WLEI - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast

Navigating Organizational Change: A Conversation with Dr. Lynn Kelley

In the latest episode of the WLEI podcast, we explore the topic of organizational change with Dr. Lynn Kelley, former vice president of supply chain and continuous improvement at Union Pacific Railroad and author of the new book Change Questions.

Kelley posits that there is no such thing as a fixed plan for a successful transformation. Leaders must approach change situationally, recognizing they face unique challenges no single method could address. In her book, she proposes a series of questions that methodically guide management to implement change and measure its impact:

1. What is your value-driven purpose?
2. What is the work to be done to achieve the purpose or to solve the problem?
3. How will you engage and develop employees?
4. How will you establish a supportive management system with the appropriate leader behaviors?
5. What are your organization's beliefs, values, norms, attitudes and assumptions?

By grappling with these questions, leaders will be able to design and implement a lasting transformation that leads to better business outcomes and engaged employees.

To learn more about the book and download a free digital workbook, check out www.changequestions.net

Charting a New Course for US Manufacturing: a Conversation with Miles Arnone and Bonnie Davis

In the latest episode of the WLEI podcast, we take a deep dive into a new venture whose goal is to rekindle America’s industrial tradition. Re:Build Manufacturing was founded by former Amazon executive Jeff Wilke in 2021. We sat down with its CEO Miles Arnone and Chief Lean officer Bonnie Davis to learn about Re:Build Manufacturing’s purpose and how it fulfills it.

For decades U.S. manufacturers swept up by the opportunity to maximize profits with low-cost labor have been offshoring manufacturing. But the short-term boost in profits has generated long-term, unintended consequences.

Communities that once thrived on manufacturing experienced severe economic downturns. This decline led to increased economic inequality, as those who lost their jobs struggled to find employment that matched their skills and offered comparable wages. Also, manufacturers struggled to protect their innovations as overseas suppliers threatened intellectual property theft or infringement. And the offshoring trend has eroded America's manufacturing and engineering capabilities. As companies began to rely on overseas suppliers, they lost valuable knowledge and skills that were once a hallmark of American industry.

During the podcast, Miles and Bonnie delve into the specifics of how Re:Build's strategy works, as well as the company's culture and mission. They provide valuable insights into the future of American manufacturing and the vital role that Re:Build aims to play in reshaping it.

How Entrepreneurs Use Lean to Drive Sustainable Growth: a Conversation with Matt May and Pablo Dominguez

While Lean can trace its direct roots to the production system launched by Toyota more than 50 years ago, its timeless appeal translates into immediate practical countermeasures in a surprising number of situations. What A Unicorn Knows, a terrific new book by authors Matt May and Pablo Dominguez, proves this by presenting a comprehensive application of lean principles that couldn’t be more timely. Join us for their conversation with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld for a wide-ranging exploration of the deep relevance of lean for growing companies today.

Strategies for Tackling Complex Problems: a Conversation with Paolo Savaget

What is the best way to tackle complex problems? Getting better at this perennial challenge certainly fuels the beating heart of lean practice. It is the key theme in author Paolo Savaget's new book, The Four Workarounds: Strategies from the World’s Scrappiest Organizations for Tackling Complex Problems. He discusses his findings with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld.

Empowering Frontline Operators with Human-Centric Technology: a Conversation with Natan Linder

Lean practice has always coexisted with technology that enables the human operators to do their job better—in the service of delivering more value with less waste to the customer. But do today’s digitized, information-saturated, workplaces provide so much assistance that the machines actually get in the way? In his new book, Augmented Lean, co-author Natan Linder talks with WLEI host Tom Ehrenfeld about how Tulip, the company he co-founded to provide a “human-centric framework for managing frontline operations,” seeks to delegate technology and improvement to the operators doing the key lean work.

Creating a System to Achieve Ambitious Goals: A WLEI Podcast

Lean veteran Billy Taylor, author of the new book The Winning Link: A Proven Process to Define, Align, and Execute Strategy at Every Level, discusses with WLEI Host Tom Ehrenfeld how to cultivate "extreme leadership" as a means of building a cohesive and top-tier organization.

Bill shares a "connected operating system" that, he says, helps people and organizations define and achieve ambitious goals. He learned and developed this approach through decades of success at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Handling the Heat of the Kitchen: A WLEI Podcast

Organizing a restaurant kitchen is a daunting task to think about. Find and establish the problems at hand, implement an improved process to adhere to those problems. It all lends itself towards increased profitability, more respect for the workers with emphasis on value-creating work, increased tact-time; but its also much easier said than done.

A flagship restaurant worked with LEI coaches and learned to increase their profitability through the lens of storytelling, where each piece is an innate - and respected - part of the whole.

Listen in to hear how this all came together, and also check out the case study complementing this podcast. 

Embracing Regret for Better Living: A WLEI Podcast with author Dan Pink

Regret, the pervasive and often toxic emotional mess most of us invariably experience, need not be so painful, says best-selling author Dan Pink. In fact, his new book The Power of Regret counsels readers to deliberately view regret as a process that can be examined in a way to help us all lead better lives. This WLEI podcast with host Tom Ehrenfeld explores how Pink came to this conclusion and explores parallels between his approach to processing regret and Lean’s mindful approach to framing problems for continuous improvement.

Talking Toyota: A WLEI Podcast with Jim Womack and Josh Howell

In 2021 Toyota Motor became the first manufacturer from outside the United States to sell the most cars in the USA. While this news hook may very well prove to be transient, it raises key issues about what has accounted for the company’s success. What aspects of Toyota’s vaunted production system, which is foundational for lean, have supported its success? How does Toyota’s approach contrast with a company such as Tesla? How can companies productively balance the need to develop products that dazzle consumers with the need to simultaneously develop the brilliant processes that produce these coveted items?  

Join LEI founder Jim Womack and LEI President Josh Howell in a conversation hosted by Tom Ehrenfeld about lean’s enduring value in today’s time of discontinuity.

Lean‘s Role in Labor Shortages and the Supply Chain

In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, Matt Savas sits down with LEI President Josh Howell and Richard Vellante, Executive Director of Community and Training Events at LEI. They discuss the labor shortage and recent supply chain issues with the perspectives and intuition, as well as addressing recent blames towards lean within the supply chain industry. 

Leadership is at the center of these topics, with Rich's experience as an Executive Chef lending some hands on nuance to the conversation. Leaders should be hard on the process, not the people getting accustomed to that process. 

NFT's are also discussed, as their ever developing trajectory in the media landscape surely can borrow a thing or two from the way that lean thinkers lead and act.