Today’s guest is Jeff Kaas
I’ve had several guests of the podcast encourage me that I needed to speak to our guest today.
When I reached out to Jeff about being on the podcast, he emailed me back and said, “Let’s chat first, I want to get to know you.” We ended up having one of the coolest conversations that I’ve had in my lean journey. I wish that I had pressed record and had that conversation to share but I’m really pleased to share our scheduled interview because Jeff is a leader that just leads in a different way and is one of the most humble company Presidents that I have ever met.
Jeff is President of Kaas Tailored a company that focuses on upholstery solutions and design services and also now produces PPE in Mukilteo, Washington. In the mid 90’s they were offered to learn Lean from an airplane manufacturer in Washington. That led them to take one of the first of several learning trips to Japan that transformed the way Kass Tailored approach their people and work in their company and how they teach other companies to do the same.
Now several decades later they are doing incredible work and have a team that is “committed to creating a culture of continuous improvement so that our workplace can be one of joy and learning.”
Here’s our guest Jeff Kaas.
Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn
Jeff’s Company: Kaas Tailored and Kaas Academy
Learn more and virtual experiences that Jeff’s company offers
Today we are going to do something different.
Today’s guest is Jamie Flinchbaugh. Jamie was the second guest on The Lean Leadership Podcast. You probably know Jamie from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean or some of the other publications that he has written in from time to time. He is also the co-host of Lean Whiskey Podcast with Mark Graban.
Jamie has helped purpose-driven leaders craft effective, resilient organizations at over 300 companies, leveraging more than 30-years of experience and helping build over 20 companies. Jamie has helped leaders across a wide spectrum of industries including healthcare, utilities, technology, consumer products, and professional services, including Harley-Davidson, Intel, Mars, Amazon, Crayola, Fidelity, Whirlpool, among many others.
Jamie is the type of person in our industry who exhibits great lean principles and the type of leadership that I try to emulate in my work every day. He is someone who has often offered valuable advice to me in my lean journey. If you would like to hear Jamie’s story about his lean journey and his setbacks and successes you can check out Episode 2 of the podcast.
Today we are going to talk about Jamie’s soon-to-be-released book People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem. Jamie was generous to share with me an advanced copy and today we talk about the book, the process around why he wrote this book, and some of the lessons and reflections from authoring his second book. I think when you hear our conversation you will understand that this isn’t just another book about lean.
Here’s our guest Jamie Flinchbaugh.
Get your copy of People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem
Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn
Jamie’s Company: JFlinch
Previous Podcast Episodes with Jamie:
Episode 002: Jamie Flinchbaugh: Lean Is About Thinking and Behaviors
Today’s guest is Allison Greco
Allison is the Founder of Continuous Improvement International whose mission is to cultivate a passion for continuous improvement and drive the adoption of continuous improvement culture as the key to organizational success. They provide a fresh, modern professional society for continuous improvers and process improvers. They provide support to individuals and teams through member services and their Virtual Program Office.
Allison is a professional engineer by trade and got her start with Lean while working on the railroad and has worked with a variety of industries including energy and utilities and the federal government.
She is a certified Six Sigma Blackbelt and proud Oklahoma Sooner where she earned both her B.S. in Industrial Engineering and her MBA.
Connect with Allison on LinkedIn
Allison’s Company: Continuous Improvement International
Today’s guest is Patrick Adams
Patrick Adams is the author of the best-selling book “Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.” He is an international speaker, coach, and consultant. Patrick has been delivering bottom-line results through specialized process improvement solutions for over 20 years. He's worked with all types of businesses from private, non-profits, government, and manufacturing ranging from small businesses to billion-dollar corporations.
Patrick is a proven leader and a highly experienced consultant with a specific niche focus on organizational strategy and leadership development which brings a uniquely human approach to sound team-building practices; creating consensus and enabling empowerment. He motivates, inspires, and drives the right results at all points in business processes.
Patrick is also the host of the Lean Solutions Podcast, which you should listen to as well.
Links:
Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn
Connect with Patrick’s Company: Patrick Adams Consulting
Patrick’s Podcast: The Lean Solutions Podcast
Patrick’s Book: Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap: 12 Questions to Understand What's Truly Underneath Your Culture
Patrick’s Book Recommendation: Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning by Katie Anderson