172 - Jerry Bussell, Anatomy of a Lean Leader

Joining me for episode #172 is Jerry Bussell, previously a guest on episode #137. Today, we're talking about his recent book, Anatomy of a Lean Leader. I just saw Jerry talk about the book yesterday at the AME spring conference here in San Antonio.

Jerry talks about how he defines a "Lean leader" and why President Abraham Lincoln fits into that description. He'll talk about some of the modern CEOs he would put on the list of great Lean leaders, including the owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

To point others to this, use the simple URL: www.leanblog.org/172. You can find links to posts related to this podcast there, as well. Please leave a comment and join the discussion about the podcast episode.

For earlier episodes of the Lean Blog Podcast, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes.

You can also listen to streaming episodes of the podcast via Stitcher: http://landing.stitcher.com/?vurl=leanblog

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

171 - Chad Walters, Lean in Sports

My guest for episode #171 is Chad Walters (@leanblitz), a friend and a Lean consultant. He is owner of Lean Blitz Consulting in Augusta, Georgia, a firm focused on continuous improvement for small businesses and sports organizations. I'm a big fan (and frequent commenter) on Chad's blog and he's contributed guest posts here on my blog. He has been cited and mentioned on ESPN.com and CNBC.com.

Today, we talk about how Lean principles can apply to sports operations, including the stadiums and events you attend. We'll talk about concepts of value and waste from the sports fan perspective, specific challenges in the sports and entertainment fields and some examples related to baseball (play ball!, the season just started) and The Masters, which starts Thursday.

To point others to this, use the simple URL: www.leanblog.org/171. You can find links to posts related to this podcast there, as well. Please leave a comment and join the discussion about the podcast episode.

For earlier episodes of the Lean Blog Podcast, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes.

You can also listen to streaming episodes of the podcast via Stitcher: http://landing.stitcher.com/?vurl=leanblog

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

170 - Stephen Parry, "Sense and Respond"

My guest for episode #170 is Stephen Parry (@LeanVoices on Twitter), joining us from England. He is a keynote speaker at the upcoming Lean Kanban North America conference in late April. I will also be a main stage speaker at the event. Parry has experience leading Lean transformation efforts in industries ranging from telecommunications, IT, shared services, financial services, and the public sector. He is author of the book Sense and Respond: The Journey to Customer Purpose. In this episode, we talk about his experience, how Lean engages employees to provide value to customers, and the differences between LINO (Lean In Name Only) and Real Lean.