17 AUG 2023 · Podcast subject: Misadventures in Lean land: The mistakes that I've made Host: Philip Holt Guests: Russell Watkins (external guest), Anthony Howarth, Adam Nicklin Abstract: What is Lean Land? Is it a place that a wasteful land, as most organisations unfortunately are, can become? Or is it, rather, a separate place, where esoteric discussions are held, using Japanese terminology and abstract concepts, whilst those people in the ‘Real World’ get on with the business in hand? In this Podcast we discuss the guests’ adventure in Lean Land and also some of their most painful misadventures… Content: - Introductions. - What Lean Land is, and where do I find it. - How to increase the population of Lean Land. - The guests’ best adventures in Lean Land. - The guests’ most painful misadventures in Lean Land. - Advice to anyone who wants to raise the Lean Land flag.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Sean Fields, Michael Sanders (external guests) Abstract: Many Lean Practitioners find it difficult to make Lean stick. This lack of sustainability, or ‘stickiness’, is often difficult to diagnose, to understand why it’s not working. The authors of Quantum Lean, Sean Fields and Michael Sanders, have a perspective on this and, in this episode, will help us to think differently about how Lean Thinking works – What they call “Quantum Lean”.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Edwin van den Berg, Nick Walters, Mark Sneeringer Abstract: Six Sigma is a well know improvement methodology, first made famous by Motorola and GE, and now ubiquitous across industry. However, there are a lot of myths around Six Sigma: Is it a philosophy, a strategy, a methodology, or a tool? Is Six Sigma DMAIC? Is Six Sigma DFSS? Should we use Six Sigma or Lean? This episode of the Podcast aims to eradicate some of the myths and elucidate the realities with thee eminent guests and masters in this field.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Mona Balasubramanian, Anna Truscott-Smith, Debbie Adams, Adam Nicklin Abstract: Talent Development is a process by which we recruit the right person for the role, determine their strengths for the role, and support their development to be the best that they can. If we do this successfully and consistently across the organisation, it promotes improved job satisfaction, better engagement, and superior business performance. In this episode we speak to experts in this field, to better understand what makes Talent Development a success.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Rob Etheridge, Gary Shurmer, Jon Tudor, Anthony Howarth Abstract: The Kaikaku experience is an opportunity to visit companies who are excelling at their Lean Transformation to learn from them and gain inspiration for your own journey. However, it’s not traditional benchmarking, nor is it ‘industrial tourism’ and it’s important that the experience is properly curated to provide the maximum value. In this Podcast, the guests talk about what makes a Kaikaku experience successful, and how the listener can experience it themselves.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Anthony Howarth, Adam Nicklin Abstract: Inventory Entitlement is a methodology by which the required inventory investment for the current Value Stream Design is understood, balanced to budget, and then reduced through Value Stream improvements. However, it is often misunderstood, or misapplied, and getting it right is critical to the optimisation of Inventory.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Edwin van den Berg, Marc Davidson, Rob Etheridge Abstract: A3 Problem Solving is an underused methodology in most organisations, yet can make Problem Solving highly effective, as well as much simpler and easier to communicate. However, there does appear to be an element of fear and a belief that it takes too long to solve problems using this approach and so the purpose of this episode is to debunk some of the myths around it.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Anthony Howarth, Gary Shurmer, Jose Rodriguez Abstract: Daily Management and Problem Solving as a phrase sounds like a tautology to many Lean Leaders as, for them, Daily Management is about Problem Solving. Nevertheless, experience has taught that without a real emphasis on Problem Solving, Daily Management quickly becomes about “reporting the news”, spending time explaining what went wrong and why it will be okay next time. However, Daily Management must be about “making the news” and it is therefore crucial that everyone involved knows how to problem solve effectively and ensure that Daily Management is driving performance improvement everyday.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: David Bovis, Levent Turk, Edwin van den Berg & Anthony Howarth Abstract: Change is something that human beings are constantly experiencing, from our cradle to the grave, in both our personal and professional lives. Organisations, in both the public and private sectors, are constantly reinventing themselves and it would be almost unheard of to find an organisation of any scale that doesn’t have at least one significant change (or transformation) programme ongoing. However, the way that we experience and respond to change isn’t something that can be logically planned for or easily predicted, as the psychology of change goes to the very root of our being as humans and involves functions of the brain that evolved millions of years ago, and that still cannot be fully explained by science. In this episode our guests discuss what makes change fail and what leaders can do to better understand the function of the brain and how to adopt a people focus that can make their change goals a success.

15 AUG 2023 · Host: Philip Holt Guests: Anthony Howarth, Catherine Wang, Adam Nicklin Abstract: Standardised Work is a misunderstood subject, which can evoke feelings of work being made ‘robotic’, of stifling creativity, or being too time consuming to create and maintain. In this episode I speak to three experts who can talk about how quite the opposite is true; that Standardised Work reduces the stress and conscious repetitiveness of work, providing the freedom and time to be more creative, and takes far less time than the constant fire-fighting and ‘heroics’ that non-standardised processes require. We also talk about the importance of a ‘return to standard’ as the first step to problem solving, and of how standardisation of work requires ownership by the people who do the work. We finally discuss two important elements of Standardised Work, that of its place in Office / non-Manufacturing Processes, and the significance of Kaizen to Standardised Work.