KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

In this episode, Mark and Greg remember Masaaki Imai, who recently passed away at 92. They were both deeply influenced by Mr. Imai and his book "KAIZEN: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success." Without Greg being given this book by his Emergency Department leader, there would be no KaiNexus. Greg discusses the importance of the book to him and others -- and the broad influence it has had. Mark shares stories about meeting Mr. Imai (once in Seattle and twice in Japan) and some of the classic ideas -- that Kaizen means everybody improvement, everywhere improvement, every day improvement. See Mr. Imai talk about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqKMlRJUAJk&ab_channel=KaizenInstitute-SouthAsia%26Africa They also discuss the connections between Kaizen and Lean books and practice -- and how Kaizen should be a core part of a Lean strategy, as it is at Toyota and other companies. Get the book KAIZEN on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XAg2mz This approach should be the key to a hospital's success, or any organization's success -- not just manufacturing and not just in Japan. Mark's blog post about meeting Mr. Imai: https://www.leanblog.org/2012/06/meeting-mr-imai/ Greg's journal article about Kaizen: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2009.00580.x

Mark Graban, a senior advisor with KaiNexus, is joined by Kathryn Abbott, who joined KaiNexus three months ago as a customer success specialist. In this episode, she shares her thoughts on what stood out to her about the culture and the people, as she was interviewing and how that's been reinforced by her first months at the company. She also shares a little bit about the way she helps customers in her role.

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.

Additional Q&A from Mark Graban's webinar...

Learn more, get the video version, slides, and more Presented by Mark Graban, KaiNexus Senior Advisor Mark’s presentation will explore the connections between Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement, using examples from Toyota, KaiNexus, and other companies. Mark will explore how we can assess the current state of Psychological Safety in teams or across a broader organization. He’ll also discuss what leaders can do to help create conditions where employees feel safe enough to speak up about mistakes, problems, and improvement ideas. 

Register for the webinar Today, Morgan Wright and Mark Graban preview Mark's upcoming webinar... "Psychological Safety as a Foundation for Continuous Improvement" June 8 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Presented by Mark Graban, KaiNexus Senior Advisor Mark’s presentation will explore the connections between Psychological Safety and Continuous Improvement, using examples from Toyota, KaiNexus, and other companies. Mark will explore how we can assess the current state of Psychological Safety in teams or across a broader organization. He’ll also discuss what leaders can do to help create conditions where employees feel safe enough to speak up about mistakes, problems, and improvement ideas.  Mark's book

More information, slides, and video recording As presented May 11 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET Presented by Morgan Wright (Customer Marketing Manager) andGreg Jacobson, MD (co-founder and CEO), from KaiNexus. Come join the final webinar in our three-part habit webinar series to learn how we sustain and maximize organizational habits in a continuous improvement culture. In this 1 hour webinar, we will review the highlights from the prior habits webinars, learn how you can design organizational habits, develop your Habit Loops by persona, and share stories of organizations who have seen incredible results from implementing habits.

Registration link Morgan Wright, customer marketing manager at KaiNexus, joins Mark Graban, senior advisor at the company, to give a preview of this upcoming webinar, the third in a series about "habit loops": Sustaining Continuous Improvement with Habit Science Part 1 Part 2 About the webinar: Come join the final webinar in our three-part habit webinar series to learn how we sustain and maximize organizational habits in a continuous improvement culture. In this 1 hour webinar, we will review the highlights from the prior habits webinars, learn how you can design organizational habits, develop your Habit Loops by persona, and share stories of organizations who have seen incredible results from implementing habits. About the Presenters: Morgan Wright Customer Marketing Manager, KaiNexus Greg Jacobson Co-Founder & CEO, KaiNexus

Elise Miller, Manager of Solutions Engineering at KaiNexus, has a chat with Mark Graban about why she joined the company in 2020, why the culture appeals to her, and how her role has evolved from Solutions Engineer to the Manager of that now-larger and growing team. Learn more about KaiNexus: http://kainexus.com/

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.