GA 034 | Becoming a Lean Leader with Steve Kane

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This episode is a little different. Our Director of Sales and Marketing, Steve Kane, gave a presentation to the Kenco team in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Steve shares his fascinating lean journey and what he’s learned over the years, with an emphasis on his time at Specialty Silicone Fabricators.

Subscribers, this episode is available as a full Gemba Live! series here. Not a subscriber? check out the trailer. An MP3 version is also available for download here.  

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Steve’s background, including his education and discovery of lean (2:12)
• How Steve used his newfound knowledge of lean at Specialty Silicone Fabricators, and what challenges he faced (5:15)
• What Steve eventually learned was the basis for the problems at SSF (12:29)
• Why it’s almost always the process, not the employee (18:06)
• The three things every person deserves, and why (19:01)
• Why Steve and his team decided to have a vision, not a plan (22:49)
• What happened on the first day of SSF’s lean journey (26:55)
• How the morning meeting changed (30:21)
• How the SSF employees started asking for lean tools (35:00)
• Examples of how lean drastically improved employee satisfaction and overall performance (37:09)
• The more accurate translation of “Respect for People” (40:21)
• Steve’s final key principles (48:00)
• Steve’s call to action for the people of Kenco (55:56)

Podcast Resources

• Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3
• Download a Free Audio Book at Audible.com
• Watch the Gemba Live! Version of Steve’s Presentation

What Do You Think?

How do you feel about the concept of a customer-focused culture?

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