The Lean Solutions Podcast

• Positive Leadership: The Foundation of Continuous Improvement

  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

  --------  

  32:52

  --------

  32:52
• Play as a Tool for Continuous Improvement

  What You’ll Learn:In this episode, hosts Andy Olrich, Shayne Daughenbaug, and guest Alex Suchman discuss how play can serve as a powerful tool for continuous improvement and stronger team performance. They highlight how workplace disagreement often stems from interpersonal dynamics and different communication styles. They also emphasize that play can foster trust, accountability, and psychological safety.About the Guest:Alex Suchman is the CEO and co-founder of Barometer XP, whose mission is to create cultures where people are excited about their work because they feel a strong sense of purpose and belonging. She uses games and play to strengthen interpersonal dynamics, such as trust, accountability, and psychological safety, in the workplace. She was a finalist for the Metro DC ATD Award for Excellence in Innovative Learning, has been featured in Forbes, and is a sought-after speaker and thought leader on using play as a tool for organizational effectiveness and employee success.Links:Alex Suchman LinkedInBarometer XP Website

  --------  

  47:16

  --------

  47:16
• Spotlight Episode: People First - The Soft Skills Advantage

  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

  --------  

  43:21

  --------

  43:21
• Spotlight Episode: Sustaining Culture and Connection

  What You’ll Learn:In this episode, hosts Catherine McDonald, Andy Olrich, and guest Leire Martinez discuss the importance of sustaining culture and connection in organizations. They emphasize that culture is crucial for continuous improvement and can vary across different departments and regions.About the Guest:With a strong Lean Six Sigma background, she is experienced as an Operations Director managing multi-site operations, as well as a Plant Manager, Production Manager, and Continuous Improvement Manager in the automotive sector within a VUCA environment and during challenging periods such as COVID, the chip crisis, and material shortages. Her aim is to inspire the teams she works with to achieve results as one, always acting with integrity, a willingness to win, and a commitment to making tomorrow better.Links:Click Here For Leire Martinez LinkedIn

  --------  

  42:10

  --------

  42:10
• Lean Solutions at the BLOX

  What You’ll Learn:Patrick Adams discusses his experience on the "Blox" show, a live startup competition. He was motivated by the opportunity to learn and apply new skills to his business, Lean Solutions. The show, which features 100-150 businesses, is hosted by Wes Bergman and involves daily classroom sessions and challenges. Patrick emphasizes the importance of simplifying business explanations and making them accessible to non-lean practitioners. He highlights the value of networking, the competitive yet supportive environment, and the exhaustion from the intense week-long filming. The show is available on the Blocks app, Facebook, and their website.

  --------  

  38:06

  --------

  38:06

Weitere Wirtschaft Podcasts

Trending Wirtschaft Podcasts

Über The Lean Solutions Podcast

The Lean Solutions Podcast: Zugehörige Podcasts