Hi, you’re invited to view the recording of a webinar that I presented next week — Wednesday, December 11 at 1 pm ET, as part of the ongoing KaiNexus webinar series: “The Power of Alignment and Intrinsic Motivation in Continuous…
What really motivates people to improve their work–especially in healthcare and other complex environments? Drawing on Daniel Pink’s Drive, Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s teachings, and Lean principles, this post explores why intrinsic motivation consistently outperforms incentives, rewards, and punishment in…
When we think about how change happens in organizations, especially those practicing Lean, we often focus on tools, plans, and communication strategies. But what about the actual conversations we’re having? Too often, those conversations look like this: That’s not engagement…
Being “right” is often the wrong strategy for change. Sustainable Lean change happens when leaders shift from telling people what to do to engaging them through questions, empathy, and motivation–using approaches like motivational interviewing to help people choose change rather…
Joining me today for Episode #374 of the podcast are two colleagues, Brittany Wilson and Mark Valenti. The topic, as Mark and I discussed in Episode #306, is “Motivational Interviewing.” We will all be exploring this topic in the context…
Today, I hosted and moderated the latest in our KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinar series. I’m really excited that the presenter will be Mark Valenti — he’s been a bit of a mentor and coach for me on the topic of…
My guest for Episode #306 is Mark D. Valenti, the manager of training, education, and workflow integration for the Enhanced Community Care Management (ECCM) at Highmark Health.
In this episode, Mark and I talk about the use of "Motivational Interviewing" methods and mindsets in the ECCM program and how "everyday closer to better" is part of their mantra.
Dan Pink joins me to discuss his book Drive and the science behind what actually motivates people — ideas deeply aligned with Lean thinking and Deming. We explore why “if-then” rewards backfire for complex work, the dysfunctions of incentive schemes…
My guest for LeanBlog Podcast #57 is Alfie Kohn, an author and lecturer in the fields of education, parenting, and human behavior. His books include Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes…
Why does Lean fail to stick so often? Thomas Cox and Andre DeMerchant join me on Episode 547 to make the case that the missing precondition is psychological safety, and that it has to exist at the top before any…
TL;DR: Deming and Toyota’s Fujio Cho asked the same uncomfortable question: why do management systems destroy motivation in people who started out wanting to do good work? The answer points to practices leaders can actually change. When leaders talk about…
After uploading the full archive of Lean Blog Interviews transcripts into ChatGPT, I asked it to identify the ten most controversial moments. Over nearly 20 years of episodes, I’ve had the privilege of hearing guests share insights that are thoughtful,…