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During our summer hiatus from releasing new podcast episodes, we're looking back at previous episodes of the podcast.
Today, sadly, we're taking a look back at guests from the past 15 years who have since passed away. May their wisdom and legacy live on through these episodes as we think about them today.
Nate Hurle
Most recently, we lost Nate Hurle from Cleveland Clinic, as I blogged about last week. His streaming memorial service on Sunday was a heartfelt testament to the legacy he's left behind — his family and his work.
Nate was a guest in Episodes 282 (with Dr. Lisa Yerian) and 404 (by himself).
Norm Bodek
Late last year, we lost the legendary Norm Bodek, who passed suddenly. As I've mentioned before, the podcast was Norman's idea. I don't know if I would have ever been inspired to start doing this without his idea — and the way the shared the gift of that idea with me.
This blog post includes a look back at Norman's work and the multiple podcasts he did with me:
Harry Kenworthy
My friend Harry (we met at a Lean conference years ago) passed away in August 2020 after a battle with cancer.
He was my guest two times, talking about his passion and his work of Lean in government. He was here for Episodes 198 and 287 (in the latter, he talked about the book he wrote).
He also did a webinar for us in the KaiNexus continuous improvement series:
Greg Howell
Greg was the founder of the Lean Construction Institute and was my guest for Episode 130 of the podcast.
Paul H. O'Neill, Sr.
I recently re-published my podcast (Episode 124) with Paul O'Neill, the former CEO of Alcoa, US Treasury Secretary, and patient safety / healthcare improvement advocate.
As I blogged about, he passed away last year but his legacy still lives on through the team at Value Capture, including two eBooks related to his words and actions.
It was an honor to interview Mr. O'Neill and I was really fortunate to have spent a little time with him, during the podcast and a few other encounters.
Ralph Keller
Ralph was my guest for Episode 44 when he was the president of AME – Association for Manufacturing Excellence. Ralph passed away in 2016.
Dr. Michel Tetrault
There were two episodes that I did because people I knew in the Lean community had passed away.
The first was Michel, who passed away suddenly in 2015. I republished some audio from the podcast series I used to do for Catalysis and the Healthcare Value Network, sharing it here as Episode 232.
Sam Selay
Another friend from the Lean community who passed away suddenly was Samuel Selay. He had written a chapter for the book Practicing Lean. I shared the audiobook version, as read by a narrator, in Episode 322.
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Automated Transcript (Not Guaranteed to be Defect Free)
Introduction: A Somber Look Back
Mark Graban: Hi, it's Mark Graban here. Welcome to the podcast. Again, we're on a bit of a summer hiatus, but we've been looking back at past episodes, re-releasing and remastering some of those older episodes that newer listeners might not have heard.
Today is admittedly a sad episode. It's going to be an “In Memoriam” episode, looking back, thinking about, and remembering the guests of the podcast from the past 15 years who have unfortunately passed away since their appearance here.
Remembering Nate Hurle
Most recently, and very sadly, we've lost Nate Hurle, who led Lean and continuous improvement work at the Cleveland Clinic. He passed away unexpectedly and suddenly this past month at age 47. I'm 47. For a bunch of reasons, the loss of Nate has been very, very sad. I've blogged about that, and I'll put a link in the show notes.
I had a chance to visit the Cleveland Clinic a couple of times on his invitations. We spent a lot of time together during those visits and through other correspondence, and we would cross paths at Lean healthcare conferences from about 2015 on. He will very much be missed by his colleagues, his friends, and his family. I want to send my deepest condolences to all of them.
Nate was so willing to share, and you can hear that in the two episodes he appeared in. First off, Episode 282, where he was there with his colleague, Dr. Lisa Yerian. They were on there together talking about the Cleveland Clinic improvement model and the work that they were spearheading. And then very recently, in March of this year, Nate was a solo guest in Episode 404, talking about work that had been done at Cleveland Clinic during various phases of the COVID pandemic.
Again, my condolences to Nate's friends, family, loved ones, and colleagues. He was very much beloved at Cleveland Clinic, as you can see from the social media comments regarding the news of his passing.
A Tribute to Norm Bodek
Regular listeners will know that Norm Bodek passed away late last year. I recently re-released that first episode with Norman. This whole podcast, as I've talked about before, was Norman's idea. He was a guest many, many times. It is sad that we are still missing Norman, but it's great to be able to go back and listen to him and to see him on YouTube. So, we'll give another thought and remembrance to Norm.
Honoring Other Past Guests
Some other passings that I knew of because I was in regular contact with the guests, or had gotten word from their organization, are listed here in no particular order.
Harry Kenworthy was a guest in two episodes: Episode 198, talking about his passion for Lean in government, and then Episode 287 about the book that he wrote and published called Lean Government Now. Harry unfortunately passed away in August 2020 after a battle with cancer.
Greg Howell, who was my guest in Episode 130 of the podcast talking about Lean construction, passed away in January 2020. He was the co-founder and managing director of the Lean Construction Institute and was well-known for his leadership and advocacy in those circles.
Another episode that I reshared recently looked back at my interview with Paul O'Neill Sr. He also lost a battle with cancer in early 2020. He was my guest on Episode 124, talking about his work as CEO of Alcoa and the patient safety and improvement advocacy work that he did afterward.
Ralph Keller, who was my guest in Episode 44–this is going way back; at the time, he was the president of AME, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence–passed away in 2016.
Special Remembrances
There were two episodes of the podcast that I did specifically because individuals had just passed away. They weren't traditional podcast guests, but I'll share a little context here.
Dr. Michel Tétreault was the CEO of St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, up in Canada. He was very well-known for the work they were doing under his leadership with Lean and healthcare improvement. He passed away suddenly in 2015. In light of that, I republished some audio that was originally in the podcast series that I used to do for Catalysis and the Healthcare Value Network. I shared that audio here as Episode 232.
In 2018, Samuel Selay, a friend of mine from Lean and continuous improvement circles, passed away in a kayaking accident. I wish I had had him as a guest on the podcast; I regret that we didn‘t do that as much as we had talked. Sam had written a chapter for the book Practicing Lean that I edited and published. To remember Sam, we shared the audiobook version of his chapter, as read by the audiobook narrator, back in Episode 322.
Closing Thoughts
All of these past episodes are in the podcast feed. They're all freely available on leanblog.org, and I will put links to those in the show notes. I think that with these guests, even though they're sadly not with us, their voices, their messages, and their legacies live on through these podcast episodes. I'm happy that that's the case.
So, thank you for listening. Please send your thoughts and prayers to the families and colleagues, especially of Nate Hurle, who passed away again very recently, leaving behind a legacy of not just family, but great work at Cleveland Clinic–the great work they did there and the way their work has inspired others.
We'll keep at it. We'll keep doing this work. We will continue on the legacies of people like Nate, Paul O'Neill, Norm Bodek, and the others who had been with us here on the podcast. So again, thanks for listening. You can find all past episodes at leanblog.org.
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