Recently, I have had several leaders talk with me about how executives connect to the lean management system. This gap in understanding gave me pause and created an opportunity to think about how we are presenting systems in our coaching and teaching. I feel it is important to speak more directly about how the executive […]
This year has been an eventful one for my family. We had the regular COVID restrictions and wished we could all be together celebrating life’s many milestones. This year also brought unanticipated opportunities of spending time with loved ones as inpatients (non-COVID) in several different hospitals. This is the kind of Gemba you never want […]
Berkshire Healthcare Trust is a large mental health and homecare trust in the United Kingdom. They provide services at over 150 sites in the Berkshire area including hospitals, clinics, and community sites. This community in the UK was hit by COVID much the same as all of us. However, their response has been exceptional, and […]
Over the past year, all of our teams have been working through this pandemic demonstrating extraordinary commitment of both physical and emotional energy. Considering these experiences led me to wonder about the resilience of our people/workforce. I am wondering – how are we as people going to come through this crisis? I have talked with […]
If you encourage staff to identify defects, you better have a process to solve them. Often the first step is to bring those defects forward to a huddle. In the book Beyond Heroes, we recommend that this conversation occurs at a huddle board (visual management) with your staff. During this huddle, you identify and discuss […]
I’ve visited a number of organizations and one of the recurring problems I’ve seen is lack of an effective prioritization process. I think this is paramount. In this world of competing priorities and regulation, we must have a way to focus on the “vital few,” demonstrate and stabilize the improvement, and move on to the […]
As I visit healthcare organizations around North America, people come forward sharing concerns that they are hitting a wall, even within the management system. Often what I hear is that they have implemented stat sheets and huddles, but not all of them have implemented a performance review process. The management system is just that—a system! […]
One of the first components needed in a management system is a way to look at your day. We call that our status sheet. It’s a daily check-in. It could be a huddle, it could be a conversation, whatever it is that you are doing, but it is at the front line and focused on […]
Catalysis Healthcare Value Network member, New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC), serves as a hub for seven counties in North Carolina. The system consists of two hospitals and thirty-six physician practices. In 2018 Forbes named NHRMC one of the top employers in America -an honor that their CEO, John Gizdic, attributes to the engagement of […]
Post 4 of 4 in a Blog Series by Kim Barnas I’ve visited a number of organizations and one of the recurring problems I’ve seen is lack of an effective prioritization process. I think this is paramount. In this world of competing priorities and regulation we must have a way to focus on the “vital […]