Skip Steward, the Chief Improvement Officer at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Tennessee, was a guest on Episode #314 of the podcast talking about TWI and Toyota Kata in healthcare (he was joined by Brandon Brown).
Today, I've asked Skip to come back and chat 1×1, in Episode #320, about his experience with Don Wheeler, learning from W. Edwards Deming, and more. I hope you enjoy his reflections, our discussions about healthcare, and connections to my book Measures of Success (Skip undoubtedly has a book in him too). Check out the fantastic “Baptist Management System” channel on YouTube.
Streaming Player:
For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/320.
For earlier episodes of my podcast, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS, through Android apps, or via Apple Podcasts. You can also subscribe and listen via Stitcher.
Topics and notes for this episode:
- How did get introduced to Dr. Deming's work and philosophy?
- 1992 – IE / quality engineering role, statistics
- Was sent to Dr. Wheeler's workshop
- Took me under his wing
- Talked on a regular basis, going to Knoxville
- Wheeler talked about Deming, Out of the Crisis
- NBC program on Dr. Deming
- 1992 – IE / quality engineering role, statistics
- Statistical Process Control
- How we should treat people
- Deming and psychology, theory of knowledge
- Deming's 14 points
- Brian Joiner – Fourth Generation Management
- Peter Scholtes
- How we should treat people
- Why do I believe in what I believe in?
- Philosophical
- Purpose, people, process
- Russell Ackoff – YouTube videos
- Deming – theory of knowledge
- What's the current-day relevance of Deming?
- How do Deming and Wheeler connect to Lean?
- Violate Lean thinking??
- Batch teaching?
- TELLING people to do kaizen?
- Motivational Interviewing
- Violate Lean thinking??
Videos of Skip on Strategy Deployment:
Thanks for listening!
Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Let’s work together to build a culture of continuous improvement and psychological safety. If you're a leader looking to create lasting change—not just projects—I help organizations:
- Engage people at all levels in sustainable improvement
- Shift from fear of mistakes to learning from them
- Apply Lean thinking in practical, people-centered ways
Interested in coaching or a keynote talk? Let’s start a conversation.
