The Lean Solutions Podcast

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:In this episode, Andy Olrich sits down with returning guest Adam Lawrence to explore why so many improvement efforts fail to stick and what leaders can do to create lasting, sustainable change.Adam shares the origin story behind his “Wheel of Sustainability” framework and explains why sustainability is ultimately a leadership process, not just a technical one. The conversation dives into the importance of preparation before a Kaizen event, including leadership alignment, clear expectations, strong sponsorship, and creating accountability systems before improvement work even begins.You’ll also learn practical ways to strengthen sustainability after an event through audits, visuals, standard work, Gemba walks, and leadership engagement. Adam and Andy discuss why culture, trust, and respect for people are just as important as financial results—and how the true test of success is when employees start asking, “When can you come help my area next?”If you’ve ever struggled with improvements fading over time or leaders failing to stay engaged after an event, this episode provides a practical roadmap for building improvements that last.Key Takeaways:Sustainable improvement starts with leadership commitment and preparationKaizen events fail when leaders don’t stay visibly engaged before, during, and after the workAudits, visuals, standard work, and accountability systems help improvements stickThe strongest sign of success is when teams ask for more improvement work in their own areasLinks:Adam Lawrence LinkedInPI PartnersThe Wheel of SustainabilityLean Solutions Summit Lean Solutions Website

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:In this second part episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Patrick Adams and Shane Daughenbaugh discuss the initial steps for a new leader implementing Lean principles. They emphasize understanding the current state through one-on-one interviews and Jeff Liker's leadership development model, which includes personal development, coaching others, daily Kaizen, and establishing a vision. Patrick advises starting with a model area to experiment with Lean concepts on a smaller scale. Shayne shares his experience of finding a champion and creating a safe space for experimentation. They both stress the importance of learning from failures, building team capability, and gradually introducing Lean practices to achieve organizational goals.Key Takeaways:Start Lean by Understanding the Current State—Not by Teaching ToolsYour First 90 Days Should Focus on Leadership Development, Not ControlCreate a “Sandbox” or Model Area to Learn Fast and SafelyFailure Is a Win When Learning Is the GoalLinks:Lean Solutions 2026 SummitLean Solutions Website⁠⁠Click Here For Shayne Daughenbaugh’s LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams’ LinkedIn⁠⁠

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:In this episode of the Lean Solutions Podcast, Andy Olrich and Catherine McDonald explore what happens after the strategy day is over. Once goals are set, how do organizations move from planning to real execution? They highlight the challenges of managing too many goals and the necessity of engaging teams in the strategy process. They unpack why teams often struggle—not because they lack ideas—but because they have too many priorities and not enough clarity on where to start. The discussion focuses on practical frameworks for filtering, prioritizing, and executing goals in a way that aligns strategy with daily work.Key Takeaways:Teams don’t struggle from a lack of ideas—they struggle from too many priorities.Don’t start where it’s exciting—start where it’s expensive.Use structure to remove subjectivity.Links: Lean Solutions 2026 SummitLean Solutions Website⁠⁠Click Here For Catherine McDonald’s LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠⁠

What You’ll Learn: The second half dives deeper into the people side of continuous improvement. Dave explains how Nemawashi and intentional conversations help build alignment, trust, and momentum. Listeners learn why asking thoughtful questions—like “who else should we talk to?”—can naturally expand buy-in and lead to better decisions. The episode wraps with reflections on leadership, learning, and staying connected within the Lean community.Key Takeaways:How Nemawashi helps build buy-in naturallyWhy asking “who else should we talk to?” strengthens decisions and alignmentHuman, Pet, and Animal Nutrition Company: WebsiteClick Here for Dave Kippen's LinkedInLean Solutions Website

The Lean Solutions Podcast hosts start off season 5 by addressing a common challenge: setting goals is easy, but making them stick is not. They emphasize that meaningful goal setting requires clarity, alignment, and intention, warning that vague goals and misaligned priorities often lead teams off track. From the start, they frame goals as something that must connect directly to daily work and organizational purpose.They go on to highlight the importance of systems like leader standard work and visual management to support consistent execution. The hosts stress accountability rooted in psychological safety, regular check-ins, and a focused set of three to five goals supported by leading indicators. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to put these ideas into practice and ensure their goals align with both their organization’s objectives and culture.

What You’ll Learn:In this episode, host Patrick Adams interviews Natalie Howden, a new team member at Lean Solutions, about her career journey and the importance of standard work in Lean environments. Natalie shares her background in pharmaceuticals, lithium-ion, and office furniture, highlighting her transition from a scientist to a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She emphasizes the value of standard work in achieving consistency and improving processes, using examples from her experience.About the Guest:As an Executive Lean Coach at Lean Solutions, Natalie Howden helps organizations transform how they operate by reducing waste, accelerating flow, and embedding continuous improvement into everyday culture. Lean Solutions’ mission is to empower people through training, coaching, and talent solutions. Building the skills, systems, and culture needed for sustainable success.Partnering with organizations across manufacturing, healthcare, services, and professional industries, Natalie identifies inefficiencies and quality gaps and applies proven lean tools to redesign processes and deliver greater value with fewer resources. Through coaching leaders and teams, she builds lasting problem-solving capabilities and drives sustained performance by aligning systems, structures, and behaviors with lean thinking.Links:Natalie Howden's LinkedInLean Solutions 2026 SummitLean Solutions Website

What You’ll Learn:In this episode, hosts Andy Olrich, Catherine McDonald, and guest Wendy Sellers discuss positive leadership. They define positive leadership as focusing on strengths, optimism, and psychological safety, which fosters continuous improvement through ongoing learning and experimentation. They emphasize the importance of accountability, high standards, and clear company values. Wendy shares her experience with both positive and negative leadership, highlighting the need for realistic, respectful, and encouraging management.About the Guest:Wendy Sellers, The HR Lady®, is a nationally recognized HR Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Podcaster, Author, and Mentor, as seen in USA Today and the International Business Times. Known for her direct, no-nonsense approach delivered with respect, Wendy empowers organizations to treat people as their greatest asset. She equips leaders, managers, and administrators with the skills and confidence needed to navigate HR compliance, workplace culture, and the full employee lifecycle—from hiring to termination.With 30 years of experience across for-profit, non-profit, government, and defense organizations, Wendy brings a rare blend of practical insight and strategic vision. Her career began unexpectedly in an Orlando engineering firm and grew alongside the company’s national and global expansion. Backed by multiple degrees and HR certifications, Wendy is driven by a clear mission: to help leaders build successful companies that employees don’t feel the need to escape.Links:The HR Lady LLCWendy Sellers's LinkedIn

What You’ll Learn:In this episode, hosts Patrick Adams and Andy Olrich discuss the importance of soft skills in leadership, emphasizing empathy, communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.About the Guest:Andy Olrich brings over 25 years of expertise in engineering trades, services, manufacturing, mining and logistics processes and support. With qualifications in Continuous Improvement and LEAN Six Sigma, he is also a Certified Scrum Master. Andy finds fulfillment in witnessing the positive outcomes that result from teams collaboratively working towards shared and individual goals.Patrick Adams is an internationally recognized leadership coach, consultant and professional speaker. He is best known for his unique human approach to sound team building practices, creating consensus and enabling empowerment.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-profit, government, and manufacturing ranging from small business to billion-dollar corporations. Patrick is an Author of the best selling book, Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap.Links:⁠Click Here For Andy Olrich’s LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠Click Here For Patrick Adams’ LinkedIn⁠