Saving Money vs Making Money

Recently, I have had many discussions with colleagues about whether or not the primary purpose of Lean is to eliminate waste or to increase value.  I’m a proponent of the latter, where Lean is to increase value with respect for people.  Yes, in order to increase value, waste must be removed from the system, to which, my colleague says, “See, it comes down to eliminating waste.  Besides, that’s easier to understand.”

Focusing on the Outputs Doesn’t Change Them

Too often in life, we have a problem.  So in order to solve the problem and improve the situation we focus on the output and apply our solution.  Take, for example, the Medicaid expansion outlined in the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare).

An Overly Simplistic View of PI

Process Identification -> Process Improvement -> Performance Improvement -> Performance Excellence -> Operational Excellence

The journey of Continuous Improvement is long, arduous, and best of all, never-ending.  One could say that is the whole nature of the word “continuous”.  This road does, however, have several checkpoints.  With that said, here we’ll provide an overview of the entire journey, but spend more time at the beginning – because that’s where it all starts!

Problem Solving or Thinking Process?

I’ve been spending some time lately working on improving our ability to solve problems, specifically developing a more structured problem solving method, including root cause analysis. Historically we have used problem solving and root cause analysis to, well, solve problems. But one thing we need to realize is that it can also be used to create opportunities. Here’s an example:

The Importance of Proper Definition

The definition of definition is “a statement expressing the essential nature of something.” At least that’s one way Webster defines the word.  But why is a definition so important?  Because definitions enable us to have a common understanding of a word or subject; they allow us to all be on the same page when discussing or reading about an issue.  And while we tend to make sure we properly define our words and phrases so that all understand, how well do we do that with our projects, programs or initiatives?

Sit Down, Shut Up, and Listen

I was asked an interesting question the other day – “Why do new people say dumb things?”  I, of course, provided a litany of answers that I thought quite impressive for a non-psychologist.  And with that, I missed the point.

Process Improvement – More Than Just a Project

It is a dark day in the Louisville healthcare Process Improvement community.  Once again, senior leaders failed to see process improvement as more than just another way to cut costs or manage projects, and the organizations will suffer.

Healthcare Radicals Required, But Are They Welcome?

Mark Graban recently posted a piece taken from Tom Peters’ new book The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE about the need for Radicals in healthcare.  Peters is spot on!  But are they welcome?

Do ‘Quick Wins’ Hurt Lean Initiatives?

When an organization decides to pursue an improvement initiative (Lean, Six Sigma, etc.), and let’s be honest, they almost always start out as an ‘initiative’ or ‘program’, the organization needs to determine which areas it will apply this new technique in first.  Some will argue that the starting point should be an area that will provide the most benefit to the organization, regardless of the time to complete the initial project.  However, most times, we are told to “go for the low-hanging fruit” in order to show the benefit of the methodology to management.  How often does this backfire?

How to Handle a Mistake

A colleague of mine recently had to make that most unpleasant phone call.  He had to call a client just before a board meeting and tell them there was an error in a calculation, that the information provided was wrong, and it would take some time to correct.  Needless to say, the client was not happy.  He delayed the presentation to the board until next month.