Just-in-Time Café, and co-host of the Just-in-Time Café podcast. She co-wrote The Problem Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey, and her latest book is, Picture Yourself a Leader: Illustrated Micro-Lessons in Navigating Change.

This episode previews Elisabeth Swan's upcoming webinar, hosted by KaiNexus and Mark Graban. Elisabeth joins Mark here to discuss it.

April 18 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Enter to win one of 3 signed copies of her new book, Picture Yourself a Leader, by sharing about the webinar on LinkedIn with the hashtag #KaiNexus.

Presented by Elisabeth Swan

We often underestimate our influence on others. We fail to recognize the impact we have on people, their work, their ability to solve problems, and thrive. Whether we hold formal leadership positions or not, we all have the power to affect those around us. However, the way we think, speak, and act may not always bring out the best in ourselves or those we interact with. This can lead to missed opportunities, strained relationships, and less-than-ideal outcomes.
Come join this 1-hour webinar to get insights on how to use the reality of how our minds work to address those people-centric challenges and become a force for good. You’ll get tools to enhance your ability to help people navigate change and make a lasting impact on the organization and those around you.

Elisabeth has consulted in the business process performance industry for over 30 years. Her experience spans from helping local non-profits expand their reach to guiding Fortune 100 companies through Lean Transformations. She has trained and mentored thousands of people in improvement projects generating millions in savings. She has deep experience coaching problem solvers and facilitating leadership retreats, strategic planning sessions, process walks, and kaizen events.
Elisabeth is the Co-Designer and Lead Instructor for the Lean Six Sigma Leadership Course at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She is a co-founder of Just-in-Time Café, and co-host of the Just-in-Time Café podcast. She co-wrote The Problem Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey, and her latest book is, Picture Yourself a Leader: Illustrated Micro-Lessons in Navigating Change.

Presented by Katie Anderson

What does a culture of continuous improvement really look like? How can leaders create an organization where people have the capability and confidence to solve problems?
Effective problem-solving is about closing the gaps between where we are today and where we need to be. While we often think about the process or operational gaps that we must close, we must also identify (and close) behavior gaps related to solving problems and supporting others in problem-solving.
In this session, you will: 

• Understand a leader’s role in creating a “Leading to Learn” culture of continuous improvement
• Discover the four essential behaviors – G.A.P.S – that enable leaders and team members alike to cultivate more effective problem-solving capabilities
• Identify one tangible practice to build your leadership superpower and close your process and behavior gaps

Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, consultant, and professional speaker, best known for inspiring individuals and organizations to lead with intention and increase their personal and professional impact. Katie is passionate about helping people around the world learn to lead and lead to learn by connecting purpose, process, and practice to achieve higher levels of performance. Her book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning is an international #1 Amazon bestseller.

Next week, I'm excited to host a webinar that Katie Anderson will present as part of the KaiNexus continuous improvement webinar series.

The webinar description: What does a culture of continuous improvement really look like? How can leaders create an organization where people have the capability and confidence to solve problems?

Effective problem-solving is about closing the gaps between where we are today and where we need to be. While we often think about the process or operational gaps that we must close, we must also identify (and close) behavior gaps related to solving problems and supporting others in problem-solving.

In this session, you will: 

• Understand a leader's role in creating a “Leading to Learn” culture of continuous improvement
• Discover the four essential behaviors – G.A.P.S – that enable leaders and team members alike to cultivate more effective problem-solving capabilities
• Identify one tangible practice to build your leadership superpower and close your process and behavior gaps

How to Create a Continuous Improvement Culture by Closing the GAPS

About Katie:

Katie Anderson is an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, consultant, and professional speaker, best known for inspiring individuals and organizations to lead with intention and increase their personal and professional impact. Katie is passionate about helping people around the world learn to lead and lead to learn by connecting purpose, process, and practice to achieve higher levels of performance. Her book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning is an international #1 Amazon bestseller.

March 23 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) and
Greg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), from KaiNexus.

This webinar serves as the second part of the Habits Webinar Series. In this webinar, learn how to design organizational habits That Propagate a Culture of Continuous Improvement. Additionally, join us to hear some real-life examples of how you can take this back to implement at your organization.

Mark Graban and Morgan Wright, from KaiNexus, discuss the upcoming webinar titled: "How To Design Organizational Habits That Propagate a Culture of Continuous Improvement"

It's being presented March 23 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) and Greg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), from KaiNexus. This webinar serves as the second part of the Habits Webinar Series. In this webinar, learn how to design organizational habits That Propagate a Culture of Continuous Improvement. Additionally, join us to hear some real-life examples of how you can take this back to implement at your organization. The first webinar's audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kainexus/episodes/Webinar-Preview-Introducing-the-Connections-Between-Habit-Science-and-Continuous-Improvement-e1uk5n4/a-a9a35ta

Presented by Dr. Lisa Yerian, Chief Improvement Officer at Cleveland Clinic

As with many lean journeys, we learn first, then lead. At the Cleveland Clinic, it was the same in developing a lean community of empowered healthcare workers. Dr. Lisa Yerian will share experiences and takeaways from Cleveland Clinic's ongoing lean journey.

---------------

Lisa Yerian, MD, is Chief Improvement Officer and a Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathologist at Cleveland Clinic. Since joining the organization in 2004, she has held several pathology and health system leadership positions.

In her role as Chief Improvement Officer, Dr. Yerian leads a team of improvement professionals who build an improvement culture and drive strategic improvements for patients and caregivers across Cleveland Clinic. Under her leadership, the Cleveland Clinic Improvement Model was developed, tested and refined as the roadmap for the organization to pursue a culture of improvement. The model is now used by other organizations within and beyond healthcare. She also leads Access Transformation – an enterprise effort to easily and effectively connect people with care across digital, virtual and traditional channels.

Over the last decade, Dr. Yerian’s team has engaged over 20,000 Cleveland Clinic caregivers in improvement by developing capability across the organization and building systems to support patients and caregivers. These initiatives include an integrated system of tiered daily huddles and an enterprise-wide improvement training program.

Dr. Yerian has authored over 150 manuscripts, articles, and book chapters in the fields of pathology and improvement. Her efforts have been recognized in multiple awards, including the Association of American Medical Colleges Clinical Care Innovation Challenge Award (2016), the Smart Culture Conference Buffalo Award (2018) and the Outstanding Innovation in Delivery Solutions Award (2020).

She serves on the Board of Directors for Lean Enterprise Institute and Catalysis. She speaks nationally and internationally on liver pathology and on the cultural and technical components of improvement.

Dr. Yerian received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame. She completed her medical degree, residency training in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in gastrointestinal and liver pathology at the University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine.

Register here

As with many lean journeys, we learn first, then lead. At the Cleveland Clinic, it was the same in developing a lean community of empowered healthcare workers. Dr. Lisa Yerian will share experiences and takeaways from Cleveland Clinic's ongoing lean journey.

Dr. Lisa Yerian

Chief Improvement Officer, Cleveland Clinic

Lisa Yerian, MD, is Chief Improvement Offer and a Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Pathologist at Cleveland Clinic. Since joining the organization in 2004, she has held several pathology and health system leadership positions.

In her role as Chief Improvement Officer, Dr. Yerian leads a team of improvement professionals who build an improvement culture and drive strategic improvements for patients and caregivers across Cleveland Clinic. Under her leadership, the Cleveland Clinic Improvement Model was developed, tested and refined as the roadmap for the organization to pursue a culture of improvement. The model is now used by other organizations within and beyond healthcare. She also leads Access Transformation – an enterprise effort to easily and effectively connect people with care across digital, virtual and traditional channels.

Over the last decade, Dr. Yerian’s team has engaged over 20,000 Cleveland Clinic caregivers in improvement by developing capability across the organization and building systems to support patients and caregivers. These initiatives include an integrated system of tiered daily huddles and an enterprise-wide improvement training program.

Dr. Yerian has authored over 150 manuscripts, articles, and book chapters in the fields of pathology and improvement. Her efforts have been recognized in multiple awards, including the Association of American Medical Colleges Clinical Care Innovation Challenge Award (2016), the Smart Culture Conference Buffalo Award (2018) and the Outstanding Innovation in Delivery Solutions Award (2020).

She serves on the Board of Directors for Lean Enterprise Institute and Catalysis. She speaks nationally and internationally on liver pathology and on the cultural and technical components of improvement.

Dr. Yerian received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame. She completed her medical degree, residency training in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in gastrointestinal and liver pathology at the University of Chicago-Pritzker School of Medicine.

Follow Dr. Yerian on Twitter: @LisaYerianMD.

Presented February 23 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) and
Greg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), from KaiNexus.

This webinar serves as an introduction to the science of habits and how to form them. Future webinars in this series will take a deeper look into how to design Habit Loops for the different types of people in your organization.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Building a culture of continuous improvement
• The Importance of Habits in continuous improvement (CI)
• The science behind forming Habits
• Introducing Habit Loops
• How Habit Loops can transform your organization

February 23 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) and
Greg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), from KaiNexus.

This webinar serves as an introduction to the science of habits and how to form them. Future webinars in this series will take a deeper look into how to design Habit Loops for the different types of people in your organization.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Building a culture of continuous improvement
• The Importance of Habits in continuous improvement (CI)
• The science behind forming Habits
• Introducing Habit Loops
• How Habit Loops can transform your organization

About the Presenters:

Morgan Wright, Customer Marketing Manager, KaiNexus

Morgan Wright is the Customer Marketing Manager at KaiNexus. In her role, Morgan partners with customers to develop and execute on a communication strategy to engage their organization in KaiNexus.

Morgan is from Austin, Texas, and graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Marketing.

Greg Jacobson, Co-Founder & CEO, KaiNexus

Greg graduated from Washington University in St Louis in 1997 with a BS in Biology. He attended Baylor College of Medicine from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he then stayed on as faculty.

Starting in 2004, it was his observation and research of operational inefficiencies and unrealized continuous improvement opportunities that resulted in the founding of KaiNexus.
Jacobson is co-author of "Kaizen: A Method of Process Improvement in the Emergency Department, published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine."

Find Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-banna/  

Enterprise Account Executive at KaiNexus from Chicagoland area, currently living in Austin, Texas. Skilled in interpersonal communication, sales strategy, and discovery, he loves meeting our customers and hearing about how they use KaiNexus!  

KaiNexus is a continuous improvement software platform designed to help organizations collaborate and report on continuous improvement projects by giving visibility, breaking down silos, tracking metrics, and more.

• Why she joined the company
• What she does as a Solutions Engineer
• Her passion for acting and theatre

From her LinkedIn bio:

"I am a professional problem solver and learner at a Continuous Improvement Software company based in beautiful Austin, Tx. I love my company because we help businesses amplify the voices of their front line workers, and to care about one another's quality of life much the same way we care about our coworkers.

I am also a professional actor and dialect coach! I write creatively, teach when I can, direct and can be found auditioning for theatre, tv and film during much of my free time.

I excel at reading people, thinking outside the box and communicating. I believe in the power of storytelling, representation, equal rights, integrity and systemic solutions."

Read her blog post: https://blog.kainexus.com/the-importance-of-proving-impact-in-continuous-improvement

From her bio: "I have more than 20 years of experience applying Continuous Improvement and Leadership in manufacturing, retail, insurance, government, non-profit, and health industries. I have a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, certifications in SAFe 5.0 (Scaled Agile) and Strategic HR Leadership, a Master's degree in Public Health, and a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Kenyon College.

My passion is contributing to the betterment of: organizational culture, individual self worth, and socioeconomic conditions. I practice my passion by enabling people’s natural tendency to see and solve problems in order to leave the world better than we found it."

Presented by Nick Katko

Lean is a long-term business strategy, primarily focusing on employees and learning. Through various continuous improvement practices, employees learn to master their work, solve the right problems and help an organization learn how to do things tomorrow it cannot do today.

The operational impact of continuous improvement is well known. Eliminating waste creates capacity, which can be used to serve customers better, improve productivity and improve employee satisfaction. But what about the financial impact? Oftentimes conventional financial analytical practices do not capture the true financial benefits of continuous improvement. This becomes a “problem to be solved.”

This webinar will explain how to make the true cause-effect relationships between continuous improvement and financial improvement visible throughout the organization. Integrating these relationships will improve the quality of business decision-making and leverage continuous improvement for financial success for the entire organization.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• the numbers to establish the true cause-effect relationships between continuous improvement and financial improvement.
• how to use the economics of lean to calculate the financial benefit of continuous improvement
• how continuous improvement achieves cost reduction over time
• why certain conventional financial analyses can show that continuous improvement is “not working” financially

Nick is the President and owner of BMA. Since 2002, Nick has leveraged his Lean Accounting experience and philosophy in assisting BMA clients in developing, leading, and coaching them in their Lean Accounting transformations. Clients Nick has served a range of organizations worldwide, from family-owned businesses to multi-national companies in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, software, engineering, and service.

Nick is an early pioneer of Lean Accounting. In the 1990s, as CFO of Bullard, Nick implemented a complete lean management accounting system in conjunction with Bullard’s Lean transformation, which included eliminating standard costing.

Nick is a regular speaker at the annual Lean Accounting Summit and has also presented at conferences in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Nick has written extensively on lean accounting. He is the author of “The Lean CFO – 2nd edition” (2023), which is an updated version of the 2013 publication “The Lean CFO.” The Lean CFO has been translated and published in Turkish and Italian. Nick co-authored “Practicing Lean Accounting” (2021), which has also been published in Italian.

January 10 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Nick Katko

Lean is a long-term business strategy, primarily focusing on employees and learning. Through various continuous improvement practices, employees learn to master their work, solve the right problems and help an organization learn how to do things tomorrow it cannot do today.

The operational impact of continuous improvement is well known. Eliminating waste creates capacity, which can be used to serve customers better, improve productivity and improve employee satisfaction. But what about the financial impact? Oftentimes conventional financial analytical practices do not capture the true financial benefits of continuous improvement. This becomes a “problem to be solved.”

This webinar will explain how to make the true cause-effect relationships between continuous improvement and financial improvement visible throughout the organization. Integrating these relationships will improve the quality of business decision-making and leverage continuous improvement for financial success for the entire organization.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• the numbers to establish the true cause-effect relationships between continuous improvement and financial improvement.
• how to use the economics of lean to calculate the financial benefit of continuous improvement
• how continuous improvement achieves cost reduction over time
• why certain conventional financial analyses can show that continuous improvement is “not working” financially

Nick is the President and owner of BMA. Since 2002, Nick has leveraged his Lean Accounting experience and philosophy in assisting BMA clients in developing, leading, and coaching them in their Lean Accounting transformations. Clients Nick has served a range of organizations worldwide, from family-owned businesses to multi-national companies in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, software, engineering, and service.

Nick is an early pioneer of Lean Accounting. In the 1990s, as CFO of Bullard, Nick implemented a complete lean management accounting system in conjunction with Bullard’s Lean transformation, which included eliminating standard costing.

Nick is a regular speaker at the annual Lean Accounting Summit and has also presented at conferences in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Nick has written extensively on lean accounting. He is the author of “The Lean CFO – 2nd edition” (2023), which is an updated version of the 2013 publication “The Lean CFO.” The Lean CFO has been translated and published in Turkish and Italian. Nick co-authored “Practicing Lean Accounting” (2021), which has also been published in Italian.

Webinar page

Presented by Cliona Archambeault and Penny Iannelli of UMass Memorial Health

Join us for a panel discussion with two leaders from UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) as we discuss how they’ve created a culture of continuous improvement at UMMH that has led to more than 100,000 employee ideas being implemented!

They both work for a healthcare organization – this is true – but please keep reading (and join us!) if you work in other sectors, including manufacturing. Why? Our two panelists both worked in industry (including Intel), and they (and other UMMH leaders) are influenced by former Toyota people. We know there will be stories and lessons learned that are transferrable to other healthcare organizations – or companies in any industry – because it comes down to the three things we always talk about at KaiNexus: methodology, leadership, and technology.

We are proud that UMMH is a KaiNexus customer and that they use our technology platform to facilitate and document their work – in addition to tabulating their great results.

Cliona Archambeault Senior Director, Process Improvement, UMass Memorial Health Care  

Penny Iannelli Chief Transformation Officer, UMass Memorial Health Care

November 15, 2022 -- Presented by Dave Kippen  Are you a Lean Leader who wants to learn more about Mindfulness? Do you practice Mindfulness and want to understand how to apply those principles directly to your Lean leadership? There is a strong connection between great Lean Leaders and the principles and tenets of Mindfulness.  This quick and focused session will make the connection between four key Mindfulness tenets and how they mirror and support how we practice improving hearts and minds through our Lean leadership. You will walk away with many simple ideas and concepts to practice, both on your Mindfulness journey and your Lean journey!  

About the Presenter:  For the past 15+ years, Dave Kippen has served as a Lean leader, change agent, coach and educational instructor. Over the last 3 years, Dave has been on a Meditation and Mindfulness journey which has helped deepen his passion for improving the human condition on our beautiful planet. Dave’s passion is to aid in the development of leadership and growth throughout all levels of the organization. During this time, Dave has successfully coached more than 250 people through Lean 101, 102 and 103 classes, and facilitated well over 100 Kaizen events throughout the United States and Europe.  Dave’s ultimate goal is to help end workplace suffering by making the workplace a little more engaging, fun, and meaningful for employees at all levels. In addition, Dave is Bronze certified through the SME/AME/Shingo Prize/ASQ Partnership. For more information, please connect with him via his LinkedIn profile or at davekippen@yahoo.com.

Preview of a webinar to be presented by Dave Kippen

Are you a Lean Leader who wants to learn more about Mindfulness? Do you practice Mindfulness and want to understand how to apply those principles directly to your Lean leadership? There is a strong connection between great Lean Leaders and the principles and tenets of Mindfulness.

This quick and focused session will make the connection between four key Mindfulness tenets and how they mirror and support how we practice improving hearts and minds through our Lean leadership. You will walk away with many simple ideas and concepts to practice, both on your Mindfulness journey and your Lean journey!

In this episode, Mark Graban, senior advisor with KaiNexus, chats with Dave about what mindfulness means to him and he gives a preview of the webinar.

• Mindfulness?
• What was your dream job when you were a kid?
• Are you all fully back in the office now and what Covid safety precautions do you still take?
• Thoughts on timing to get the new Omicron booster? Who should get it?
• What do you think are the most common mistakes when implementing Kanban and how would you mitigate them? (generalize this about most common mistakes implementing any Lean tool)
• Creating a culture of learning from mistakes?? How important is that, Greg, and what are some things you do as CEO?
• How do you know the impact you're having on customers?
• What is more important than a Cultural Transformation from Top Management down to the people on Shop Floor before implementing LEAN and using LEAN tools?

Presented by Paul Critchley, President & Lean Consultant at New England Lean Consulting

Telling stories is one of the most powerful methods that leaders have to influence, teach, and inspire people. Beyond numbers, goals, and KPIs, stories help to convey the culture and the values that can unite and inspire everyone within the workplace.

In this webinar, we’ll learn more about how storytelling can help garner support for Lean and Continuous Improvement by making it more tangible and more relatable for those faced with practicing it.

Paul Critchley is the President and Lead Consultant here at New England Lean Consulting. With over 20 years of experience in organizational leadership, Paul is an internationally-recognized thought leader on using employee engagement and continuous improvement to improve business’ top and bottom lines. Paul is a former Board Member of the Northeast Region of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and a proud supporter of several civic organizations in and throughout New England. He is passionate about Lean and creating organizational cultures that are sustainably engaged. He co-authored his first book – The Whole Professional – to bring a fresh perspective on Work/Life Balance and how individuals and organizations can work together to achieve greater levels of attainment for all.

Paul holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, a M.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University. He also is the holder of U.S. Patent 5,927,868

This is a preview of the webinar that Paul Critchley will present as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinar series. He gives a preview today in a discussion with Mark Graban, a senior advisor with KaiNexus.  

Paul Critchley is President & Lean Consultant at New England Lean Consulting.  

Telling stories is one of the most powerful methods that leaders have to influence, teach, and inspire people. Beyond numbers, goals, and KPIs, stories help to convey the culture and the values that can unite and inspire everyone within the workplace.  

In this webinar, we’ll learn more about how storytelling can help garner support for Lean and Continuous Improvement by making it more tangible and more relatable for those faced with practicing it.

Host Mark Graban asks Kaleigh questions including:

• Why did you join KaiNexus?
• What is the role of Customer Success Manager and how do you help others?
• What's the process for handing off from onboarding to ongoing customer success help?
• How are you helping cats and dogs even?

Host Mark Graban asks Linda questions including:

• What is your role?
• What is the "optimization review"
• Why did you join KaiNexus?
• Your perspective on being a customer and champion for KaiNexus, who now works with customers?
• What's it like now working with people across many industries, not just healthcare?

His blog post about the mistakes that derailed the webinar: https://www.leanblog.org/2022/06/isnt-it-ironic-mistakes-that-interrupted-my-webinar-about-mistakes/

Questions

Q: "I’ve experienced creating psychological safety by asking questions in a certain way when doing root cause analysis and capturing lessons learned. Keeping focus away from people and centering on processes for example. Have you also seen this happen? Do you follow a certain way of asking questions ?"

The Value Capture reflection model:  https://www.valuecapturellc.com/reflection-toolbox-continuous-improvement/

Q: In my experience as a Lean Six Sigma practitioner, “If all they needed was you to come along and tell them what their mistake was, they wouldnt need you, they would have seen it themselves”. There are always barriers and obstacles that prevent people from seeing thier mistakes. Your comment?

Q: Many companies claim to have cultures of learning, not blame. When pursuing professional opportunities with new companies, are there ways to determine which truly have that type of culture, not just claiming it?

Q: First I am going to start by saying that I don't do well with making mistakes even the small ones.  No one has to tell me I made a mistake because I will be the first one to to say it but even the smallest mistakes I feel bad for a long time and sometimes even weeks. How do you just move on when you take pride in your work?

Video and more

Links to more info from Mark's website 

In this talk, you will learn and hear stories about:

· Why it’s important to admit mistakes to ourselves
· How to reflect on mistakes without being too hard on ourselves
· How to prevent repeating our mistakes
· Key leader behaviors that create a culture where it’s safe for people to admit mistakes

Our presenter, Mark Graban, is a Senior Advisor for KaiNexus… and he just had his 11th KaiNexiversary.

Mark is the author of the award-winning book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement. Mark is also co-author, with Joe Swartz, of Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements and The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. His most recent book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is also the creator and editor of the anthology book Practicing Lean.

Mark is the host of podcasts including “Lean Blog Interviews,” “Habitual Excellence, Presented by Value Capture,” and “My Favorite Mistake.”

Mark has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Leaders for Global Operations Program.

Learn more, register here (or, after June 28, get the recording)

https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/learning-from-mistakes-as-individuals-and-organizations/webinar/signup

In this talk, you will learn and hear stories about:

· Why it’s important to admit mistakes to ourselves
· How to reflect on mistakes without being too hard on ourselves
· How to prevent repeating our mistakes
· Key leader behaviors that create a culture where it’s safe for people to admit mistakes

Presented by Karidja Sakanogo

Parenting can sometimes be challenging. Parents are quite often expected to not only raise children, but also to raise adults. As one who is passionate about Lean management, I decided to go further by raising Lean thinkers.

The purpose of the presentation is to share the core values and dimensions of Lean management that can alleviate motherhood and fatherhood. Applying Lean principles, methods, and tools to our daily lives, we build our own “Lean house”. Thus, we are improving because we are continuously elaborating our standards and finding ways to sustain them.

Karidja Sakanogo learned from a twenty-year experience in project management, operations management, customer service, and accounting.

Passionate about Lean Six Sigma methodology and fully dedicated to promoting continuous improvement approaches, her hobby consists in contributing to companies' efficiency and profitability goals. For the past years, her main challenge has been to disseminate LSS concepts, tools, and technics in West Africa by providing training sessions and consulting services.

Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) and Project Management Professional (PMP), her educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance, a Bachelor's degree in Technical Management, and a M.Sc. In Project Management. She is currently attending The Helms School of Government at Liberty University as a Ph.D. candidate in Public Administration.

Originally from Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa, Karidja currently lives in West Virginia with her husband and their four adorable kids. Impressed by the power of the values embedded in Lean culture, Karidja found beneficial to raise Lean thinkers. She is excited to share the depth and the breadth of "Raising Lean thinkers in a Lean house".

Presented by Karidja Sakanogo

Parenting can sometimes be challenging. Parents are quite often expected to not only raise children, but also to raise adults. As one who is passionate about Lean management, I decided to go further by raising Lean thinkers.

The purpose of the presentation is to share the core values and dimensions of Lean management that can alleviate motherhood and fatherhood. Applying Lean principles, methods, and tools to our daily lives, we build our own “Lean house”. Thus, we are improving because we are continuously elaborating our standards and finding ways to sustain them.

Karidja Sakanogo learned from a twenty-year experience in project management, operations management, customer service, and accounting.

Passionate about Lean Six Sigma methodology and fully dedicated to promoting continuous improvement approaches, her hobby consists in contributing to companies' efficiency and profitability goals. For the past years, her main challenge has been to disseminate LSS concepts, tools, and technics in West Africa by providing training sessions and consulting services.

Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) and Project Management Professional (PMP), her educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Accounting and Finance, a Bachelor's degree in Technical Management, and a M.Sc. In Project Management. She is currently attending The Helms School of Government at Liberty University as a Ph.D. candidate in Public Administration.

Originally from Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa, Karidja currently lives in West Virginia with her husband and their four adorable kids. Impressed by the power of the values embedded in Lean culture, Karidja found beneficial to raise Lean thinkers. She is excited to share the depth and the breadth of "Raising Lean thinkers in a Lean house".

Moderator: Mark Graban, Senior Advisor, KaiNexus

Panel: Dr. Greg Jacobson, CEO, KaiNexus Kelley Reep, Clinical Nurse Specialist Rebecca Love, Chief Clinical Officer, IntelyCare Brian Weirich, Chief Nursing Officer, Banner Health

In this panel discussion webinar, you'll hear healthcare leaders and patient safety experts discuss the recent conviction of a nurse who worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, RaDonda Vaught.

You'll hear about the case and the circumstances that led to the tragic death of a patient, Charlene Murphey.

The discussion will focus on a path forward that focuses on patients and what we can do to prevent systemic errors from harming other patients.

About the Panelists:

Greg Jacobson, MD Greg graduated from Washington University in St Louis in 1997 with a BS in Biology. He attended Baylor College of Medicine from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he then stayed on as faculty. Greg is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of KaiNexus. He is an ER doctor that is fanatical about the single biggest barrier holding companies back from greatness - their lack of continuous improvement work. It has taken him down the path of developing KaiNexus.

Rebecca Love, RN, BS, MSN, FIEL Rebecca is an experienced nurse executive and the first nurse featured on Ted.com. Rebecca, was the first Director of Nurse Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the United States at Northeastern School of Nursing – the founding initiative in the country designed to empower nurses as innovators and entrepreneurs, where she founded the Nurse Hackathon, the movement has led to transformational change in the Nursing Profession. In early 2019, Rebecca, Co-founded and is President of SONSIEL: The Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders. Rebecca is an experienced Nurse Entrepreneur, founding HireNurses.com in 2013 which was acquired in 2018 by Ryalto, LTD UK, where she served as the Managing Director of US Markets until its acquisition in 2019. Currently, Rebecca serves as the Chief Clinical Officer of IntelyCare, Inc. Rebecca is passionate about empowering nurses and creating communities to help nurses innovate, create and collaborate to start businesses and inventions to transform healthcare.

Kelley Reep Kelly is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in critical care. Kelley came to nursing as a second career after corporate training, freelance writing, and motherhood. She works at a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Southeast. Kelley is a passionate advocate for the bedside nurse, as well as a conference speaker (see her at AACN NTI this May) and the nurse consultant for Critical Care: The Game, a multiplayer board game designed by Lakshman Swamy, MD to teach others about ICU.

Dr. Brian Weirich Brian is Chief Nursing Officer for Banner Health’s Thunderbird hospital. Prior to his role at Banner, Brian held nursing leadership roles at Indiana University Health, University of Colorado Health, Ohio State Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic where he started as a nurse in the ICU.

Brian has a Doctorate degree in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Masters degree in Healthcare Administration from Ohio University where he also obtained his Bachelor degree in nursing. Brian is certified in Executive Nursing Practice and has a certification in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of business.

Brian is an author/speaker often arguing for the importance of the millennial “tech” generation. He is a co-author of the book, THE NURSES GUIDE TO INNOVATION. In 2017, he began exploring artificial intelligence and crowd sourcing a ]]> https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kainexus/episodes/A-Path-Forward-Reflections-on-Patient-Safety--Just-Culture--and-the-Nursing-Profession-after-the-RaDonda-Vaught-Conviction-Webinar-e1h6l8d 368c3d40-04e8-4d20-be79-5b3acf359838 Thu, 14 Apr 2022 19:58:59 GMT April 14 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET <p> Website for the event: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/reflections-on-patient-safety-just-culture-and-the-nursing-profession/webinar/signup?hsLang=en <p> Moderator: Mark Graban, Senior Advisor, KaiNexus <p> Panel: Dr. Greg Jacobson, CEO, KaiNexus Kelley Reep, Clinical Nurse Specialist Rebecca Love, Chief Clinical Officer, IntelyCare Brian Weirich, Chief Nursing Officer, Banner Health <p> In this panel discussion webinar, you'll hear healthcare leaders and patient safety experts discuss the recent conviction of a nurse who worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, RaDonda Vaught. <p> You'll hear about the case and the circumstances that led to the tragic death of a patient, Charlene Murphey. <p> The discussion will focus on a path forward that focuses on patients and what we can do to prevent systemic errors from harming other patients. <p> About the Panelists: <p> Greg Jacobson, MD Greg graduated from Washington University in St Louis in 1997 with a BS in Biology. He attended Baylor College of Medicine from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he then stayed on as faculty. Greg is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of KaiNexus. He is an ER doctor that is fanatical about the single biggest barrier holding companies back from greatness - their lack of continuous improvement work. It has taken him down the path of developing KaiNexus. <p> Rebecca Love, RN, BS, MSN, FIEL Rebecca is an experienced nurse executive and the first nurse featured on Ted.com. Rebecca, was the first Director of Nurse Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the United States at Northeastern School of Nursing – the founding initiative in the country designed to empower nurses as innovators and entrepreneurs, where she founded the Nurse Hackathon, the movement has led to transformational change in the Nursing Profession. In early 2019, Rebecca, Co-founded and is President of SONSIEL: The Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders. Rebecca is an experienced Nurse Entrepreneur, founding HireNurses.com in 2013 which was acquired in 2018 by Ryalto, LTD UK, where she served as the Managing Director of US Markets until its acquisition in 2019. Currently, Rebecca serves as the Chief Clinical Officer of IntelyCare, Inc. Rebecca is passionate about empowering nurses and creating communities to help nurses innovate, create and collaborate to start businesses and inventions to transform healthcare. <p> Kelley Reep Kelly is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in critical care. Kelley came to nursing as a second career after corporate training, freelance writing, and motherhood. She works at a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Southeast. Kelley is a passionate advocate for the bedside nurse, as well as a conference speaker (see her at AACN NTI this May) and the nurse consultant for Critical Care: The Game, a multiplayer board game designed by Lakshman Swamy, MD to teach others about ICU. <p> Dr. Brian Weirich Brian is Chief Nursing Officer for Banner Health’s Thunderbird hospital. Prior to his role at Banner, Brian held nursing leadership roles at Indiana University Health, University of Colorado Health, Ohio State Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic where he started as a nurse in the ICU. <p> Brian has a Doctorate degree in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Masters degree in Healthcare Administration from Ohio University where he also obtained his Bachelor degree in nursing. Brian is certified in Executive Nursing Practice and has a certification in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of business. <p> Brian is an author/speaker often arguing for the importance of the millennial “tech” generation. He is a co-author of the book, THE NURSES GUIDE TO INNOVATION. In 2017, he began exploring artificial intelligence and crowd sourcing a false 01:01:05 full mark@kainexus.com (KaiNexus)April 14 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Website for the event: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/reflections-on-patient-safety-just-culture-and-the-nursing-profession/webinar/signup?hsLang=en Moderator: Mark Graban, Senior Advisor, KaiNexus Panel: Dr. Greg Jacobson, CEO, KaiNexus Kelley Reep, Clinical Nurse Specialist Rebecca Love, Chief Clinical Officer, IntelyCare Brian Weirich, Chief Nursing Officer, Banner Health In this panel discussion webinar, you'll hear healthcare leaders and patient safety experts discuss the recent conviction of a nurse who worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, RaDonda Vaught. You'll hear about the case and the circumstances that led to the tragic death of a patient, Charlene Murphey. The discussion will focus on a path forward that focuses on patients and what we can do to prevent systemic errors from harming other patients. About the Panelists: Greg Jacobson, MD Greg graduated from Washington University in St Louis in 1997 with a BS in Biology. He attended Baylor College of Medicine from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004, he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he then stayed on as faculty. Greg is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of KaiNexus. He is an ER doctor that is fanatical about the single biggest barrier holding companies back from greatness - their lack of continuous improvement work. It has taken him down the path of developing KaiNexus. Rebecca Love, RN, BS, MSN, FIEL Rebecca is an experienced nurse executive and the first nurse featured on Ted.com. Rebecca, was the first Director of Nurse Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the United States at Northeastern School of Nursing – the founding initiative in the country designed to empower nurses as innovators and entrepreneurs, where she founded the Nurse Hackathon, the movement has led to transformational change in the Nursing Profession. In early 2019, Rebecca, Co-founded and is President of SONSIEL: The Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders. Rebecca is an experienced Nurse Entrepreneur, founding HireNurses.com in 2013 which was acquired in 2018 by Ryalto, LTD UK, where she served as the Managing Director of US Markets until its acquisition in 2019. Currently, Rebecca serves as the Chief Clinical Officer of IntelyCare, Inc. Rebecca is passionate about empowering nurses and creating communities to help nurses innovate, create and collaborate to start businesses and inventions to transform healthcare. Kelley Reep Kelly is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) in critical care. Kelley came to nursing as a second career after corporate training, freelance writing, and motherhood. She works at a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Southeast. Kelley is a passionate advocate for the bedside nurse, as well as a conference speaker (see her at AACN NTI this May) and the nurse consultant for Critical Care: The Game, a multiplayer board game designed by Lakshman Swamy, MD to teach others about ICU. Dr. Brian Weirich Brian is Chief Nursing Officer for Banner Health’s Thunderbird hospital. Prior to his role at Banner, Brian held nursing leadership roles at Indiana University Health, University of Colorado Health, Ohio State Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic where he started as a nurse in the ICU. Brian has a Doctorate degree in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Masters degree in Healthcare Administration from Ohio University where he also obtained his Bachelor degree in nursing. Brian is certified in Executive Nursing Practice and has a certification in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern’s Kellogg school of business. Brian is an author/speaker often arguing for the importance of the millennial “tech” generation. He is a co-author of the book, THE NURSES GUIDE TO INNOVATION. In 2017, he began exploring artificial intelligence and crowd sourcing aLean,Kaizen,continuous,improvement,kainexus Presented by Sabrina Malter as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinar series.  

For decades, executives and academics have talked about the need to build “learning organizations.” That sounds good, but what does it mean in a practical sense? How can leaders unveil the potential of their people and their organizations?  

In this webinar, we will discuss:  

• Why we have to build a Learning Organization deliberately 
• Leadership practices to promote organizational learning 
• Human skills to promote organizational learning  

Sabrina Malter is passionate about creating a work environment where everyone can bring their full self to work and make the boldest impact for the organization and beyond. She loves to challenge, encourage, and support organizations that embark on their learning and growth journey.   Sabrina brings her passion to life as a Leadership and Learning Coach & Consultant at her own business, Unveil Business Consulting. She understands the power of Lean thinking in working towards her vision with a special expertise and skill in Kata Coaching, Leadership Development and Cultural Change.   Sabrina’s 25 years of industry background brought her experience and expertise in Business Transformations, Organizational Development and Strategy Management. Her educational background includes a M.Sc. in Sustainability Management from The Open University, UK, as well as further study on Leading People Centered Change, Leadership Coaching, and Professional Resilience.   Sabrina lives with her husband and two daughters in the south of Germany.

Register to attend live or view the recording

"Building a Learning Organization: Leadership Practices & Human Skills that Promote Learning"

For decades, executives and academics have talked about the need to build “learning organizations.” That sounds good, but what does it mean in a practical sense? How can leaders unveil the potential of their people and their organizations?

In this webinar, we will discuss:  Why we have to build a Learning Organization deliberately Leadership practices to promote organizational learning Human skills to promote organizational learning.

• Why we have to build a Learning Organization deliberately
• Leadership practices to promote organizational learning
• Human skills to promote organizational learning

Note: The webinar will be presented live, in English, but a German language recording will also be made available a few days in advance. Q&A will also be conducted in English.

Sabrina Malter is passionate about creating a work environment where everyone can bring their full self to work and make the boldest impact for the organization and beyond. She loves to challenge, encourage, and support organizations that embark on their learning and growth journey.

Sabrina brings her passion to life as a Leadership and Learning Coach & Consultant at her own business, Unveil Business Consulting. She understands the power of Lean thinking in working towards her vision with a special expertise and skill in Kata Coaching, Leadership Development and Cultural Change.

Sabrina’s 25 years of industry background brought her experience and expertise in Business Transformations, Organizational Development and Strategy Management. Her educational background includes a M.Sc. in Sustainability Management from The Open University, UK, as well as further study on Leading People Centered Change, Leadership Coaching, and Professional Resilience.

Sabrina lives with her husband and two daughters in the south of Germany.

Connect with Sabrina on LinkedIn.

Slides and video can be found here: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/lean-for-knowledge-workers/webinar/signup?hsLang=en

In this webinar, you'll get an insight into the application of Lean methodologies in a knowledge worker environment

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how lean methodologies can be successfully applied to a knowledge worker environment
• Learn from a case study about deployment approaches, challenges, and pitfalls
• Explore the unique opportunities that knowledge worker organisations provide to us as lean practitioners

Kim has worked in the Energy industry for over 25 years as an individual contributor and leader across several disciplines, including continuous improvement, asset management and project management.

He is passionate about continuous improvement and believes strongly that Lean principles can be applied to any team in any industry to achieve high levels of performance. He also believes that effective leadership is essential for any organisation to transform its performance and he works with organisations to share his skills and knowledge to improve leadership capability and implement business improvement solutions.

Lean for Knowledge Workers

March 9 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET

REGISTER NOW

About Kim:

Kim has worked in the Energy industry for over 25 years as an individual contributor and leader across several disciplines, including continuous improvement, asset management and project management.

He is passionate about continuous improvement and believes strongly that Lean principles can be applied to any team in any industry to achieve high levels of performance. He also believes that effective leadership is essential for any organisation to transform its performance and he works with organisations to share his skills and knowledge to improve leadership capability and implement business improvement solutions.

Get slides and more: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/methods-to-benefit-organizational-knowledge-management/webinar/signup

Presented by Dr. Cynthia J. Young, Founder/CEO of CJ Young Consulting, LLC

In this webinar, you will hear about some of the methods used in practicing knowledge management that also support achieving continuous improvement goals.

Methods we will discuss include:

• Checklists and check sheets
• Reports
• Lessons learned
• After action reviews
• Mapping (Process, Knowledge, and Mind)
• Communities of practice
• Kanban
• Gamification
• Battle rhythms

When you use these methods, you reduce the training required to bring your team up for speed, you can keep costs low because you aren’t having to buy new tools, and it helps your workforce become better problem solvers. This webinar will also be beneficial for ISO 9001-2015 certified organizations since it includes knowledge management, as Clause 7.1.6 Organizational Knowledge and ISO 30401:2018 Knowledge Management Systems, while not a certifiable requirement, is applicable to any organization.

Dr. Cynthia “Cindy” J. Young is the Founder/CEO of CJ Young Consulting, LLC, a knowledge management consulting firm, as well as a curriculum developer and instructor with Leidos. About a decade ago, she retired as a Surface Warfare Officer after 23 years in the U.S. Navy which is where her love for knowledge management began.

She holds professional certifications as a Project Management Professional, a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and as an ASQ-Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence. Cindy is a past-Chair of ASQ Tidewater, Section 1128 in Virginia Beach as well as having held terms as the Vice Chair and Secretary.

Her doctoral study, Knowledge Management and Innovation on Firm Performance of United States Ship Repair, provided her the opportunity to gain additional professional and academic expertise to facilitate improvements in organizational knowledge management. In September 2020, she gave a TEDx Talk called “A Knowledge Mindset: What You Know Comes from Where You Sit" which provides actions organizations can take to improve trust and retention through use of knowledge management practices.

We'll learn why Austin joined the company and why company culture is so important to him (as it is to KaiNexus).

Austin talks about his role as a Customer Success Manager and we also discuss some blog posts that he wrote:

The Invaluable Value of Culture

"Don’t Ask Me; That’s Not My Job"

Join us in episode 29 of our popular Ask Us Anything webinar series to listen to questions answered by this dynamic duo from KaiNexus' team of continuous improvement experts: Mark Graban & Greg Jacobson.

Questions include:

• What is your most-used emoji?
• Should I get a booster? If I had Covid? 
• How concerned are you about the Omicron variant?
• What are the strategies to sustain improvement?
• What is your advice on how to build lean systems on a culture foundation?
• What's the most challenging thing about being a CEO?
• What’s one thing we could do to improve our virtual meetings?
• Getting back into the office?
• What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?

December 14 from 1:00 - 2:00 ET  

Join us in episode 29 of our popular Ask Us Anything webinar series to listen to questions answered by this dynamic duo from KaiNexus' team of continuous improvement experts: Mark Graban & Greg Jacobson.  

Popular topics include:  

• Continuous improvement 
• KaiNexus software 
• Leadership 
• Entrepreneurship 
• Coping with Covid 
• Anything!

Presented by Eric Ethington, President, Lean Shift Consulting

View video, slides and more: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/the-power-of-process/webinar/signup

Learning Objectives:

Establish familiarity with the "6CON" process model

Define the role and of the System Architect and supporting skills

Share practical lessons learned for a System Architect getting started

*Applicable for manufacturing, healthcare, or any industry

Eric Ethington has a pragmatic approach for lean with over 35 years of work experience at Delphi, Textron, and LeanShift. He has been fortunate to learn about the science and methods of improvement from some of the best teachers available while working with highly capable teams in industries such as automotive, aerospace, defense, healthcare, medical devices, energy, and logistics.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University (formerly GMI) and an MBA in Operations from the University of Michigan, Flint campus. He earned a Six Sigma Design Black Belt while working at Textron. He serves on the Board of Directors at Goodwill Industries of Mid-Michigan as well as the Alumni Advisory Board for the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering department at Kettering University. Most recently, Eric has co-authored the book, The Power of Process, A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development with his long-time colleague and collaborator, Matt Zayko.

The Power of Process: The Role of the System Architect

November 18 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Eric Ethington, President, Lean Shift Consulting

Learning Objectives:

Establish familiarity with the "6CON" process model

Define the role and of the System Architect and supporting skills

Share practical lessons learned for a System Architect getting started

*Applicable for manufacturing, healthcare, or any industry

Eric on the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast: https://www.leanblog.org/2021/11/the-power-of-process-interview-with-matt-zayko-and-eric-ethington/

Eric Ethington has a pragmatic approach for lean with over 35 years of work experience at Delphi, Textron, and LeanShift. He has been fortunate to learn about the science and methods of improvement from some of the best teachers available while working with highly capable teams in industries such as automotive, aerospace, defense, healthcare, medical devices, energy, and logistics.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University (formerly GMI) and an MBA in Operations from the University of Michigan, Flint campus. He earned a Six Sigma Design Black Belt while working at Textron. He serves on the Board of Directors at Goodwill Industries of Mid-Michigan as well as the Alumni Advisory Board for the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering department at Kettering University. Most recently, Eric has co-authored the book, The Power of Process, A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development with his long-time colleague and collaborator, Matt Zayko.

Presented by

Sarah Baker, Consultant & Facilitator, IQC

In this webinar you will:

Understand the important components of buy-in

Learn the 4-step process to get buy-in

Reflect on the challenges and benefits of buy-in that relates to you

Sarah Baker

Sarah is a Consultant & Facilitator at IQC. She has an MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and a BA in Philosophy and Psychology. Sarah challenges and inspires others to think critically and shift toward more effective perspectives. Her thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and passion for learning support her in providing excellent work. As a facilitator, she uses philosophy and psychology techniques to inspire growth and excellence.

Areas of Expertise: Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Philosophy, Personal Leadership, Leadership Development, Curriculum Design, and Facilitation

October 21 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by
Sarah Baker, Consultant & Facilitator, IQC

In this webinar you will:

• Understand the important components of buy-in
• Learn the 4-step process to get buy-in
• Reflect on the challenges and benefits of buy-in that relates to you

Sarah Baker

Sarah is a Consultant & Facilitator at IQC. She has an MS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and a BA in Philosophy and Psychology. Sarah challenges and inspires others to think critically and shift toward more effective perspectives. Her thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and passion for learning support her in providing excellent work. As a facilitator, she uses philosophy and psychology techniques to inspire growth and excellence. 

Areas of Expertise: Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Philosophy, Personal Leadership, Leadership Development, Curriculum Design, and Facilitation

Presented by
Karyn Ross, Founder, CEO, President at The Love and Kindness Foundation
Jessica House, Founder at LightHouse Counselling and Wellness

I’m sure you’ve heard about the 5S’s in Lean. Doing 5S helps people stay physically safe and allows problems to be easily seen. But what about psychological safety? If you want the people in your organization to learn, improve and care for your customers, you need to take care of their psychological safety just as much as you care for their physical safety. That’s why Karyn Ross and Jessica House have created the 5Cs of psychological safety.

During this interactive session, you will learn about each of the 5C’s and how you and your organization can begin practicing them immediately so that you can optimize learning, growth, innovation, and improvement. Everyone will receive a copy of the 5Cs document following the session.

Karyn Ross

Karyn is on a mission to Help People Create a Better, Kinder World. An artist, internationally acclaimed speaker, award-winning author, consultant, coach, and practitioner, Karyn travels the globe teaching people her unique system of combining creativity, continuous improvement, and kindness to make a better world. As well as being the owner of KRC (Karyn Ross Consulting) Karyn is one of the Founding Mothers of Women in Lean – Our Table, a global group of more than seven hundred and fifty women lean practitioners. Karyn is also the Founder and President of the Love and Kindness Project Foundation, a registered public charity, and The New School for Kind Leaders. She has created both of these initiatives to help people around the world think, speak, act and lead more kindly.

When not traveling, Karyn spends time designing and sewing her own clothes! Follow Karyn on LinkedIn for a daily inspirational post about creativity, kindness, and/or continuous improvement.

Jessica House

Jessica House is an experienced counselor and coach with a diverse background that includes mental health services, leadership, and lean management. With over a decade of experience in the mental health field, and an unwavering philosophy that every human being wants to do well (and can do well), Jessica’s passion is helping children, parents, and families live their best life. She has a Master’s in Counselling Psychology and spent years working at a children's mental health center in Ottawa where she supported people experiencing a range of emotional, social, and/or behavioral challenges came for help.

By combining both lean and mental health, Jessica started her own business, Lighthouse Counselling and Wellness, where she collaborates with individuals, families and organizations to set and achieve ambitious goals, improve performance, and enhance their overall wellness. She is one of the co-creators of the 5C’s of psychological safety, a methodology that when practiced, sets the stage for learning, growth, innovation, and improvement.

Register: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/how-to-create-psychological-safety-at-work-using-the-5cs/webinar/signup

How to Create Psychological Safety at Work Using the 5Cs

September 14 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET

Presented by
Karyn Ross, Founder, CEO, President at The Love and Kindness Foundation
Jessica House, Founder at LightHouse Counselling and Wellness

I’m sure you’ve heard about the 5S’s in Lean. Doing 5S helps people stay physically safe and allows problems to be easily seen. But what about psychological safety? If you want the people in your organization to learn, improve and care for your customers, you need to take care of their psychological safety just as much as you care for their physical safety. That’s why Karyn Ross and Jessica House have created the 5Cs of psychological safety.

During this interactive session, you will learn about each of the 5C’s and how you and your organization can begin practicing them immediately so that you can optimize learning, growth, innovation, and improvement. Everyone will receive a copy of the 5Cs document following the session.

About the Presenters:

Karyn Ross: 

Karyn is on a mission to Help People Create a Better, Kinder World. An artist, internationally acclaimed speaker, award-winning author, consultant, coach, and practitioner, Karyn travels the globe teaching people her unique system of combining creativity, continuous improvement, and kindness to make a better world. As well as being the owner of KRC (Karyn Ross Consulting) Karyn is one of the Founding Mothers of Women in Lean – Our Table, a global group of more than seven hundred and fifty women lean practitioners. Karyn is also the Founder and President of the Love and Kindness Project Foundation, a registered public charity, and The New School for Kind Leaders. She has created both of these initiatives to help people around the world think, speak, act and lead more kindly.

When not traveling, Karyn spends time designing and sewing her own clothes! Follow Karyn on LinkedIn for a daily inspirational post about creativity, kindness, and/or continuous improvement.

Jessica House:

Jessica House is an experienced counselor and coach with a diverse background that includes mental health services, leadership, and lean management. With over a decade of experience in the mental health field, and an unwavering philosophy that every human being wants to do well (and can do well), Jessica’s passion is helping children, parents, and families live their best life. She has a Master’s in Counselling Psychology and spent years working at a children's mental health center in Ottawa where she supported people experiencing a range of emotional, social, and/or behavioral challenges came for help.

By combining both lean and mental health, Jessica started her own business, Lighthouse Counselling and Wellness, where she collaborates with individuals, families and organizations to set and achieve ambitious goals, improve performance, and enhance their overall wellness. She is one of the co-creators of the 5C’s of psychological safety, a methodology that when practiced, sets the stage for learning, growth, innovation, and improvement.

Presented by Adam Lawrence, Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC

In this webinar, you will learn...

Learn about all elements of the Wheel of Sustainability.

Get real-life examples of implementation of the Wheel

Understand how to develop Leadership Commitment to create and sustain a winning team experience

Adam Lawrence

Adam is the Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC. He has 30+ years of experience in process improvement activities, targeted at manufacturing and business processes. Having facilitated 300+ Kaizen events in multiple industries around the world, Adam aligns with leadership, engages teams, and creates sustainable results.

Married to his wonderful wife, Peggy, for 30 years, they have one son (Tyler, his IT department). Adam grew up in the Washington, DC area and received his BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech. He earned Lean certifications from the University of Michigan.

Register: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/the-wheel-of-sustainability/webinar/signup

August 9 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Adam Lawrence, Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC

In this webinar, you will learn...

• Learn about all elements of the Wheel of Sustainability.
• Get real-life examples of implementation of the Wheel
• Understand how to develop Leadership Commitment to create and sustain a winning team experience

Adam Lawrence

Adam is the Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC. He has 30+ years of experience in process improvement activities, targeted at manufacturing and business processes. Having facilitated 300+ Kaizen events in multiple industries around the world, Adam aligns with leadership, engages teams, and creates sustainable results.

Married to his wonderful wife, Peggy, for 30 years, they have one son (Tyler, his IT department). Adam grew up in the Washington, DC area and received his BS in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech. He earned Lean certifications from the University of Michigan.

Motivational Interviewing: The Key to Effective Conversations About Change

July 28 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Paola Torres, Sr. Performance Improvement Manager at Healthfirst in NYC

Learning objectives:

• Become familiar with the spirit, theory, and practice of Motivational Interviewing (MI)
• Identify your customer’s readiness for change based on key communication indicators
• Learn basic MI communication techniques to help your clients resolve their ambivalence and develop intrinsic motivation to change

Paola Torres

Paola Torres is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and continuous improvement professional with 17 years of experience in the Healthcare industry. She is currently a Sr. Performance Improvement Manager at Healthfirst in NYC. Prior to joining Healthfirst, she was the Director of Supply Chain Transformation and Integration at NYU Langone Health. As a Lean Six Sigma practitioner and coach, she has led over 40 cross-functional Kaizen/Rapid Improvement Events (RIE) integrating change management concepts and adult learning theory into applied process improvement science. A native of Colombia, she received her BS in Microbiology from Javeriana University in Bogota and MPA in Health Care Management from New York University.

Motivational Interviewing: The Key to Effective Conversations About Change

July 28 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Paola Torres, Sr. Performance Improvement Manager at Healthfirst in NYC

Learning objectives:

• Become familiar with the spirit, theory, and practice of Motivational Interviewing (MI)
• Identify your customer’s readiness for change based on key communication indicators
• Learn basic MI communication techniques to help your clients resolve their ambivalence and develop intrinsic motivation to change

About the Presenter:

Paola Torres

Paola Torres is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and continuous improvement professional with 17 years of experience in the Healthcare industry. She is currently a Sr. Performance Improvement Manager at Healthfirst in NYC. Prior to joining Healthfirst, she was the Director of Supply Chain Transformation and Integration at NYU Langone Health. As a Lean Six Sigma practitioner and coach, she has led over 40 cross-functional Kaizen/Rapid Improvement Events (RIE) integrating change management concepts and adult learning theory into applied process improvement science. A native of Colombia, she received her BS in Microbiology from Javeriana University in Bogota and MPA in Health Care Management from New York University.

As one of the newest KaiNexus employees (or KaiNexians), Chris asks Mark about reaching the 10-year anniversary (or KaiNexiversary) of his affiliation with the company.

Mark talks about how his role and relationship has evolved and shares some stories about how KaiNexus has continued to grow and evolve -- with more exciting things to come in the next decade!!!

Mark's blog post about his 10 years

The VacciNexus project

KaiNexus Webinars

KaiNexus Results

Chris has been a KaiNexus customer, he has lots of Lean experience, and he's a great fit to work with our customers and prospects as a Senior Lean Strategy Director.

In this episode, Mark Graban asks Chris about his background, why he joined, and what he'll be doing -- how he's creating and shaping this new role.

As a teaser, Chris starts to ask Mark why HE joined 10 years ago, but that will be in our next episode.

And here is the blog post he wrote: https://blog.kainexus.com/why-i-joined-kainexus-and-what-do-i-do-chris-burnham

The Objective: Scientifically develop leaders at all levels to deliver exactly what patients and/or customers need at continually lower cost – low risk, high reward, fast.

Kata Learning Objectives – Know why and how:

1. Conventional, data-driven leadership and management systems, projects, consultants, and technologies fail in complex, dynamic, unpredictable work.
2. Adaptive Design (AD) Kata improves standardized work in real-time.
3. AD Kata Leaders use the Scientific Method to improve at all levels: frontline to C-Suite
4. The people on AD Kata Teams discover, adapt, and improve as part of their daily work
5. AD Kata Leaders continuously replicate and scale results, success, trust, and optimism appropriate to their level and without waste of any resource

(c) 2021, John W. Kenagy, MD. Adaptive Design and Ideal Patient Care are registered trademarks of John Kenagy

About Dr. John Kenagy

Dr. Kenagy knows healthcare as a vascular surgeon, executive, academic researcher, author, and innovator. But his most meaningful experience was as a patient following a critical injury. He discovered his survival depended on the efforts of dedicated, highly trained individuals working in an unpredictable, conflicted system (the current healthcare Kata). As a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Business School, his research translated Leading Indicator Systems from resilient companies like Toyota, Apple, Intel and Amazon to healthcare. His discovery: our solutions are designed-to-adapt Kata’s from leadership to the point of care.

Our guest for this episode is Eric Mellert, the Manager, Process Improvement Team at Christian Care Ministry.

As it says on their website, Ii 1993, a formalized approach to sharing healthcare burdens began with the Medi-Share program. From small beginnings, this big idea took root. More than 25 years later, the Medi-Share program serves more than 400,000 members, and more than $2.6 billion dollars in medical bills have been shared and discounted.

Topics and questions:

• Tell us a little bit about Christian Care Ministry and Medi-Share
• How did you get introduced to Process Improvement?
• Why do you not like the word "expert"?
• What’s your approach to PI there… how do you train people, how do you conduct improvement work?
• What were some of the challenges created by Covid times, including a fully-remote workforce?
• When did KaiNexus become part of the equation and how have we helped?
• How are you taking PI “from the few to the many”?

Our guest is Cliona Archambeault, the Director of Process Improvement at one of our customers, UMass Memorial Health.

Topics and questions:

• In building a culture of improvement, what’s the explanation and expectation for new caregivers?
  
• Example of small improvements?
  
• Manager and leadership role?
  
• Impact of Covid on your improvement work?
  
• Using KaiNexus for idea system - 'Innovation Station"
  
• Why a phased approach to roll out?
  
• Tabulating stats and results numbers?
  
• 90,000 ideas — putting the old ones into KaiNexus

They are Lynn Howell and Mary Huck, both of whom have clinical backgrounds, but now help their colleagues throughout the system improve with Lean and other methods.

Topics and questions:

• Tell us about the label of “process excellence” and what that means to the system?
• Shifting from being doers to helpers and coaches
• What's the role of a Continuous Improvement (C.I.) specialist?
• Why is starting with observation so important?
• How and why did you shift your team’s focus from facilitating projects to coaching others on their improvement work?
• What’s your belt training and certification process like, including the levels? Are there goals for who to train and certify?
• What's next for you and the system?

Presented by
Robert Pitney, Process Improvement Engagement - System Co-Owner at UMass Memorial Health Care
Jon Brown, Continuous Improvement Manager at Crosby's

Moderated by
Mark Graban, Senior Advisor, KaiNexus

KaiNexus has such an interesting and diverse customer base, and this Customer Month webinar certainly highlights that! Join us to hear two leaders share about their continuous improvement practices, how the pandemic has impacted them, and how KaiNexus is a big part of their approach and success.

Crosby's: While molasses continues to be the mainstay of the business, Crosby’s has an ever-expanding line of dry-sugar-based products and syrups, with distribution in Canada, the New England States, and other international locations.

UMass Memorial Health: The largest health care system in Central Massachusetts offering the region’s most sophisticated medical technology & support services.

LINKS discussed during the session:

Our published customer impact numbers….  Cumulative across all customers over 10 years 

Eric Dickson on Lean and their turnaround strategy

Presented by Dr. Joy Dobson, Senior Physician Consultant at 3sHealth in Saskatchewan, Canada

See slides or video: https://www.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/innovative-patient-first-vaccination-clinic-design/webinar/thanks

Learning Objectives:

• Become familiar with a “care comes to the client” concept as applied in Canadian vaccination clinics
• Use lean concepts embedded in a “Patient First” model to improve value in clinics of any size

We know there will be many innovative practices shared that will have application possibilities across borders and outside of vaccination work and settings. 

The Q&A section included discussion of:

• Having just one month to prepare for vaccination
• How does their long-standing "idea process" work?
• About the U-cell: How does it address 30 minute observation vs 15?
• What are the causes of the variation in cycle times? Pre-filled syringes were a big part of that, other factors
• Do you start the day by filling up the pod or by pacing patients in at the cycle time?? They learned this over time...

Learn more and register: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/innovative-patient-first-vaccination-clinic-design/webinar/signup

An Innovative “Patient First” Vaccination Clinic Design

May 18 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET

Presented by Dr. Joy Dobson, Senior Physician Consultant at 3sHealth in Saskatchewan, Canada

Learning Objectives:

• Become familiar with a “care comes to the client” concept as applied in Canadian vaccination clinics
• Use lean concepts embedded in a “Patient First” model to improve value in clinics of any size

We know there will be many innovative practices shared that will have application possibilities across borders and outside of vaccination work and settings. We hope you can join us!

Dr. Joy Dobson

Joy is a former anesthesiologist and critical care physician who now restricts her practice to health system care. She has held a variety of leadership roles and been part of a large-scale lean transformation in Saskatchewan. Since February, Joy has been part of the quality improvement team tasked with optimizing the vaccine rollout to 1.2M citizens in the province.

You can also read a blog post she wrote about joining the company, just a month ago now.

Morgan is Customer Marketing Manager at KaiNexus. Welcome to the team!!!

How do you ensure leaders don't focus solely on bottom-line savings? 

How do you use the system to escalate problems that cannot be solved within the team itself? 

How do we know what is the "best" solution?? At point do you just have to test some things and see? 

Have you had issues with frontline staff coming up with ideas to solve a problem but management not agreeing with the idea so it does not move forward? If so, do you have any system in place to adress this issue?  

Note: OFI = Opportunity For Improvement

See and download slides: https://www.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/the-value-of-small-improvements/webinar/thanks

In this webinar, you will learn about:

Developing a Continuous Improvement Culture

• Why small ideas are important
• How rigid should the improvement structure be?
• How to evolve this culture based on internal and external input

Managing a Continuous Improvement Culture

• Challenges in a complex organizational structure
• Unique challenges in construction

About the Presenters:

Evan Graczyk
Continuous Improvement Manager, Woodfin Heating & Oil

Evan has a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University, along with a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Clemson. Previous roles include being a Lean Process Engineer at Schaeffler Group and a Lean Manufacturing Engineer at BorgWarner.

Bob Bell
Financial Planning and Analysis, Woodfin

Bob has a BBA in Marketing from the University of Georgia, a PBC in Information Technology from the University of Richmond, and an MBA from the UVA Darden School of Business. He earned his Six Sigma Green Belt while working at Circuit City. His background includes Retail (Operations & Finance), Information Technology, Inventory Management and Financial Planning and Analysis.

Slides and more: https://info.kainexus.com/improvement-disciplines/kata/kata-in-the-community/webinar/signup-0

Presented by Deondra Wardelle
President & CEO, "Kata Geek"

The webinar will cover:

1) Introduction to Kata – define Kata and explain the Improvement Kata steps and include industry-examples of Kata in practice. This session of the webinar will be designed for people who are curious about Kata, just started their Kata journey, and/or may have been 1st-time attendees at the recent KataCon from Lean Frontiers.

2) Kata Community – share Coaching Kata best practices, tips, and tricks I’ve picked up from other Kata Geeks.

3) Kata in the Community – provide examples of how the Improvement Kata can be used for non-manufacturing processes.

Deondra R. Wardelle is a visionary leader, problem solver, organizer, motivational speaker, and owner of On To the Next One Consulting, LLC. Her specialty is empowering and developing individuals and groups toward achieving their personal and professional goals.  She also coaches individuals and organizations in achieving and sustaining transformative change.

Deondra has a diverse professional background.  Her former roles include Chief Strategy Officer at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and Director of Performance Excellence for a global leader in the paper/packaging industry.  While working in the Performance Excellence space, she and her team led Continuous Improvement projects for more than 70 facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia. Deondra has also worked as a corporate trainer, project manager, and banking manager and has held various operations management roles.

A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Deondra possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications.  She has also pursued Leadership Studies at the Louisville Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned her Health Coach certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Deondra’s purpose is to help organizations, groups, and individuals overcome obstacles and achieve their grandest visions and goals – one step at a time. Deondra’s current passion project is the #RootCauseRacism movement, a global initiative to end systemic racism and social injustice.

The third blog series, The Colors of Love, focuses on the core concept of Lean - respect for people. This blog series aims to celebrate Black History Month in the U.S. and LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK while heightening awareness about the importance of valuing humanity, regardless of race, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), through demonstrating respect for people. The action of valuing the individual is vital to practice in education, health care and the workplace. Everyone should have the opportunity to thrive in an environment that encourages people to be true to themselves without the need for code-switching or fear for their well-being, advancement opportunities, or psychological and physical safety.

Beginning the week of February 22, several authors will pen blogs that stress the importance of demonstrating respect for Black people in the LGBTQ+ community. They also will challenge readers to be intentional allies and cultivate environments where every person’s potential can flourish.

Panelists will include continuous improvement experts who will be prepared to discuss how you can make a significant change in your workplace and community by demonstrating respect for people “one small improvement at a time”!

Moderators: Deondra Wardelle Mark Graban  Panelists: Madison Mobley Paul Critchley Scott Bogan Alexus Bertrand Jeff Welch Karla Parker

Panelist bios: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/rootcauseracism-the-colors-of-love/webinar 

#RootCauseRacism site: https://rootcauseracism.com  

Blog posts from the panelists: https://www.rootcauseracism.com/blog

Here is a preview of our next panel discussion:

February 25 from 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET

Presented by Deondra Wardelle

As a continuation of the first “Sharing Our Vision and Voices to #RootCauseRacism” blog series, Deondra Wardelle and her network of colleagues from the continuous improvement community reunite to provide additional insights to dismantle systemic racism through education, awareness and the application of Lean principles.

The third blog series, The Colors of Love, focuses on the core concept of Lean - respect for people. This blog series aims to celebrate Black History Month in the U.S. and LGBTQ+ History Month in the UK while heightening awareness about the importance of valuing humanity, regardless of race, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), through demonstrating respect for people. The action of valuing the individual is vital to practice in education, health care and the workplace. Everyone should have the opportunity to thrive in an environment that encourages people to be true to themselves without the need for code-switching or fear for their well-being, advancement opportunities, or psychological and physical safety.

Beginning the week of February 22, several authors will pen blogs that stress the importance of demonstrating respect for Black people in the LGBTQ+ community. They also will challenge readers to be intentional allies and cultivate environments where every person’s potential can flourish.

Panelists will include continuous improvement experts who will be prepared to discuss how you can make a significant change in your workplace and community by demonstrating respect for people “one small improvement at a time”!

Panelists:

Alexus Bertrand

Paul Critchley

Madison L. Mobley

Karla Parker

Jeff Welch

Please be sure to fill out the free "Predictive Index" assessment prior to viewing the webinar: https://assessment.predictiveindex.com/bo/E0N/Kainexus#page0

When we drive – we know what our cars can do, and we know where our blind spots are. But do you know the extent of your personal power? And do you know where your professional blind spots are?

Many people do not really know themselves. Carter Cast, professor of business management for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University says we have “blind spots because most of us have a hard time being objective about ourselves.” In fact, 95% of us BELIEVE we are self-aware. Research, however, proves that only 15% of us are ACTUALLY self-aware.

Isn’t it time to truly identify your personal strengths and blind spots?

About Scott:  Scott is the Executive Director of IQC and has worked and consulted in manufacturing, technology, education, and health care industries for over 30 years. In his professional career he held roles such as QA Manager, CI Manager, Organizational Development, Human Resources, SVP Quality & Improvement, and Chief Improvement Officer. Scott is a lifelong learner, professor, speaker and author of multiple books, articles and journal publications. As a Master Black Belt and creator of The DMAIC Way®, his goal is for everyone to Make it Better! Make it Stick!  

His website: https://iowaqc.org/

Host Mark Graban is joined by Scott Burgmeyer to give a preview of the webinar that he is presenting on February 17th.

Presented by Scott Burgmeyer, Executive Director - IQC (Iowa Quality Center)

When we drive – we know what our cars can do, and we know where our blind spots are. But do you know the extent of your personal power? And do you know where your professional blind spots are?

Many people do not really know themselves. Carter Cast, professor of business management for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University says we have “blind spots because most of us have a hard time being objective about ourselves.” In fact, 95% of us BELIEVE we are self-aware. Research, however, proves that only 15% of us are ACTUALLY self-aware.

Isn’t it time to truly identify your personal strengths and blind spots?

Scott is the Executive Director of IQC and has worked and consulted in manufacturing, technology, education, and health care industries for over 30 years. In his professional career he held roles such as QA Manager, CI Manager, Organizational Development, Human Resources, SVP Quality & Improvement, and Chief Improvement Officer. Scott is a lifelong learner, professor, speaker and author of multiple books, articles and journal publications. As a Master Black Belt and creator of The DMAIC Way®, his goal is for everyone to Make it Better! Make it Stick!

Register for the site: http://vaccinexus.com/

For the entire team at KaiNexus, the phrase "spread continuous improvement" is a driving mission statement. It's not just a business objective, it's something that we think can change the world. We truly believe that.

Our customers spread continuous improvement throughout their organizations. Often, this is person to person, team to team, department to department, and site to site. Our KaiNexus software supports them in this effort.

When we hear about big challenges in the world, such as the need to quickly and efficiently vaccinate as many people as possible against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 illness, we know that people are doing great work to solve problems and to be more effective.

But how are they spreading continuous improvement across organizations, across states, and across countries?

When Helen Zak, the president and COO of the healthcare consulting and advisory firm Value Capture asked the following in a meeting, it caught my attention:

"How can we help organizations across the United States (and abroad) share with each other?"

In addition to my role with KaiNexus, I am affiliated with Value Capture as I work with some of their clients. So, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to connect the dots. KaiNexus... connects us! I mentioned this possibility of using KaiNexus and the team Value Capture was intrigued. They wanted their clients to have a way to share with each other, but their mission also drives them to think bigger than that.

I approached the leadership team at KaiNexus and they immediately jumped to the challenge, throwing their support behind the effort. Our director of marketing, Maggie Millard, has driven this effort with the support of others on the KaiNexus team. She has said multiple times that this effort is the most exciting project that she has worked on during her years with the company...

VacciNexus!

What we've put together has been dubbed VacciNexus by Maggie, a special-purpose, simplified version of our KaiNexus platform. It's available now... and it's free.

“VacciNexus” is a web-based system (accessed via a browser or the KaiNexus mobile app) and it's easy to use. VacciNexus is a simplified version of the KaiNexus platform that allows registered users to:

1. Submit examples of vaccination process improvements (that have been implemented)
2. Read improvements submitted by others

See more in the blog post: https://blog.kainexus.com/sharing-covid-vaccination-process-improvements-vaccinexus

January 21 from 1:00 - 2:30 ET

The safe and prompt administration of the COVID vaccines is one of the most critical issues today in global public health.

In this 90-minute panel discussion moderated by Mark Graban and hosted by Value Capture and KaiNexus (in partnership with Catalysis), healthcare leaders from the private and public sectors will share their experiences with the COVID vaccine administration processes — what is working, what is not, and how Lean is helping make these processes better.

The objective of this webinar is to share the lessons these leaders have learned and continue to learn, in near real time, so that others dealing with their own vaccine administration challenges can benefit from and contribute to this discussion. We anticipate informative and lively discussions, with ample opportunity for Q&A.

Sponsored by KaiNexus, Value Capture, and Catalysis

Panelists:

Secretary Daniel Carey, MD
Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Commonwealth of Virginia

Penny Iannelli
Chief Transformation Officer
UMass Memorial Health Care

Lisa Malosh
Senior Director, Organizational Improvement
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM
Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
UMass Medical School

President
UMass Memorial Medical Group

Senior Associate Dean for Health Strategies
UMass Medical School

Please subscribe, rate, and review via Apple Podcasts or Podchaser!

Show notes and more: https://www.markgraban.com/dr-greg-jacobson-on-juggling-life-and-being-both-an-emergency-physician-and-a-startup-ceo/

Joining me for Episode #31 is Dr. Greg Jacobson, an emergency medicine physician and the CEO/co-founder of KaiNexus, a technology and software company. In the interest of full disclosure, I will mention that I have worked with KaiNexus, in various capacities, since 2011 and I have an ownership stake in the company.

That said, Greg is one of the most interesting people you'll ever meet. Many startup CEOs launch their company at night while working their day job. Greg started KaiNexus during the days while working some nights as an E.R. doc.

In today's episode, Greg (always the overachiever) shares FIVE favorite mistakes from his career:

1. Not reading more
2. Not figuring out work/life balance
3. Struggling with the diffusion of CEO attention as the company grows
4. Not being appreciative enough
5. Not doing his own due diligence

We'll talk about all of that, the importance of creating a culture of continuous improvement in a company, and much more. I think you'll enjoy the conversation, as I did.

January 21 from 1:00 - 2:30 ET

The safe and prompt administration of the COVID vaccines is one of the most critical issues today in global public health.

In this 90-minute panel discussion moderated by Mark Graban and hosted by Value Capture and KaiNexus (in partnership with Catalysis), healthcare leaders from the private and public sectors will share their experiences with the COVID vaccine administration processes — what is working, what is not, and how Lean is helping make these processes better.

The objective of this webinar is to share the lessons these leaders have learned and continue to learn, in near real time, so that others dealing with their own vaccine administration challenges can benefit from and contribute to this discussion. We anticipate informative and lively discussions, with ample opportunity for Q&A.

Secretary Daniel Carey, MD
Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Commonwealth of Virginia

Penny Iannelli
Chief Transformation Officer
UMass Memorial Health Care

Lisa Malosh
Senior Director, Organizational Improvement
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, MHCM
Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
UMass Medical School

President
UMass Memorial Medical Group

Senior Associate Dean for Health Strategies
UMass Medical School

In this webinar, participants will:  * Be able to identify three key differences to overcome when making the transition from Lean manufacturing to the office. * Receive tools and techniques to apply to overcome the three key differences. * Increase their confidence to apply Lean to new environments/applications.  

This webinar will be presented in English, with automated Spanish subtitles  

Stephanie Hill is the owner of Light Bulb Moment Consulting in Des Moines, Iowa. She has over 20 years of experience applying quality and continuous improvement to the manufacturing, retail, insurance, and healthcare industries. She has certifications in Strategic HR Leadership and Scaled Agile, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a master’s degree in Public Health, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. Her focus is on helping small businesses and nonprofits improve their effectiveness and efficiency through the combination of people, processes, and performance.

This is a short preview of a webinar that will be presented on January 13, 2021 at 1 pm ET, by Stephanie Hill, hosted by Mark Graban of KaiNexus.

In this webinar, participants will:

• Be able to identify three key differences to overcome when making the transition from Lean manufacturing to the office.
• Receive tools and techniques to apply to overcome the three key differences.
• Increase their confidence to apply Lean to new environments/applications.

This webinar will be presented in English, with automated Spanish subtitles

About the presenter:

Stephanie Hill is the owner of Light Bulb Moment Consulting in Des Moines, Iowa. She has over 20 years of experience applying quality and continuous improvement to the manufacturing, retail, insurance, and healthcare industries. She has certifications in Strategic HR Leadership and Scaled Agile, a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a master’s degree in Public Health, and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. Her focus is on helping small businesses and nonprofits improve their effectiveness and efficiency through the combination of people, processes, and performance.

December 8  from 1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT

Presented by
Albanesa Ymaya, CLSSBB, Ymaya Lean Academy

Moderated by
JJ Puentes, KaiNexus

"Kaikaku First... Kaizen Event Later" (also available in English)

En este seminario web, nuestra presentadora compartirá un profundo conocimiento de dos enfoques LEAN para respaldar la transformación empresarial: Kaikaku y Eventos Kaizen. Revisaremos las definiciones generales en torno a estos términos y explicaremos el objetivo de cada enfoque, los puntos en común, las diferencias y los beneficios.

Al final del seminario web, comprenderá por qué “Kaikaku Primero y Evento Kaizen Después” es un enfoque útil. Finalmente Albanesa compartirá la fórmula que utiliza para lograr una verdadera Transformación Lean en cualquier negocio.

About Albanesa Ymaya:

• Dominicana
  
• Fundadora, Presidente y CEO de Ymaya Lean Academy Inc.
  
• Experiencia Docente de más de 17 años.  Más de 6,000 personas capacitadas en LATAM, USA, EU.
  
• Más de 17 años como Ingeniera Industrial. Con Postgrado en Gerencia de Calidad y Productividad. Especialización en Gerencia de Proyecto y Logística.
  
• Certificaciones internacionales: LSSBB, SSGB, SSYB, MOST, KT-PPS, Auditora Interna ISO y TL 9000.
  
• Más  de 17 años liderando Transformaciones LEAN en empresas multinacionales en diferentes países (República Dominicana, México, Carolina del Norte, y Herlev).
  
• Ha ocupado varias posiciones dentro de la industria en las  áreas  de Excelencia Operacional y Mejora Continua de Procesos (desde Técnico 1 hasta Gerente Regional para las Américas y Europa).
  
• Manejo de Portafolio de proyectos  de  más de 10 MM USD$.
  
• Formadora de Líderes de Trabajo y equipos de alto rendimiento.
  
• Lean Coach, Asesora y Consultora Senior.
  
• Directora Regional para el Caribe en la Fundación Internacional Love and Kindness Project Foundation.
  

Her website: https://www.ymayaleanacademy.org/ 

Webinar Presented by
Albanesa Ymaya, CLSSBB, Ymaya Lean Academy

Moderated by
JJ Puentes, KaiNexus

"Kaikaku First... Kaizen Event Later"

A few months back, a KaiNexus customer suggested that we host a webinar that is presented in Spanish. So we are trying that with this webinar — with an option for English speakers, as well.

The webinar will be presented live, in Spanish, on December 8th. Q&A will be moderated in Spanish. But, if you register for the webinar, we will send you an English-language recording of the webinar and you will be able to submit questions via email.

In this webinar, our presenter will share a deep understanding of two LEAN approaches to support business transformation — Kaikaku and Kaizen Events. We will review general definitions around these terms and will explain the goal of each approach, the commonalities, the differences, and the benefits.

At the end of the webinar, you will understand why “Kaikaku First and Kaizen Event Later” is a useful approach. Finally Albanesa will share the formula she uses to achieve a real lean transformation in any business.

Albanesa Ymaya, from the Dominican Republic, is Founder, President and CEO of Ymaya Lean Academy Inc. With more than 17 years as an Industrial Engineer working with Lean Transformations in the Manufacturing sector (Medical Devices and Electronic), she has a post-degree in Quality and Productivity Management and specializations in Project Management and Logistic Management. Certified as Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Six Sigma Green Belt, Six Sigma Yellow Belt, ISO and TL 9000 Auditor, Kepner Tregoe Practical Problem Solving, Maynard Operation Sequence Technique (MOST), and is Shingo Model trained.

Albanesa has more than 17 years as professor on Institutes and Universities. She has trained more than 6,000 people from different countries (Latin America, Caribbean, United States and Europe).

She has been in Lean Manufacturing environments since she started her career as an industrial engineer where she occupied different roles, from Lean technician to Lean Six Sigma Regional Manager for Americas and Europe. She has led different Lean Transformations in different countries (Dominican Republic, Mexico, North Carolina, and Herlev). She has managed project portfolios of more than $10 million and has received different International Awards (“Lean Coach of the Year” - “Plant Lean of the Year” - “Operations Excellence Award”).

Recently she started to support the Love and Kindness Project Foundation with the role of Caribbean Region Director.  

Her website: HTTP://ymayaleanacademy.org 

The Love and Kindness Project Foundation: https://loveandkindnessproject.org/

Please join us as Greg Jacobson, MD (CEO and co-founder of KaiNexus), and Mark Graban (Senior Advisor to KaiNexus) share an interactive hour talking about continuous improvement and more.  It won’t be a single 45-minute long presentation. Mark & Greg will address your questions on continuous improvement, Covid-19, or anything you like (submitted in advance and live during the session). If you’ve been part of our previous “Ask Us Anything!” webinars, we’ll follow some of that format.  In this session, we'll tackle weighty continuous improvement issues and other topics through a number of polls, interactive audience participation segments, mini-presentations, and more.

When Brothers Meet at Gemba October 22 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT  Presented by Deondra Wardelle, Leader of the #RootCauseRacism Movement  Co-Moderated by Mark Graban, Senior Advisor, KaiNexus  Join us as we continue the blog series: “Sharing Our Vision and Voices to #RootCauseRacism.” Be part of our mission to address the problem of systemic racism and the demand for social justice. Our newest blog series will take on important historical significance as we encourage you to exercise your right to vote!  Starting on October 19, 2020, you’ll have the chance to join Deondra Wardelle and her network of colleagues from the continuous improvement community and other industries. They’ll present an insightful online blog series called “When Brothers Meet at Gemba.” Experience the dynamic and heart-felt writing of our bloggers, influencers, and Lean thought leaders, as they provide you with historical references and current data that will provide clarification on the current state of U.S. policies and legislations. You’ll gain unique insight on how these policies shape and impact Education, Healthcare, and Economics in America.  As a finale to our blog series, you’re also invited to attend a webinar panel discussion on Thursday, October 22nd at 1pm EDT. Our discussion panelists will include Mark Graban, Deondra Wardelle, and continuous improvement experts. Each panelist will discuss and spotlight key points about the anti-racism calls to action and voting plans that were shared earlier in the blog series.  Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how you can make significant change in your own community by learning more about #RootCauseRacism and exercising your right to vote! Register today for the webinar, “When Brothers Meet at Gemba.”  The panelists:  Aric Ho Mark Graban Christopher D. Chapman Hugh R. Alley Jeff Welch Sam Morgan

The 2020 Presidential election is being regarded as the “Election of our Lifetime.” There is a lot at stake on countless ballots whether at the county, city, state, or national level. Tensions are high in America due largely to the Coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest caused by strained race relations. It’s important that “We the People” steady our thoughts, conduct our research, and develop a plan to ensure our voices are heard. We must exercise our right to vote! It doesn’t matter if you vote via absentee ballot, early voting, or if you vote in person on Election Day--now is the time to develop a solid voting plan, and vote for kindness!  Join Deondra Wardelle, leader of the #RootCauseRacism movement, and other thought leaders for a panel webinar discussion, as they commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – Women’s Suffrage and the Women’s Rights Movement. She’ll be joined by Karyn Ross, founder of the Love and Kindness Project – Vote for Kindness Project, Elisabeth Swann and Tracy O'Rourke, Co-Authors of the Problem Solver’s Toolkit and Co-Founders of the JIT Cafe, Brunessa Drayton, a community advocate and political influencer, as well as Chelle Wilson and Jasmyne E. McCoy of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The panelists will discuss the real and present danger of voter suppression, the importance of knowing your rights, and how to develop a solid voting plan which will ensure your voice is heard in this year’s elections.

Presented by Simon Murray, Founder @Your Maintenance Coach  

Ultimately the value of any trainer, coach, or leader is in their ability to deliver fully implemented projects on time to budget.  So many things in our modern world make this a real challenge; from remote teams to disengaged staff and conflicting priorities, there are obstacles every step of the way.  In this session, Simon will share his learnings from adopting a 6 week project cycle in both his own business and with clients. This cycle has led to a massive increase in team engagement and also a surprising rise in completed works.  In addition to sharing the results, Simon will walk attendees through all of the steps and templates that he has adapted from the software development industry to better support the CI program in any organization.  

The Presenter: Simon Murray  From bricks to bread, from family business to global multinational.  Simon has spent the last 20 years creating, leading, and coaching High Performance manufacturing teams.    With roles in reliability, project management, operations and General Management Simon has held many positions within a manufacturing business and as such offers a unique perspective to continuous improvement.    In 2012, Simon founded Your Maintenance Coach and has worked with dozens of businesses across 4 continents.  While predominantly focused on helping Maintenance and Reliability teams Simon’s passion is in Continuous Improvement and thrives in finding and implementing new ways to do old things.

From Greg's blog post about this discussion:

I received an interesting call a few weeks back from Bahnsen Miller, MD. Bahnsen is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Health System. He attended LSU School of Medicine and completed his residency training there. After residency training, he completed a quality improvement and patient safety fellowship at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge—this is where he learned about KaiNexus. Since then, Bahnsen has been working with residents and students on various quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.

He asked me if I had ever thought of using KaiNexus to help train physicians during their medical school and/or residency periods. It brought back a flood of memories from how my “improvement story” began.

This video is a quick preview, with Mark Graban talking to Simon Murray about his webinar...  

Six Weeks to Success: How to double your output and half your stress by using 6-week improvement cycles

October 15 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm EDT  

Presented by Simon Murray, Founder @Your Maintenance Coach  

Ultimately the value of any trainer, coach or leader is in their ability to deliver fully implemented projects on time to budget.  So many things in our modern world make this a real challenge; from remote teams to disengaged staff and conflicting priorities there are obstacles every step of the way.  In this session Simon will share his learnings from adopting a 6 week project cycle in both his own business and with clients. This cycle has led to a massive increase in team engagement and also a surprising rise in completed works.  In addition to sharing the results Simon will walk attendees through all of the steps and templates that he has adapted from the software development industry to better support the CI program in any organization.

Presented by
Scott Burgmeyer, Executive Director - IQC

Companies, teams, and individuals work tirelessly to figure out how to change and build a culture focused on performance, improvement, and delivering excellence to the customer. During this session, we will explore methods to define and create a culture of improvement that can work in any organization.

• Learn and understand approaches for improvement.
• Discover best practice methods to improve how you improve.
• Identify key steps you can take to start on the journey now.

Scott Burgmeyer

Scott is the Executive Director of IQC and has worked and consulted in manufacturing, technology, education, and health care industries for over 30 years. In his professional career, he held roles such as QA Manager, CI Manager, Organizational Development, Human Resources, SVP Quality & Improvement, and Chief Improvement Officer. Scott is a lifelong learner, professor, speaker and author of multiple books, articles and journal publications. As a Master Black Belt and creator of The DMAIC Way®, his goal is for everyone to Make it Better! Make it Stick!

Presented by Scott Burgmeyer, Executive Director - IQC  

In this preview, Scott is joined by Mark Graban of KaiNexus, to discuss his upcoming webinar.  

Companies, teams, and individuals work tirelessly to figure out how to change and build a culture focused on performance, improvement, and delivering excellence to the customer. During this session, we will explore methods to define and create a culture of improvement that can work in any organization.  Learn and understand approaches for improvement. Discover best practice methods to improve how you improve. Identify key steps you can take to start on the journey now.  Scott is the Executive Director of IQC and has worked and consulted in manufacturing, technology, education, and health care industries for over 30 years. In his professional career, he held roles such as QA Manager, CI Manager, Organizational Development, Human Resources, SVP Quality & Improvement, and Chief Improvement Officer. Scott is a lifelong learner, professor, speaker and author of multiple books, articles and journal publications. As a Master Black Belt and creator of The DMAIC Way®, his goal is for everyone to Make it Better! Make it Stick!

Presented by
John Toussaint, MD, Executive Chairman, Catalysis
Skip Steward, MBA, Vice President and Chief Improvement Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care
Greg Jacobson, MD, CEO of KaiNexus

Hosted by Mark Graban

In this webinar, co-sponsored by KaiNexus and Lean Frontiers, you’ll hear an esteemed panel talk about how Lean and continuous improvement mindsets have served some healthcare organizations well during the pandemic. Learn how one such organization is “better because of the pandemic and continues to get better.” You’ll hear about organizations that have made a deeper commitment to their employees during these challenging times through no layoff / no furlough commitments.

We’ll talk about that and we’ll answer live questions from the audience. Even though the panel consists of healthcare leaders, we know the lessons and ideas will be applicable to any sort of organization. 

https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/lean-and-ci-help-you-get-more-nimble-and-adaptive-in-a-pandemic/webinar/signup 

To be Presented by: John Toussaint, MD, Executive Chairman, Catalysis Skip Steward, MBA, Vice President and Chief Improvement Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care Greg Jacobson, MD, CEO of KaiNexus Moderated by Mark Graban, KaiNexus

In this webinar, co-sponsored by KaiNexus and Lean Frontiers, you’ll hear an esteemed panel talk about how Lean and continuous improvement mindsets have served some healthcare organizations well during the pandemic. Learn how one such organization is “better because of the pandemic and continues to get better.” You’ll hear about organizations that have made a deeper commitment to their employees during these challenging times through no layoff / no furlough commitments.

We’ll talk about that and we’ll answer live questions from the audience. Even though the panel consists of healthcare leaders, we know the lessons and ideas will be applicable to any sort of organization. So, we hope you can join us!

Presented by
Jen Ashley, Care Center Site Supervisor for Practice Design
Didier Rabino, Client Advisor for Value Capture

Leader standard work is an essential component in a lean environment. The fact is that using lean with processes without changing leadership principles and practices never goes well. Consequently, when leaders stick to their old ways the new lean processes will eventually break.

Didier Rabino, Client Advisor at Value Capture and Jennifer Ashley, Site Supervisor Sutter Health will discuss “Leading with Respect: Standard Work for Frontline Leaders." They will share the concepts of frontline leader standard work and their practical applications.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the frontline leader's role and responsibilities
• Define processes and tools to support the frontline leader’s SW

Leading with Respect: Standard Work for Frontline Leaders

September 15 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT

Presented by
Jen Ashley, Care Center Site Supervisor for Practice Design
Didier Rabino, Client Advisor for Value Capture

Leader standard work is an essential component in a lean environment. The fact is that using lean with processes without changing leadership principles and practices never goes well. Consequently, when leaders stick to their old ways the new lean processes will eventually break.

Didier Rabino, Client Advisor at Value Capture and Jennifer Ashley, Site Supervisor Sutter Health will discuss “Leading with Respect: Standard Work for Frontline Leaders." They will share the concepts of frontline leader standard work and their practical applications.

Jennifer Ashley holds a Bachelor’s Degree and is a Care Center Site Supervisor for Practice Design. Jennifer joined Sutter Valley Medical Foundation in 2008. Her Sutter career path started as a Patient Service Representative then moved into a Patient Service Coordinator and is now leading a team on innovation for Practice Design and In Person Patient Flow.

Presented by John Toussaint, MD, and Kim Barnas from Catalysis

In this webinar, you will learn:

• A method for self-assessment of fundamental behavior
• How to use A3 format as a personal improvement plan

This webinar serves as a bit of a preview of their upcoming book of the same title, due out September 1st -- pre-order now!

The Panelists:

John Toussaint, MD

John is an Internist, former healthcare CEO and is one of the foremost figures in the adoption of organizational excellence principles in healthcare. He founded Catalysis anonprofit education institute in 2008. Catalysis has launched peer-to-peer learning networks, developed in-depth workshops, and created many products – including books, DVDs and webinars. Dr. Toussaint has written three books all of which have received the prestigious Shingo Research and Publication Award: 1) On the Mend 2) Potent Medicine 3) Management on the Mend.

Kim Barnas, CEO of Catalysis

Prior to her role at Catalysis, Kim served as a senior vice president for ThedaCare, and president of Appleton Medical Center and Theda Clark Medical Center. While in that role she enjoyed the opportunity to learn about LEAN and implement this work in hospital operations. The ThedaCare Improvement System (LEAN) path started in 2003, with value stream mapping followed by improvement events, and projects. She was involved in leading two of the initial value streams for OB and cancer services. In 2014, Kim authored a book titled Beyond Heroes, A Lean Management System for Healthcare, based on this journey. Kim has a Master of Science degree in Health Care Administration.

August 19 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm EDT

Presented by John Toussaint, MD, and Kim Barnas from Catalysis

In this webinar, you will learn:

• A method for self-assessment of fundamental behavior
• How to use A3 format as a personal improvement plan

This webinar serves as a bit of a preview of their upcoming book of the same title, due out September 1st -- pre-order now!

Presented by Deondra Wardelle and a panel that includes the original founders of The Women in Lean:

Karyn Ross
Crystal Y. Davis
Dorsey Sherman

Have you been listening to the heartbeat of what’s going on in the world? Activists are calling for an end to systemic racism and social injustice. There’s an urgent demand for change. Have you been wondering how you can become more involved?

Starting on August 8, 2020, you’ll have the chance to join Deondra R. Wardelle and her network of colleagues from the continuous improvement community and other industries, as they present an insightful week-long series of blog articles at LeanBlog.org.

Join us for the online series called “Sharing Our Visions and Voices to #RootCauseRacism.” Experience the dynamic and heart-felt writing of our bloggers, as they provide you with tangible anti-racism countermeasures. Experience the feeling of empowerment, as they share specific actions that you can implement within your own circle of influence.

As a grand finale to our blog series, you’re also invited to attend a webinar panel discussion on Friday, August 14, at 1pm EDT. Our discussion panelists include Karyn Ross, Crystal Davis, and Dorsey Sherman, original founders of The Women in Lean. These continuous improvement experts will answer questions and spotlight key points about the anti-racism calls to action that were shared earlier in our blog series.

Don’t miss this opportunity to make significant change in your own community. Register today for “Sharing our Visions and Voices to #RootCauseRacism.”

Mark Graban is joined by Deondra R. Wardelle to preview the special panel discussion that will take place on Friday, August 14th.

Presented by Deondra Wardelle and a panel that includes the original founders of The Women in Lean:

Karyn Ross
Crystal Y. Davis
Dorsey Sherman

Have you been listening to the heartbeat of what’s going on in the world? Activists are calling for an end to systemic racism and social injustice. There’s an urgent demand for change. Have you been wondering how you can become more involved?

Starting on August 8, 2020, you’ll have the chance to join Deondra R. Wardelle and her network of colleagues from the continuous improvement community and other industries, as they present an insightful week-long series of blog articles at LeanBlog.org.

Join us for the online series called “Sharing Our Visions and Voices to #RootCauseRacism.” Experience the dynamic and heart-felt writing of our bloggers, as they provide you with tangible anti-racism countermeasures. Experience the feeling of empowerment, as they share specific actions that you can implement within your own circle of influence.

As a grand finale to our blog series, you’re also invited to attend a webinar panel discussion on Friday, August 14, at 1pm EDT. Our discussion panelists include Karyn Ross, Crystal Davis, and Dorsey Sherman, original founders of The Women in Lean. These continuous improvement experts will answer questions and spotlight key points about the anti-racism calls to action that were shared earlier in our blog series.

Don’t miss this opportunity to make significant change in your own community. Register today for “Sharing our Visions and Voices to #RootCauseRacism.”

This is a preview of a webinar that Simon De Castro will be presenting on August 11:

"Preview: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in the DMAIC Methodology"

In this webinar, you will:

• Understand common pitfalls that can happen in the implementation of a DMAIC project
• Listen to examples of some of these mistakes
• Learn about what to do to avoid these problems

Simon De Castro is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with Texas Health Resources. He is also certified as a coach and as a Change Management Practitioner.

He has more than 25 years of experience, 17 of them working in Lean Six Sigma managerial roles in companies like Sara Lee, Johnson & Johnson, and since 2017, at Texas Health Resources, where he has worked on the design, implementation, and maintenance of KaiNexus.

In his continuous improvement journey, Simon has accumulated a great deal of experience in the design and delivery of Lean Six Sigma content and has coached more than 300 yellow and green belt projects to successful completion.

Presented by

Crystal Y. Davis, The Lean Coach, Inc.

Karen Martin, TKMG, Inc.

Mike McGowan, Marietta Memorial Hospital

Are you now faced with the challenge of doing more improvement work in a virtual way, given the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic?

Join us for our second virtual panel discussion on this topic, hosted by KaiNexus and moderated by Mark Graban, with three improvement leaders who have recent experiences in this new era.

No slides, just tips and lessons learned from three experienced improvement facilitators and coaches.

Crystal Y. Davis, CLSSBB

Founder, CEO, and Principal Lean Practitioner @The Lean Coach, Inc

Crystal helps leaders create a culture of problem solvers allowing them to focus and deploy strategically. Specializing in the "Toyota Way" Lean model. Over 20 years of proven Lean experience in automotive, beverage and supply chain industries. STEM Industry focus. Client roster consists of Fortune 500/1000 Companies. Formally mentored by Toyota Senseis. Led companies to award-winning results, recognized for operational excellence at the "Lean Enterprise Institute Summit" and "Industry Week Best Plant".

Karen Martin

President TKMG Group & TKMG Academy

Karen is the President of TKMG, Inc., a global consulting firm that specializes in operational excellence, Lean management, and business performance improvement. They help their clients create strategies, operations, and work environments that drive profitability and growth, deliver exceptional customer value, and maximize human potential. She is also the Founder & President of a new online learning destination, TKMG Academy, Inc. They aim to be the premier online learning choice for business performance improvement, Lean management, and leadership development. Karen is the author or co-author of five business performance books, including two Shingo Award-winning books: The Outstanding Organization and Value Stream Mapping. Her latest, Clarity First, centers on her core belief that all success in life—both business and personal—is a result of operating with clarity.

Mike McGowan, LSSBB, MBOE

Director, Process Excellence at Marietta Memorial Hospital

Mike McGowan directs and oversees a team of Continuous Improvement specialists and works to apply lean thinking and tools to improve the current system. He was previously the Senior Director of Diagnostic Services for Memorial Health System. He has a Masters of Business in Operational Excellence degree from The Ohio State University.

Register in advance or view the recording afterward: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/virtual-improvement-2/webinar/signup

Presented by
Crystal Y. Davis, The Lean Coach, Inc.
Karen Martin, TKMG, Inc.
Mike McGowan, Marietta Memorial Hospital

Are you now faced with the challenge of doing more improvement work in a virtual way, given the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic?

Join us for our second virtual panel discussion on this topic, hosted by KaiNexus and moderated by Mark Graban, with three improvement leaders who have recent experiences in this new era.

No slides, just tips and lessons learned from three experienced improvement facilitators and coaches.

• Dan's book The Conclusion Trap
• Watch the episode of Bar Rescue that Dan references ($)
• Read what happened to the bar Swanky Bubbles

To register: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/better-decision-making/webinar/signup

We encourage you to attend and participate live, as this will be a very interactive session.

Dan's new book: The Conclusion Trap: Four Steps to Better Decisions -- https://amzn.to/3dmyk21 

Presented by
Roy Vasher, WHIN Education Consultant, Purdue University
Steve Dunlop, Managing Director of Dauch Center for DCMME & GSCMI
Ananth Iyer, Senior Associate Dean, Purdue University
Dr. Angus McLeod, VP of Coaching at AMA

Hosted and moderated by Mark Graban

This webinar is focused on manufacturing, but will have important lessons related to leadership and supply chain operations -- important issues in any industry these days.

Listen to a quick preview:

In this webinar, you'll learn:

How focusing on Technology, Product, People and Process (TP3)are key to holistic management of pandemics through to the New Normal
The role of Agility in keeping ahead of events
Why and how communication can create trust or lose trust
A psychological and work-culture ethos for opportunity, not threat
Why now is the time to shift focus from fire-fighting to strategy
How Infection control audit and measures leverage Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to reduce infection threats and helps us focus on efficacy enhancement, not just costs/wastes
Why investing in technology is immediately a more affordable and strategic advantage then it was before the pandemic
Why our multi-tasking tool helps during the pandemic and helps beyond the New Normal
Why re-shoring strategies now make even more sense than they did prior to the pandemic

Presented by
Chris Burnham, Continuous Improvement Program Manager at Wright Medical
Tyler Clements, Customer Experience Analyst, AcenTek
Mohamed Saleh, PhD, Founder & Principal, Vizibility llc

Are you now faced with the challenge of doing more improvement work in a virtual way, given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Join us for a virtual panel discussion, hosted by KaiNexus and moderated by Mark Graban, with three improvement leaders who have recent experiences in this new era.

Register: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/manufacturing-after-a-pandemic/webinar/signup

Presented by

• Roy Vasher, WHIN Education Consultant, Purdue University
• Steve Dunlop, Managing Director of Dauch Center for DCMME &  GSCMI
• Ananth Iyer, Senior Associate Dean, Purdue University
• Dr. Angus McLeod, VP of Coaching at AMA

This webinar is focused on manufacturing, but will have important lessons related to leadership and supply chain operations -- important issues in any industry these days.

In this webinar, you'll learn:

• How focusing on Technology, Product, People and Process (TP3)are key to holistic management of pandemics through to the New Normal
• The role of Agility in keeping ahead of events
• Why and how communication can create trust or lose trust
• A psychological and work-culture ethos for opportunity, not threat
• Why now is the time to shift focus from fire-fighting to strategy
• How Infection control audit and measures leverage Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to reduce infection threats and helps us focus on efficacy enhancement, not just costs/wastes
• Why investing in technology is immediately a more affordable and strategic advantage then it was before the pandemic
• Why our multi-tasking tool helps during the pandemic and helps beyond the New Normal
• Why re-shoring strategies now make even more sense than they did prior to the pandemic

In this video, Katie answers some of the great questions that we didn't have time to address. She's joined by Mark Graban, who poses the questions and joins in on the discussion.

Her book: https://kbjanderson.com/learning-to-lead/

Questions:

Thinking about the quote, "a practical style is more important than precision when setting targets." Can you say a bit more about what that might look like in practice or with a concrete example?

What if you're not a formal leader but an informal leader. How do your intentions change? I coach facility CI Managers but they don't report to me.

I have many similar Toyota experiences to Yoshino san.......did Yoshino san have any experiences of people who really didn't want to think and be developed?

You mentioned the "What and How" to ask open ended questions. How do you get to asking the 5 whys by using the what and how?

What is a good way to start with direction setting as a manager/formal leader if your company isn't using Hoshin Kanri yet?

Do you find that your personal purpose/mission aligns with your career purpose?

What is the very first step to change culture in an organization?

What you suggest to create a culture that let people generate ideas ?

Enter to win a free copy of the book: https://kbjanderson.com/giveaways/learning-to-lead-leading-to-learn-book-giveaway-with-kainexus/

A webinar presented by Katie Anderson, hosted by Mark Graban and KaiNexus.

In this webinar, Katie will present on becoming a more intentional people-centered leader. The key learning points are:

* Understand the three key roles of a leader in developing an intentional people-centered culture

* Preview quotes and inside stories from Isao Yoshino's 40 years of learning and leading at Toyota from the soon-to-be published book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn

* Discover some little known history about how Toyota intentionally developed its culture of respect for people and continuous improvement

* Learn several practices to help create a people-centered culture as both a leader or coach

* Set your own intention for how you will improve as a leader of coach in creating a people-centered culture in your organization

Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Creating an Intentional People-Centered Culture

May 21 from 1:00 - 2:00 ET

Presented by Katie Anderson, KBJ Anderson Consulting

In this webinar, Katie will present on becoming a more intentional people-centered leader. The key learning points are:

• Understand the three key roles of a leader in developing an intentional people-centered culture
• Preview quotes and inside stories from Isao Yoshino's 40 years of learning and leading at Toyota from the soon-to-be published book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn
• Discover some little known history about how Toyota intentionally developed its culture of respect for people and continuous improvement
• Learn several practices to help create a people-centered culture as both a leader or coach
• Set your own intention for how you will improve as a leader of coach in creating a people-centered culture in your organization

A webinar presented by Presented by Bill Griffith, AVP Integration and Standardization at Broward Health

Hosted by KaiNexus and Mark Graban

In this webinar, Bill will present on:

Background of strategy deployment
Driving factors to utilize KaiNexus
Identifying system strategies
Connecting hospital strategies
Lessons learned
Questions and answers

Bill Griffith has worked as a senior executive coach to transform healthcare by eliminating waste, over $1 Billion in cost enhancements, and reducing length of stay while increasing volume in key service lines. Bill has a strong operational background in Lean Six Sigma, implementing in multiple industries around the world. He has identified process improvements that have eliminated millions of dollars of waste while adding time back for customers and associates.

This is a quick preview of a webinar that will be presented on April 29th, by Bill Griffith, AVP Integration and Standardization at Broward Health. Bill has worked in many industries, so there will be something to learn for everybody.

https://continuous-improvement.com/webinars/

Are you struggling to drive continuous improvement culture in your organization? Do you need to revive a CI culture that has lost momentum?

Join Jeff Roussel, a true continuous improvement leader and believer, who will lead you through diagnosing your culture challenge.

Jeff has worked with over 100 companies in their Lean and continuous improvement journeys. He has seen. it. all. We’ll walk through the Golden Triangle – People, Process, Technology – to uncover the source of your challenge and provide you with advice you can implement right now.

To view slides: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-...

Part of a leader's job is to help people develop or improve capabilities. Coaching is quickly becoming a highly demanded skill set for leaders at all organizational levels to not only to help people get things done, but also improve their skills so that they can work more independently. There are important differences between coaching and teaching, mentoring, advising, or consulting.  In this webinar, you will learn:  * the role of a coach and the person being coached in a business environment * recognizing opportunities to coach and covert coaching coaching models * coaching as a leadership technique * where to find learning resources  

About the Presenter: Steve is responsible for Gemba Academy's lean coaching and certifications. Prior to Gemba Academy, Steve had a diverse career ranging from being responsible for a large medical device sales territory, plant manager where he leveraged lean methods to drive improvement, and VP Operations at Specialty Silicone Fabricators where he led the lean efforts of the company. He has served on the western region board of The Association for Manufacturing Excellence and has worked with the Michigan Lean Learning Consortium and the California Central Coast Lean Forum.  

Moderated by Mark Graban

We're lucky here at KaiNexus because our CEO is an Emergency Medicine Physician, and he's been working hard to keep us all safe and informed.

We're extending that same advantage to you by offering this Ask Docs Anything webinar, in which we'll have physicians ready to answer your questions.

Meet The Panelists:

Dr. Mason W. Mileur

Dr. Mason W. Mileur is an internist in Austin, Texas. He is affiliated with St. David's Medical Center. He received his medical degree from University of Texas Medical School and has been in practice nearly 10 years.

Dr. Greg Jacobson

Dr. Greg Jacobson is an emergency medicine physician in Austin, Texas and has been practicing for over twenty years. He is also the Chief Executive Officer at KaiNexus. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine.

As we continue to learn more about the new norm we're facing, a lot of people are dealing with one of the toughest changes yet: kids in quarantine.

Tune in for advice on how to cope with kids in quarantine from:

• KaiNexus Chief Revenue Officer (and parent) Jeff Roussel
• Parent Sara Evans, mom of three
• Parent and middle school science teacher, Katie Webb Cyphert

Get resources: https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/webinar/kids-in-quarantine-advice-from-parents/signup

Read questions and their summary answers here:  https://blog.kainexus.com/your-questions-answered-for-our-ask-docs-anything-about-covid-19-webinar

You can get more resources about Covid-19 here:   https://blog.kainexus.com/a-list-of-covid-19-resources-to-help-clear-things-up

We know these are uncertain times, and everyone has questions about how to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). It's hard to know what information to trust with opinions floating all over the internet.  We're lucky here at KaiNexus because our CEO is an Emergency Medicine Physician, and he's been working hard to keep us all safe and informed.  We're extending that same advantage to you by offering this Ask Us Anything webinar, in which we'll have a panel of three physicians ready to answer your questions.   Meet The Panelists:  Dr. Mason W. Mileur  Dr. Mason W. Mileur is an internist in Austin, Texas. He is affiliated with St. David's Medical Center. He received his medical degree from University of Texas Medical School and has been in practice nearly 10 years.   Dr. Greg Jacobson  Dr. Greg Jacobson is an emergency medicine physician in Austin, Texas and has been practicing for over twenty years. He is also the Chief Executive Officer at KaiNexus. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine.

Coaching Strategies for Leaders

April 8 from 1:00 - 2:00 ET

Presented by Steve Kane, Director of Coaching and Certification for Gemba Academy

Part of a leader's job is to help people develop or improve capabilities. Coaching is quickly becoming a highly demanded skill set for leaders at all organizational levels to not only to help people get things done, but also improve their skills so that they can work more independently. There are important differences between coaching and teaching, mentoring, advising, or consulting.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• the role of a coach and the person being coached in a business environment
• recognizing opportunities to coach and covert coaching
• coaching models
• coaching as a leadership technique
• where to find learning resources

About the Presenter:

Steve is responsible for Gemba Academy's lean coaching and certifications. Prior to Gemba Academy, Steve had a diverse career ranging from being responsible for a large medical device sales territory, plant manager where he leveraged lean methods to drive improvement, and VP Operations at Specialty Silicone Fabricators where he led the lean efforts of the company. He has served on the western region board of The Association for Manufacturing Excellence and has worked with the Michigan Lean Learning Consortium and the California Central Coast Lean Forum.

We also take one viewer question on the challenges of trying to do continuous improvement work when we're in a work from home mode.

Host Mark Graban is joined by Mark Jaben, MD for the preview of this webinar:

A Great Idea Isn't Enough for Successful Change

March 3 from 1:00 - 2:00 ET

Presented by Mark Jaben, M.D., author of the book "Free the Brain"

About Mark: 

Mark is a residency trained, board certified Emergency Physician with over 35 years of clinical experience. After 20 years in a single hospital group, he spent the next 13 years as an independent emergency physician practicing in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, Indian Health Service facilities, office practices, and EMS services.

His initial immersion into Lean came in 2008 while living and working in Taupo, New Zealand, where he had the opportunity to test Lean methodology while leading implementation efforts at the hospital there. After returning to the US, he continued to apply these concepts in emergency departments, hospitals, clinics, and regional collaborations.

Observing the successes, as well as the trials and tribulations, led Mark to delve further into why this stuff does or does not work. His newly released book, Free the Brain: Overcoming the Struggle People and Organizations Face With Change, takes a look at what neuroscience research says about how the brain operates and provides some real insight into what prevents an organization from getting the results they are after from whatever methodology they are using and what it takes to garner engagement and tap into creativity.

In addition, Mark works with individual physicians struggling with burnout as a coach with TheHappyMD.com and with organizations through presentations and trainings. The intersection between clinical work, coaching practice, and Free the Brain has been quite illuminating in understanding just why change can be so challenging and yet so rewarding.

Topics and Questions Today Are:

Can you provide guidance on how to determine performance indicators? I am in the business of certification exams and most of my work is focused on coaching working groups to reduce process waste and creating solutions to challenges that resulted in errors. I'm struggling to apply the manufacturing indicators to my core business but totally see the relationship and its applicability. Help?

Do you have any culture change improvement activities you like the most or believe to be effective?

What are improvement or problem solving methods that are more efficient for the beginning of the improvement journey? Lean, Six Sigma, DMAIC, Design thinking, TRIZ, or what else?

How can we defeat silos an in organisation with interrelated departmental functions to attain synchronicity in the service delivery, especially with Lean Healthcare initiative?

(1) What use cases are available to provide insight into the adoption of KaiNexus? (2) Do you have a curriculum to help onboard new people to using KaiNexus?

Leadership Behaviors to Guide Effective Change

Today's podcast is a quick preview of the upcoming webinar, presented by Ritu Ward and hosted by Jeff Roussel.

November 19 from 1:00 - 2:00 ET

In this webinar, you will learn:

• Leadership elements of change management
• Designing a system to navigate leadership behaviors
• Reflections of “A Journey” using elements discussed

About the Presenter:

Ritu Ward is the Regional Vice President for Mercy Labs in the West Region. She is an accomplished and talented executive leader in healthcare operations and system designs.

Ward has held multiple leadership positions in large healthcare systems. Her expertise includes developing and maintaining client relations, strategy development, regulatory compliance and process improvements through technology tools and developing future leaders. She has spoken at both local and national conferences about service as the key driver for delivering healthcare. Over the past 15 years she has informally mentored young adults entering into the profession and mid level leaders advancing their careers in healthcare.

Ward received her Bachelor in Medical Technology from George Washington University, a Bachelor in Biology from Howard University and a Masters in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix. She is a Medical Technologist, a Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified A3 Problem Solver and a Fellow with American College of Healthcare Executives. She is a member of Clinical Laboratory Management Association, National Association of Female Executives, serves as chair of Mercy Women in Leadership for the education committee and vice chair on mentorship committee for Greater Charlotte Health Care Executives Group.

Learn more about the KaiNexus team: https://www.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/kainexus-team

Learn more about the KaiNexus team: https://www.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/kainexus-team

Listen to  samples of Adam's music and sounds here: https://audiojungle.net/user/sinesphere/portfolio

Learn more about the KaiNexus team: https://www.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/kainexus-team 

Topics and Questions Today Are:

• Do you dress up for Halloween?
• How important is it to have a single accepted methodology at an organization? (e.g. PDCA, DMAIC) -- can this cause confusion?
• How does KAINEXUS differentiate from a Project management software like Monday.com or Asana?
• How do we measure engagement (besides a once-every-two-years Gallup survey)?
• How can we start a successful deployment of an OpEx culture? Any must dos or do nots?
• What are success criteria of a continuous improvement organization? Leaders, skills, behavior, core team...?

Join us for Episode 26 in January 2020!

Presented by Paul Wainwright, hosted by Mark Graban and KaiNexus

Learning Objectives:

• Reflect on traditional idealisms of change management and consider how these may be your enemy
• Identify the need for positive deviance in an organizational setting
• Consider the cultural elements required to not only embrace positive deviance by also promote and encourage it

Paul Wainwright

BSc (Hons) MSc MBA CMgr MCMI
Managing Director,  Initi8 Business Excellence

Paul is the Managing Director of Initi8 Business Excellence, a consultancy business specializing in enabling organizations to achieve positive an progressive change. The eight core elements supporting the Initi8 Business Excellence framework are focused on Strategy, Design, Leadership, Process, Change, Customer, Learning & Empowerment

Having worked with a range of organizations in various sectors Paul has experience of leading business improvement projects, introducing continuous improvement frameworks and working with senior leaders to train and develop their leadership and management skills. As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Paul is very familiar with the challenges that organizations face 'on the ground' and actively works with leaders of organizations to go to Gemba and overcome these challenges.

Paul also works closely with a local university delivering material on their MBA course whilst also offering free consultancy to local charities to help them formulate and deploy operational strategies enabling them to reach their goals and objectives.

I'm really excited that the presenter will be Paul Wainright, as he has been a great advocate for KaiNexus.

Click here to register for the webinar, which is intended to provide tips for leaders and managers:

Learning to Embrace Positive Deviance

"Learning Objectives:

• Reflect on traditional idealisms of change management and consider how these may be your enemy
• Identify the need for positive deviance in an organizational setting
• Consider the cultural elements required to not only embrace positive deviance by also promote and encourage it"

This is a preview of that webinar.

Hosted by Mark Graban

Here is a link to the Cleveland Clinic Improvement Model that we discuss. `

What role does Visual Management play in the CCIM system?

What are the “tiered huddles?” Can you talk first about the front-line huddles? What gets talked about? What are the expected responses or actions coming out of the meeting?

Then, how do the huddles follow upward in the leadership chain?

What sorts of issues get escalated vs. being handled locally or at a certain level of the organization?

How did you roll these out?

What have you learned and adjusted during the time you’ve been using these huddles?

What advice would you have for others on daily tiered huddles?

Biography

Cinnamon Dixon, MA, CDP is the Director of Continuous Improvement at the Cleveland Clinic. She has over 15 years of experience in organizational effectiveness and continuous improvement.

Cinnamon started her career at the Cleveland Clinic as an organizational effectiveness consultant. In that role she led the development of teams and leaders. Her work included leading system-wide initiatives such as the implementation of the employee engagement survey which focused on how to create and sustain an engaged culture, she was also instrumental in developing and facilitating the Cleveland Clinic Experience which was an interactive exploration for over 50K caregivers on how each person contributes to the mission and values of the organization.

During this time her curiosity for continuous improvement peaked. She shifted her focus towards creating and sustaining systems that support the great behaviors that we want to see in our leaders and teams. This led her to join the Continuous Improvement team. In her current role she leads a dedicated group of Continuous Improvement Specialists who execute projects, programs and apply lean methodology as they work to advance the foundation for a continuous improvement culture enterprise-wide.

Cinnamon is also an adjunct instructor for Tri-C Corporate College in Cleveland, Ohio. There she teaches a variety of courses centered on organizational effectiveness and continuous improvement.

She earned her M.A. in Diversity Management Psychology at Cleveland State University with an emphasis on leadership development, group processes and adult learning.

From Ambivalence to Action: Leadership Lessons from Motivational Interviewing

Most people struggle with changing their behavior. Changes seem overwhelming and unreachable. As professionals, we often support, educate, and coach people to continuously improve behavior. You are invited to join your colleagues for a unique webinar that will help you build your change coaching skills and learn new approaches to communication.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• The history and common misperceptions about Motivational Interviewing
• The 3 crucial elements of behavior change
• Successful applications of Motivational Interviewing to real-life workplace situations
• Some tips to start applying the concepts

About the Presenter:

Mark Valenti has a background in health systems management, human behavior, and patient activation. He enjoys connecting with partners such as the National Board of Medical Examiners with their China Health Coach program or with Australia’s Flinders University on an innovative approach to patient chronic condition self-management.

He helps others uncover their intrinsic motivation to reach their goals. His unique teaching framework, “Activate Your Audience,” helps speakers better express their messages.new approaches to communication.

Click the link to register From Ambivalence to Action: Leadership Lessons from Motivational Interviewing

The same link will work for the recording after Sept 10.

Mark Valenti has a background in health systems management, human behavior, and patient activation. He enjoys connecting with partners such as the National Board of Medical Examiners with their China Health Coach program or with Australia’s Flinders University on an innovative approach to patient chronic condition self-management.

He helps others uncover their intrinsic motivation to reach their goals. His unique teaching framework, “Activate Your Audience,” helps speakers better express their messages.

Topics include:

• Hurricane Dorian and Greg's experience in The Bahamas
• How to convince top management that improvement is key initiative that must be taken during recession?
• What are some standard measurements used for improvement projects that could be rolled up to an overall measurement goal. (i.e. I am the central continuous office for State of Iowa, I would like individual agencies to report measurements of their continuous improvement efforts to me so the State as a whole can report on improvements)
• What are the key points which should trigger a kaizen event?
• KaiNexicon 2019

This is the third in a new mini series that we're doing with KaiNexus people about why they joined the company.

This is the second in a new mini series that we're doing with KaiNexus people about why they joined the company.

To build Continuous Improvement (CI) as a lifestyle and mindset into the foundation of your organization, don’t be afraid to take risks! 

In this webinar, you will learn: 

-- What necessary risks look like, and why people are afraid to take them
-- How taking risks allows you to lead people into a cultural shift
-- How to assess your own approach to leading change and encouraging CI mindset
-- How to engage those around you in coming into the change and adopting it themselves 

About the Presenter:
Taryn Davis holds her Master's of Library and Information Science from the University of Denver and has a background in Continuous Improvement and Organizational Development. She is a thought pioneer in organizational excellence and seeks to bring people into a space where work is workable for all employees, from the upper echelons of the C-Suite to the line workers on the shop floor. Her passion is engineering processes and products that serve the well-being of the people responsible for and to them.

To register, visit https://info.kainexus.com/continuous-improvement/culture-of-continuous-improvement/sustain/burn-your-ships/webinar/signup

Taryn Davis holds her Master's of Library and Information Science from the University of Denver and has a background in Continuous Improvement and Organizational Development. She is a thought pioneer in organizational excellence and seeks to bring people into a space where work is workable for all employees, from the upper echelons of the C-Suite to the line workers on the shop floor. Her passion is engineering processes and products that serve the well-being of the people responsible for and to them.

In this webinar you will learn:

• How to encourage everybody to participate in continuous improvement and how leaders need to support them in this
• Why it's critically important to use "incidents" to capture improvement opportunities that might otherwise be lost
• What the "pyramid of success" is and how an organization can build commitment and trust
• How to align and improve an organization's culture

Nick Shonsky is the Director of Continuous Improvement at The Standard Group. 

The Q&A session will be recorded later, to be shared as a separate episode in the podcast.

In this webinar you will learn: 

• How to navigate the different roles you will have to play as a Continuous Improvement Leader 
• About the different constituencies that you need to identify and serve as an effective Continuous Improvement Leader 
• Some countermeasures to the common pitfalls and mistakes that frustrate improvement leaders with sustainment of improvement programs 

About the Presenter:
Chris Burnham is a Continuous Improvement Program Manager at Wright Medical, in Memphis.

Chris is a results-oriented, award winning leader who understands how to motivate and lead diverse teams to deliver significant results to the bottom line. He passionate about generating a high level of employee engagement to create leaders at every level of the organization.

Chris has a BS in Criminal Justice (yes, that's right) from Western Carolina University.

Solutions for Sustaining an Improvement Program

June 5 from 1:00 - 2:00 ET

Presented by Chris Burnham, Hosted by Mark Graban and KaiNexus

In this webinar you will learn:

• How to navigate the different roles you will have to play as a Continuous Improvement Leader
• About the different constituencies that you need to identify and serve as an effective Continuous Improvement Leader
• Some countermeasures to the common pitfalls and mistakes that frustrate improvement leaders with sustainment of improvement programs

About the Presenter:

Chris Burnham is a Continuous Improvement Program Manager at Wright Medical, in Memphis.

Chris is a results-oriented, award winning leader who understands how to motivate and lead diverse teams to deliver significant results to the bottom line. He passionate about generating a high level of employee engagement to create leaders at every level of the organization.

Chris has a BS in Criminal Justice (yes, that's right) from Western Carolina University.

Presented by Chad Westbrook, AGCO

In this webinar, you'll learn a structured approach to problem-solving using the following tools: 

5G – A tool used to describe a loss phenomenon
5W1H – An approach to the revised phenomenon
4M1D – Defining the contributing factors to the revised phenomenon
4M1D Confirmation – Validating the contributing factors
5 Why’s – Root cause and effective countermeasures 

Chad Westbrook
Chad Westbrook is a manufacturing engineering manager and AGCO Production System manager at AGCO Corporation. Chad has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies from Kansas State University. 

It's episode 23 of our popular Ask Us Anything webinar series to listen to questions answered by this dynamic duo from KaiNexus' team of continuous improvement experts: Mark Graban & Greg Jacobson.

Questions and topics:

What's a book that you've been reading recently?How do you measure culture in an organization?

What quick-wins can you suggest with respect to culture change? What suggestions for sustaining change in culture needed to embed CI into an organisation?  What measures of CI maturity for an organisation?

Here in our company we used to have an engaged work force where every staff is engaged in improvement. As a result the staffs themselves were excited in seeing the positive impact of employee engagement. Nowadays, it is visible that some of that excitement has vanished and am thinking in what way shall I bring the engaged atmosphere back? Please advise. 

Where does the culture change start for professional services organisations (law/accounting) e.g. one partner, or all partners - keeping in mind real silos and prominent sub-cultures?

Relative to when KaiNexus first entered the market, how has the market changed with respect to, A) the willingness to adopt technology, B) the acceptance of lean/kaizen by upper management as well as staff, and C) the industries that are now embracing or exploring lean/kaizen?

It's titled: A Structured Approach to Problem-Solving. 

Click here to register.

In this webinar, you'll learn a structured approach to problem-solving using the following tools:

• 5G – A tool used to describe a loss phenomenon
• 5W1H – An approach to the revised phenomenon
• 4M1D – Defining the contributing factors to the revised phenomenon
• 4M1D Confirmation – Validating the contributing factors
• 5 Why’s – Root cause and effective countermeasures

Chad joined me the other day to record a short podcast as a preview.