The Lean Blog Interviews Podcast explores leadership, systems, and continuous improvement through thoughtful conversations with practitioners, executives, authors, and researchers. These episodes go beyond tools to examine how organizations really improve—through better leadership behaviors, respect for people, learning from mistakes, and sound management systems. This archive brings together podcast episodes focused on Lean, healthcare, Toyota, Deming, psychological safety, and what it actually takes to sustain improvement over time.
Our guest for Podcast #89 is Keith Russell, a Global Continuous Improvement Leader at AstraZeneca R&D. I met Keith at a recent Lean & Six Sigma conference for Pharma R&D where we both presented. Keith has substantial in-house R&D experience…
Episode #88 is a conversation with a returning guest, Jim Baran of the firm Career Kaizen (he is @CareerKaizen on Twitter, also). In this podcast, Jim talks about a shift in his firm’s business model away from traditional recruiting…
Episode #87 is a discussion with a returning guest, Steven J. Spear, DBA, author of the outstanding book Chasing the Rabbit: How Market Leaders Outdistance the Competition and How Great Companies Can Catch Up and Win. The book is due…
Episode #86 is a conversation with David Lawrence Sundahl, PhD, Managing Director of Rule 4 Consulting. They are a firm that works with healthcare providers to drive improvements using Lean and what they call “Adaptive Design” methodologies. Sundahl was a…
Episode #85 is a conversation with David Meier, a former Toyota Georgetown Group Leader and the co-author of the books The Toyota Way Fieldbook and Toyota Talent: Developing Your People the Toyota Way. With Toyota facing widespread attention during the 2010…
Episode 84 is audio from Video Podcast #10 (available on YouTube). This is a conversation with Karl Wadensten, President of VIBCO, a manufacturer in Wyoming, R.I. and host of the now-retired radio program The Lean Nation. Karl shares the remarkable…
Episode #10 is a conversation with Karl Wadensten, President of VIBCO, a manufacturer in Wyoming, R.I. Here, we talk about his radio show, “The Lean Nation,” which (formerly aired) on AM 790 in Rhode Island. This is the same discussion as…
Podcast #83 is an in-depth conversation with Jim D’Addario, the CEO of D’Addario, Inc., a manufacturer of guitar strings, drum heads, and other musical accessories. Jim and his family company were featured on CNN late last year, highlighting how lean…
Podcast #82 is another discussion with with Dr. Sami Bahri, D.D.S., a dentist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is a pioneer in using Lean methods in the management of his dental practice. In this episode, he talks about what he’s learned…
Podcast #81 is an interview with Rob Bryant, VP for Quality with CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation). In this podcast, we talk about how CSC, being outside of manufacturing, uses Lean in their business and for their customers. Rob shares some…
This episode is a discussion with Joan Wellman, of the consulting firm Joan Wellman & Associates. Joan is a real pioneer in the lean healthcare arena, having started her initial work with a hospital in 1995 — I haven’t found…
Eve Yen, founder and CEO of Diamond Wipes, is our guest for episode #79 of the podcast. In this podcast, Eve discusses her company and how manufacturing in the United States provides a strong competitive advantage. While not explicitly “Lean,”…
