KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

KaiNexus

The KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast features content from our webinars. We also share conversations with KaiNexus team members and customers from time to time. This podcast brings you information about continuous improvement best practices, employee engagement, lean, six sigma (and related improvement disciplines) and more. Join us as we explore the nuances of creating a culture of continuous improvement, no matter your level of expertise or your industry. read less

Remembering Chris Burnham, Our Friend and Colleague
Sep 21 2023
Remembering Chris Burnham, Our Friend and Colleague
In this episode, Greg Jacobson and Mark Graban share memories and stories of Chris Burnham, who passed away recently. Greg and Mark talk about being guests on Chris's podcast, The Lean Leadership Podcast. Mark in Episode #1Greg in Episode #15 We answer two questions from the list of "rapid fire" questions that Chris would ask in his podcast: Do you have a Lean/Continuous improvement pet peeve/or what do you frequently see being applied or being done wrong?What do you consider the most important thing that you have learned in your career journey?! Here is the webinar that Chris did for us as part of the KaiNexus series. And he was part of this panel discussion about virtual improvement. We dedicate today's KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Podcast episode to a remarkable individual whose loss has been deeply felt within the Lean community. Chris Burnham, a Lean thinker, a podcast host, and a leader in the field, recently left us, creating a void which has been challenging to navigate. This episode serves as a tribute to Chris's life, his work, and his indelible influence on those fortunate enough to cross his path. In addition to his brilliance as a Lean thinker, Chris's exemplary character shone through in his role as the host of the Lean Leadership Podcast. His hunger for knowledge and openness to new ideas defined many of his interactions. In 2015, Chris kickstarted his podcast series by inviting Mark Graban aboard as his inaugural guest - beginning a progressive journey through the realm of Lean thinking and practices.
[Preview] With Mark Parrish — Ask a CEO: Building Cultures of Commitment [Preview]
Sep 13 2023
[Preview] With Mark Parrish — Ask a CEO: Building Cultures of Commitment [Preview]
Register in advance (or to view the recording) -- Ask a CEO: Building Cultures of Commitment September 14th at 1 pm ET Presented by Mark Parrish, hosted by Mark Graban This webinar provides an exciting and unique opportunity to ask an experienced CEO questions about leadership, culture, and continuous improvement. We’ll be joined by Mark Parrish, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mark is a six-time CEO at public, private and private equity companies, to include Igloo Products Corp. and the Stuart Dean Company, Inc.Mark provides his audience world-class lessons in leadership and operational excellence gathered over three decades from within the "living laboratories" of myriad companies and industries. How can leaders create a company culture worthy of each and every employee’s full 100% commitment? How can the “business goal” of making a dollar co-exist with the “noble goal” of making a difference? How do we navigate the waters of trust, engagement, and organizational politics? Come "Ask the CEO" yourself.The formal presentation will be brief – 15 minutes. The remainder of the hour will allow the audience to interact with Mark via moderated Q&A – submitted both in advance and during the session. About Mark Parrish: Mark Parrish is Managing Partner and co-founder of Parrish Partners, LLC, the twenty-year-old, southern California-based leadership and management consulting firm.   Previously, Mark was CEO, President, and Director of Igloo Products Corp., the 76-year-old, private equity owned, U.S.-based manufacturer of the iconic Igloo brand of commercial and consumer cooler and drinkware products.  While in his role at Igloo, Mr. Parrish was named the Houston Business Journal’s “2017 Outstanding CEO.”   Immediately prior to joining Igloo, Mark was CEO, President, and Director of Stuart Dean Company, Inc., the 86-year-old, private family-owned, Manhattan-based international real estate restoration and preservation company.  Stuart Dean customers include the Empire State Building, the White House, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Apple stores worldwide.  Mark has an accomplished record of leading organizational transformations of U.S.-based manufacturers and service providers.  His contributions have yielded tremendous value creation with well-known consumer brands, such as Harley-Davidson and Simmons, and other industry leaders, including Ply Gem Windows, Interface, Inc., and Deceuninck North America, each world-class manufacturers known for their rapid product innovation.   Mark is a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.  During his ten years of uniformed service in Army Aviation, he served in five countries on three continents. As an AH-64 Apache pilot and Army “Top Gun,” he served in Operations Desert Shield/Storm, where he was awarded the Bronze Star and Air Medal for Valor.  He later earned two Master of Science degrees in Engineering and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Person-Centred Improvement - What Does it Look Like, and How Does it Fit with Lean? [Webinar]
Aug 15 2023
Person-Centred Improvement - What Does it Look Like, and How Does it Fit with Lean? [Webinar]
Watch Video or Get Slides August 15 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Presented by Seán Paul Teeling, Programme Director for the Professional Certificate and Graduate Certificate in Process Improvement in Health Systems at UCD Health Systems. Lean is one of the most internationally popular process improvement methodologies around the world. Similarly, person-centred approaches have risen in popularity since the millennium with political and policy intentions now widely advocating that person-centredness should be at the heart of the health system. In this webinar, we discuss the first research internationally into the combined use of Lean and person-centred improvement approaches, lessons learnt, and how to be a person-centred improver in any industry or setting.Learning objectives: Understand what is meant by person-centred improvementIdentify the synergies between Lean and person-centred improvementUnderstand where person-centred improvement diverges from Lean and how to address itBe able to incorporate person-centred approaches into your Lean work Seán Paul Teeling is the Programme Director for the Professional Certificate and Graduate Certificate in Process Improvement in Health Systems at UCD Health Systems. Prior to this, he worked as Lean Manager at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Dublin, working closely with the Hospital and the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems on the development of the highly successful Process Improvement in healthcare programmes. Seán Paul is an accredited facilitator of Person-centred Cultures in Healthcare. He completed his PhD with and is a member of, and honorary lecturer with, the Centre for Person-Centred Practice Research, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. He is also an affiliate of the Stanford Medicine Centre for Improvement, Stanford University, CA. His research is in the use of process and quality improvement methodologies in healthcare including the Model for Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and Agile and in particular the influence and contribution of Process Improvement methodologies on Person-centred Cultures. In January 2011, he was appointed by the Minister for Health as a member of the Health Products Regulatory Authority Advisory Committee on Medical Devices, on which he served for two terms.
[Preview] Why Kindness is the Key to Lean Leadership, Webinar with Karyn Ross
Jun 22 2023
[Preview] Why Kindness is the Key to Lean Leadership, Webinar with Karyn Ross
Learn more and register Mark Graban, from KaiNexus, and Karyn Ross discuss her upcoming webinar. July 11 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Presented by Karyn Ross, Founder of The New School for Kind Leaders People often think that lean is a kind way to work. But lean is a thing – and things aren’t kind or unkind – people are! In order for leaders to be able to develop people to work in lean ways, create, and innovate, they need to lead with kindness. In this webinar, you’ll learn about the Three Key Kind Leader Practices of Thinking, Speaking, and Acting Kindly, from Karyn Ross’s latest book "The Kind Leader: A Practical Guide to Eliminating Fear, Creating Trust and Leading with Kindness," and how and why they are the key to lean leadership. About the Presenter: Karyn Ross Karyn is on a mission to Help People Create a Better, Kinder World. An artist, internationally acclaimed speaker, award-winning author, consultant, coach and practitioner, Karyn travels the globe teaching people her unique system of combining creativity, continuous improvement and kindness to make a better world. As well as being the owner of KRC (Karyn Ross Consulting) Karyn is one of the Founding Mothers of Women in Lean – Our Table, a global group of more than seven hundred and fifty women lean practitioners. Karyn is also Founder and President of the Love and Kindness Project Foundation, a registered public charity and The New School for Kind Leaders. She has created both of these initiatives to help people around the world think, speak, act and lead more kindly. Karyn’s sixth book, The Kind Leader: A Practical Guide to Eliminating Fear, Creating Trust and Leading with Kindness is available for preorder. Karyn’s five other books are: How to Coach for Creativity and Service Excellence: A Lean Coaching Workbook, the Shingo-award winning The Toyota Way to Service Excellence: Lean Transformation in Service Organizations, I’ll Keep You Posted: 102 of My Reflections to Help You Start – and Deepen – Your Own Active Reflection Process, Think Kindly – Speak Kindly – Act Kindly: 366 Easy and Free Ideas You Can Use to Create a Kinder World…Starting Today, and Big Karma and Little Kosmo Help Each Other. Proceeds from books fund The Love and Kindness Project Foundation. When not traveling, Karyn spends time designing and sewing her own clothes! Follow Karyn on LinkedIn for a daily inspirational post about creativity, kindness and/or continuous improvement.
Deepen Your Lean Leadership Skills with Brain Science [Webinar by Elisabeth Swan]
Apr 18 2023
Deepen Your Lean Leadership Skills with Brain Science [Webinar by Elisabeth Swan]
Learn more, get slides, see the video Presented by Elisabeth Swan We often underestimate our influence on others. We fail to recognize the impact we have on people, their work, their ability to solve problems, and thrive. Whether we hold formal leadership positions or not, we all have the power to affect those around us. However, the way we think, speak, and act may not always bring out the best in ourselves or those we interact with. This can lead to missed opportunities, strained relationships, and less-than-ideal outcomes.Come join this 1-hour webinar to get insights on how to use the reality of how our minds work to address those people-centric challenges and become a force for good. You’ll get tools to enhance your ability to help people navigate change and make a lasting impact on the organization and those around you.Elisabeth has consulted in the business process performance industry for over 30 years. Her experience spans from helping local non-profits expand their reach to guiding Fortune 100 companies through Lean Transformations. She has trained and mentored thousands of people in improvement projects generating millions in savings. She has deep experience coaching problem solvers and facilitating leadership retreats, strategic planning sessions, process walks, and kaizen events.Elisabeth is the Co-Designer and Lead Instructor for the Lean Six Sigma Leadership Course at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She is a co-founder of Just-in-Time Café, and co-host of the Just-in-Time Café podcast. She co-wrote The Problem Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey, and her latest book is, Picture Yourself a Leader: Illustrated Micro-Lessons in Navigating Change.
[Preview] Deepen Your Lean Leadership Skills with Brain Science
Apr 11 2023
[Preview] Deepen Your Lean Leadership Skills with Brain Science
Register for the webinar or the recording This episode previews Elisabeth Swan's upcoming webinar, hosted by KaiNexus and Mark Graban. Elisabeth joins Mark here to discuss it. April 18 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Enter to win one of 3 signed copies of her new book, Picture Yourself a Leader, by sharing about the webinar on LinkedIn with the hashtag #KaiNexus. Presented by Elisabeth Swan We often underestimate our influence on others. We fail to recognize the impact we have on people, their work, their ability to solve problems, and thrive. Whether we hold formal leadership positions or not, we all have the power to affect those around us. However, the way we think, speak, and act may not always bring out the best in ourselves or those we interact with. This can lead to missed opportunities, strained relationships, and less-than-ideal outcomes.Come join this 1-hour webinar to get insights on how to use the reality of how our minds work to address those people-centric challenges and become a force for good. You’ll get tools to enhance your ability to help people navigate change and make a lasting impact on the organization and those around you. Elisabeth has consulted in the business process performance industry for over 30 years. Her experience spans from helping local non-profits expand their reach to guiding Fortune 100 companies through Lean Transformations. She has trained and mentored thousands of people in improvement projects generating millions in savings. She has deep experience coaching problem solvers and facilitating leadership retreats, strategic planning sessions, process walks, and kaizen events.Elisabeth is the Co-Designer and Lead Instructor for the Lean Six Sigma Leadership Course at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She is a co-founder of Just-in-Time Café, and co-host of the Just-in-Time Café podcast. She co-wrote The Problem Solver’s Toolkit: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Your Lean Six Sigma Journey, and her latest book is, Picture Yourself a Leader: Illustrated Micro-Lessons in Navigating Change.